In this issue; Sgt. Fury and His Howling Commandos find themselves temperately reporting to Capt. Flint, whom is a ‘by the books officer’.  The Captain and his attitudes not only cramp the howlers unique – and individual  style, but also puts them in great danger as they set out on a mission with Capt. Flint overseeing the operation personally.  From the overly shiny helmets to his shiny bars on his shoulders,  the greatest danger to the mission seems to be the officers by the book attitude.  But then, how does this story fair in my – not so by the book – comic book review.

Artwork

From the style of the commandos when they are allowed to be unique, to the look of each of them ‘conforming’ to regulations; this issue offers a lot of looks for our hero’s.  One of the things I like about the commandos, and this book shows it again, is even when they are all dressed the same,  they find ways to tell them apart when we need to; but when left to their own styles, each commando can stand out.   But while this issue, shows this again, I feel it does not substantially build upon that; offering us a constant, and familiar product from the prior issues into this one.

Characters & Development

In some ways, the biggest development is to Capt. Happy Sam Sawyer; whom it is established was directly responsible for the training of the Howling Commandos and to a degree there quite successful, yet out there style.   This I feel builds upon what we already know; without detracting from Sgt. Fury’s contributions to the fighting unit.

While we can also say that the events of this issue have a heavy impact on our guest star, changing Capt. Flint greatly from the opening page to the end.  It leaves us lacking any real growth for any of our seven commandos.  Putting another issue of status quo behind us.

Originality  & Continuity

In the interest of status quo, this issue offers little in the way of feeling all that original from earlier stories in the series.  While that lets it fit in with what we know just fine, it does little to set its self apart.

Story

With all that said, the story itself is not all that bad, and the one thing that lets it stand out. Perhaps it purpose was to help us see the Howling Commandos as something different and unique. Perhaps  it was meant as a statement from the Ex military creators.  It could just be a statement that fits in well with the sixty’s – when it was written.  But the heart of this story is,  ‘By the book’ is not always  the best way; sometimes one needs to adapt and be flexible.  It is the turning point of doing things by the book that makes our heroes victorious, and it is coming to realize that the ‘by the book’ attitude is  not aways the best way that changes our guest star… perhaps for the better.