Strange Tales #167
☆ Be the first to review + Add to your collection — Join freeStrange Tales #167 (April 1968) stands as one of the most formally adventurous single issues of the Silver Age, containing what the Grand Comics Database, Wikipedia, and multiple collector sources identify as comics' first four-page spread — a continuous panoramic action sequence across four pages that required readers to place two copies of the issue side by side to see the full image. The Nick Fury story also concludes a nine-part espionage epic with a genuinely surprising twist: the Yellow Claw who SHIELD has been fighting throughout the arc is unmasked as a robot pawn, the losing piece in a cosmic chess match played by Doctor Doom against the newly debuted Prime Mover. Beyond the Fury half, interior artist Dan Adkins was so galvanized by Steranko's page-design experiments that he began adopting overlapping photo-like layouts in the Doctor Strange backup — evidence of this one issue's immediate ripple effect on its own collaborators. Perhaps most unexpectedly, at least two interior panels from this issue were traced without authorization by illustrator Greg Bell for the original 1974 Dungeons & Dragons boxed set, making Strange Tales #167 a hidden link between Marvel's Silver Age and the birth of tabletop role-playing games.
"Armageddon!" in Strange Tales #167 (1968) delivers a pulse-pounding clash of espionage and cosmic mystery, with Jim Steranko writing, drawing, inking, and coloring this standout issue. As Jimmy Woo mourns Suwan, the SHIELD Suicide Squad storms in from the Dreadnought, leading to a high-stakes chase through time and space. With the Claw vanishing into the Infinity Sphere, Nick Fury pursues him using a Pseudo-Elliptoid Wrist Tracer and a prototype Warp-Vest, culminating in a psychic duel that reveals a shocking truth. The cover by Jim Steranko captures the moment’s intensity, a striking visual that matches the story’s escalating tension.
In "Armageddon!" from Strange Tales #167, Jimmy Woo holds the fallen Suwan as the SHIELD Suicide Squad storms in through the Dreadnought, a massive tunneling machine. With The Claw vanishing into the Space-Time Continuum inside an Infinity Sphere, Fury tracks him using a Pseudo-Elliptoid Wrist Tracer, donning a Prototype Warp-Vest to pursue him in a mind-bending psychic duel. The shocking truth behind the villain’s identity unfolds in a twist that reshapes everything—revealing a deeper, hidden game orchestrated by an unseen hand.
In "This Dream — This Doom!", Stephen Strange ventures into the Dimension of Dreams with the guidance of the Ancient One to rescue Victoria Bentley, trapped in a realm where nightmares take form. As Strange confronts Yandroth and the surreal threats of the dream world, including a towering behemoth and Viking warriors, the stakes rise with a chilling threat looming in the shadows.
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We Buy Collections ▸History
Strange Tales #167 was the penultimate issue of the long-running anthology title before Nick Fury and Doctor Strange each graduated to their own solo books; it went on sale in early 1968 under editor-in-chief Stan Lee. The Nick Fury story — scripted, pencilled, and colored by Jim Steranko with inks by Joe Sinnott — was the ninth and final chapter of a sprawling Yellow Claw story arc, and Steranko had already been advertised in the preceding issue's house copy as delivering 'Mighty Marvel's first venture into psychedelic artwork.' The Doctor Strange backup, 'This Dream — This Doom!', was written by Dennis O'Neil with a co-plot credit to penciller-inker Dan Adkins, with lettering on both stories by Sam Rosen; the GCD notes that Adkins consciously shifted his page layouts in this very installment in direct response to Steranko's influence.
Trivia · 8 facts
- First appearance of the Prime Mover, a chess-playing robot created by Jim Steranko, revealed in the Nick Fury story's twist ending as the unseen controller who used a robotic Yellow Claw as a pawn in a game against Doctor Doom.
- Contains what is widely cited as comics' first four-page spread: a continuous panoramic battle image requiring two copies placed side by side, noted both inside the issue's own caption box and across multiple comics-history sources.
- The Nick Fury story, titled 'Armageddon!', is the final (ninth) chapter of Steranko's Yellow Claw arc and was promoted in the prior issue as 'Mighty Marvel's first venture into psychedelic artwork.'
- The cover — a Steranko-rendered image of Nick Fury charging forward against an American flag backdrop — was singled out by the Grand Comics Database as modeled on actor Burt Lancaster, Steranko's favorite actor.
- The Doctor Strange backup story, 'This Dream — This Doom!', was written by Dennis O'Neil with Dan Adkins co-plotting and providing all art; it continues the Yandroth sequence and features the restored Ancient One guiding Strange into the Dimension of Dreams to rescue Victoria Bentley.
- At least two panels from this issue — including a mounted Viking warrior and a sorcerer before a cauldron — were directly copied by illustrator Greg Bell for artwork in the original 1974 Dungeons & Dragons boxed set, a connection documented by Wikipedia and multiple RPG-history sources.
- The Nick Fury story was subsequently reprinted in Captain Britain (Marvel UK) #17–18 (1977), Nick Fury: Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. (2000), Marvel Masterworks: Nick Fury Vol. 2 (2009), S.H.I.E.L.D. by Steranko: The Complete Collection (2013), and S.H.I.E.L.D.: The Complete Collection Omnibus (2015).
- The Doctor Strange story was reprinted in Giant-Size Doctor Strange #1 (1975), Essential Doctor Strange Vol. 1 (2001), and Marvel Masterworks: Doctor Strange Vol. 2 (2013).
Cast · 19 characters
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Reprints
Reprinted in Fantastic! #77 (1968), Eclipso #49 (1975), Vengeur #16 (1975), Giant-Size Doctor Strange #1 (1975), Captain Britain #1 (1976), Captain Britain #17 (1977), Captain Britain #18 (1977), Nick Fury Agent of SHIELD #2 (1984), Nick Fury: Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. #[nn] (2000), Essential Doctor Strange #1 (2001), Marvel Masterworks: Doctor Strange #2 (2005), Marvel Masterworks: Nick Fury, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. #2 (2009), Marvel Masterworks: Doctor Strange #2 (2013), S.H.I.E.L.D. by Steranko: The Complete Collection #[nn] (2013), S.H.I.E.L.D.: The Complete Collection Omnibus #[nn] (2015), Die offizielle Marvel-Comic-Sammlung #9 (2016), Marvel. Официальная коллекция комиксов #126 (2018), Steranko Is... Revolutionary #[nn] (2020), Doctor Strange Omnibus #2 (2021), Doctor Strange Epic Collection #2 (2024), Agente Internacional #33, Nick Fury - Agent för SHIELD #1
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