Marvel’s MAX Comics are back this week with Garth Ennis’ Get Fury. The six-issue series is set in Vietnam when Frank Castle and Nick Fury were working for the U.S.A. and doing brutal work to end the war. In a comic that is strictly not for children, can Marvel pull off an adults-only war comic that satisfies modern audiences?
Once putting Get Fury #1 down, you get the feeling that this is a classic comic feel from a bygone era. The issue opens with an unfamiliar older man who reveals he’s been fighting wars since he was twelve. He faced both Nick Fury and Frank Castle during the war and happily shared a tale with us with no ire or hate. Classic Marvel fans will note that he’s a character in the canon known as Letrong Giap.
After the opening, the story firmly focuses on Frank Castle’s hard-edged and non-nonsense approach to war while Nick Fury is captured behind enemy lines. Ennis defies your expectations a bit when a giant soldier refuses to give up his puppy, and Castle backs him up even when it’s against orders. Speaking of orders, we learn early on Frank’s been set on a mission that’s off the books and directly endangers Fury. Go figure.
Outside of the puppy scene, there’s a brutal scene with Fury and another man who has been kidnapped. The old-school war comic element comes into play, revealing the brutality of war and the fact that some soldiers are too stupid to keep their mouths shut. These scenes juxtapose well off each other and add an intensity that leans into the MAX Comics line.
Good scene.
Credit: Marvel
Overall, the story is quite slow, with most of the setup for the main plot taking place. A long scene between Frank and a superior takes four pages to convey something rather simple. By the end of the issue, we had the setup in place, but Frank’s stoic nature kept things simple and uninteresting. Save for the puppy scene and some brutal violence.
What isn’t from a bygone era is the art by Jacen Burrows and Guillermo Ortego with colors by Nolan Woodard. The art is bright and modern looking and suits the slower tempo of Ennis’ script. At times, one can imagine Steve Dillon drawing this book with close-ups of characters’ faces as they speak truths. The gore in a final brutal act is well drawn and grisly. Your stomach may even turn as you read it.
Get Fury has all the makings for a classic showdown. It’s incredibly adult as it never holds back with violence and swearing while establishing the hard edge of Frank Castle and Fury. It’ll be interesting to see them go head to head, but at this stage, we must patiently wait.
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