Today, Marvel announced that it plans on celebrating the 50th anniversary of S.H.I.E.L.D. with an oversized edition of the current S.H.I.E.L.D. comic book, due to hit stores in August.
S.H.I.E.L.D. #9 brings writer Mark Waid with artist Lee Ferguson and finally answers a question that goes back to the intelligence agency's beginnings: who is the "man called D.E.A.T.H.?"
However, that's not all, because the story in issue #9 also includes a sequence penciled by Jack Kirby and inked by Jim Steranko that's never before been published. Comic book fans know Kirby by his many creations with Stan Lee, one of those being Nick Fury and the idea behind S.H.I.E.L.D., which began in Strange Tales in 1966. Kirby's inker, Steranko, worked with Kirby through the rest of the decade, and the team eventually made S.H.I.E.L.D. famous, thanks to Steranko's unique artwork and approach to laying out pages, which often had characters stretching across panels, with more focus on action than realism.
Now, S.H.I.E.L.D. still has a running comic book series, shows up in many of Marvel's films and has its own TV series, as part of the Marvel cinematic universe.
S.H.I.E.L.D. #9 also features the first story penned by Lee with art by Kirby, as well as a look at the Howling Commandos origin story.
"Then, Al Ewing and Stefano Caselli bring you the terrifying origin of the new Howling Commandos!" writes Marvel in a press release. "Before they spin out into their very own series later this year, witness the return of Dum Dum Dugan as he steps from the shadows to assemble a team truly unlike any you've seen before!"
S.H.I.E.L.D. #9 hits stores and online on August 9. Although the original cover artwork is by Julian Totino Tedesco, there will also be a Howling Commandos variant cover by Art Adams, a color variant cover by Kirby and Steranko and a special black and white variant cover by Kirby and Steranko.
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