''Combat Kelly and the Deadly Dozen'' is a comic book series published by Marvel Comics from 1972 to 1973. The series was created by writer Gary Friedrich and penciler

Dick Ayers Richard Bache Ayers (; April 28, 1924 – May 4, 2014) was an American comic book artist and cartoonist best known for his work as one of Jack Kirby's inkers during the late-1950s and 1960s period known as the Silver Age of Comics, including on s ...

, the creative team of Marvel's long-running World War II title '' Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos''. The premiere issue continued a story that began in ''Sgt. Fury'' #98 (May 1972), and occasional crossovers continued between these two series. The series lasted for nine issues and was cover-billed simply as ''Combat Kelly'' in the postal indicia. With issue #5 (Feb. 1973), the cover title changed slightly to ''Combat Kelly and his Deadly Dozen''. The series name and premise are similar to those of the 1960s film ''

The Dirty Dozen ''The Dirty Dozen'' is a 1967 American war film directed by Robert Aldrich and starring Lee Marvin with an ensemble supporting cast including Ernest Borgnine, Charles Bronson, Jim Brown, John Cassavetes, Richard Jaeckel, George Kennedy, Ralph M ...

''. The series was the second to feature a character by the name of '' Combat Kelly''.

Publication history

:Cover dates #''"Stop the Luftwaffe, Win the War"'', July 1972 #''"Lonely Are the Brave"'', August 1972 #''"The Boston Bomber"'', October 1972 #''"To Hell With Heroes"'', December 1972 #''"Escape From Devil's Island"'', February 1973 #''"A Wing... a Prayer... and Mad Dog Martin!"'', April 1973 #''"Blast the Beasts and Children"'', June 1973 #''"Hospital of Horrors"'', August 1973 #''"Did You Ever See A Dozen Die?!"'', October 1973

Premise

The series featured Corporal Kelly as the leader of a team of convicted criminals who serve in the army during the Second World War to pay for their crimes. The character of

Happy Sam Sawyer General Samuel "Happy Sam" Sawyer is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. His first appearance was in '' Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos'' #1. Publication history Sawyer first appeared in ''Sgt. ...

, who was

Nick Fury Colonel Nicholas Joseph "Nick" Fury Sr. is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer/artist Jack Kirby and writer Stan Lee, he first appeared in '' Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos' ...

's commanding officer in ''Sgt. Fury'', also appears in the series, the characters from the two series crossed over occasionally. The series featured a racially diverse cast much like its precursor, but unlike the characters in the previous series, the so-called Deadly Dozen was much more morally loose, as the series features them sometimes committing war crimes, such as shooting unarmed non-combatants. The final issue of the series, named ''"Did You Ever See A Dozen Die?!"'', ends with virtually every main character dying, something which was unprecedented at the time of its release.

Reception

Michael Aushenker of ''

The Comics Reporter Thomas Martin Spurgeon (December 16, 1968 – November 13, 2019) was an American writer, historian, critic, and editor in the field of comics, notable for his five-year run as editor of ''The Comics Journal'' and his blog ''The Comics Reporter''. ...

'' stated in his 2009 review of the final issue that he had never seen a finale like it before and that it was "bad-ass" in his opinion. Aushenker described the issue as brutal and twisted. He added that he believed that it was the most sadistic issue of a comic book ever published with the

Comics Code Authority The Comics Code Authority (CCA) was formed in 1954 by the Comics Magazine Association of America as an alternative to government regulation. The CCA allowed the comic publishers to self-regulate the content of comic books in the United States. ...

's seal of approval. He also explained that he was shocked that the author and artist got away with it, despite the fact that most of the violence was implied off screen. Aushenker went on to say that he believed that the writer, Gary Friedrich, was more worthy of a medal than the series' main character and namesake, Michael Kelly, for having written it.

Reprints

The first issue was reprinted in 2012 in the collected edition ''Marvel Firsts: The 1970s, Volume 1''.

References

External links