Strange Tales #144
☆ Be the first to review + Add to your collection — Join freeStrange Tales #144 (cover-dated May 1966) earns its place in Marvel history chiefly as the debut of Jasper Sitwell — the clean-cut, idealistic S.H.I.E.L.D. recruit who became one of Nick Fury's most enduring supporting characters across five decades of comics, a solo animated appearance, and a recurring role in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The issue also marks the first mention of Satannish the Supreme, the extra-dimensional demon who would be formally introduced two years later in Doctor Strange #174 and grow into a recurring mystical threat, seeding the Doctor Strange mythology from a single throwaway invocation by Tazza. Running two complete adventures in a single split-book format — spy-fi gadgetry on one side, dimension-hopping sorcery on the other — the issue captures the dual creative identity that made Strange Tales one of the most inventive anthology books of the Silver Age.
In "The Day of the Druid!", Stan Lee and Jack Kirby deliver a pulse-pounding blend of espionage and mysticism as Nick Fury races to stop a deadly flying egg unleashed by a sinister Druid using ancient magic to mask modern science. With Jack Kirby's dynamic art and Howard Purcell's inks bringing the action to life, Fury and Dugan battle the egg's arsenal in SHIELD's airborne vehicle, culminating in a desperate showdown with Grenade Guns. Meanwhile, at the SHIELD barber shop, new recruit Jasper Sitwell struggles to prove his credentials—just as the mystery of the eggs deepens. Cover by Jack Kirby and Mike Esposito captures the eerie menace of the flying threat.
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The Nick Fury half of this issue was produced in the Marvel Method: Stan Lee and Jack Kirby co-plotted, Kirby supplied layouts, Howard Purcell finished the pencils, and Mike Esposito (credited as M. Demeo) inked. Roy Thomas — then one of Marvel's newest writers, barely months into his tenure — contributed dialogue to the Doctor Strange feature from a plot by Steve Ditko, who also drew it; Thomas's Wikipedia biography specifically identifies Strange Tales #143–144 as two of his earliest Marvel assignments. Sitwell's physical appearance was reportedly modeled on Thomas himself, a detail noted in original Kirby layout margin notes on the page and corroborated by multiple researchers.
Trivia · 8 facts
- First appearance of Jasper Sitwell, created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, debuting as a fresh S.H.I.E.L.D. Academy graduate assigned to help Nick Fury battle the Druid's flying-egg weapons.
- First appearance of the villain The Druid, a figure who cloaks modern technology in the trappings of occult ritual to target S.H.I.E.L.D.
- First mention of Satannish the Supreme — named in dialogue by the dimensional ruler Tazza — two full years before the character's actual on-panel appearance in Doctor Strange #174 (November 1968).
- Nick Fury story titled 'The Day of the Druid!' — script by Stan Lee, layouts by Jack Kirby, finished pencils by Howard Purcell, inks by Mike Esposito; Doctor Strange story titled 'Where Man Hath Never Trod!' — plot by Steve Ditko, dialogue by Roy Thomas, art by Ditko.
- The Nick Fury story features what the Marvel Database notes is effectively the first depiction of an automotive airbag in comics, shown inflating to protect Fury and Dum Dum Dugan when their Porsche 904 is flipped by the Druid's trap.
- Jasper Sitwell was reportedly based on the physical appearance of Roy Thomas, who also scripted the issue's Doctor Strange half — a dual connection to the same issue corroborated by original art margin notes.
- The issue has been reprinted in multiple collected editions, including the S.H.I.E.L.D. by Lee & Kirby: The Complete Collection (2015), the Doctor Strange Omnibus Vol. 1 (2016), the Doctor Strange Epic Collection: Master of the Mystic Arts (2018), and Mighty Marvel Masterworks: Doctor Strange Vol. 2 — The Eternity War (2022).
- Jasper Sitwell went on to appear in the MCU (portrayed by Maximiliano Hernández) starting with Thor (2011), in multiple One-Shots, The Avengers, Captain America: The Winter Soldier, and Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.
Cast · 10 characters
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The Druid uses mystic rites to disguise modern, sinister science, sending a deadly flying egg to kill Nick Fury. Fury attempts to shut down a burning planes nuclear reactor and barely survives the ordeal. Later Fury & Dugan are attacked by the egg in SHIELD's flying car as they face a variety of deadly weapons. The pair finally use "Grenade Guns" to destroy the egg. Back at the SHIELD barber shop, clean-cut new recruit Jasper Sitwell has a hard time convincing the barber he's really a SHIELD agent. He tells Fury he's been assigned to help him against the flying eggs, which remain a mystery.
Plot details indexed by the Grand Comics Database (CC BY-SA).
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