Dick Ayers (1924-2014)

Dick Ayers and John Tartaglione Sgt. Fury Annual #3 Story Page 9 Original Art (Marvel, 1967). Remember Reb Ralston? The Deep Southern veteran of Sgt. Nick Fury's Howling Commandos of WWII reappears here in 1967 as a U.S. Congressman -- summoned by now-Colonel Fury to join a deadly bomb-buster mission in Vietnam. The yarn dovetails with Jim Steranko's radical revision of the "Nick Fury, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D." stories in Strange Tales, forming a crossover of rare power. Ayers rises to the challenge -- not by affecting a Steranko Pop Art style, but by advancing his established Howling Commandos figures to vigorous middle age. "We ain't the springiest chickens y'all could round up...," says Ralston. Ayers also captures the streamlined immensity of Steranko's design for the S.H.I.E.L.D. agency's Heli-Carrier (Panel 6). Ayers' rock-solid, deep-perspective compositions receive an equally emphatic inking job from Tartaglione. Autographed at lower margin. Ink over graphite on Bristol board, with an image area of 12.5" x 18.5". Toned, with handling wear and marginal notes, and in Very Good condition. HID09710052018 © 2024 Heritage Auctions | All Rights Reserved