Fury MAX #5-8

Written by Garth Ennis
Art by Goran Parlov

It's a well-established fact that no one can write war stories like Garth Ennis, but there's something extra cool about him incorporating well-known Marvel characters into his stories, while still making them as gritty and historically grounded as is his work on titles like Battlefields.

I picked up these four issues of Fury MAX this week, and they bridge two story arcs.  The first has Nick Fury in Cuba during the Bay of Pigs invasion, with the goal of assassinating Fidel Castro.  This mission goes horribly wrong, and Fury and his two companions are captured.

The next arc moves forward in time to the Vietnam War.  Fury is sent to Laos to assassinate a Vietnamese General who Fury has met before.  His usual shooter is too old for the mission now (although, of course, Fury is not), and so he is partnered with a Marine by the name of Frank Castle.  Of course, this mission goes badly too, because that seems to be pattern of this title.

Ennis has a really good handle on Nick Fury as a character and as a force of history.  The book is not just about Fury and the missions he's sent on, it's also about a shady American senator and his wife, who is also Fury's girlfriend.  Ennis is quite upfront about the corruption in the American government and its involvement in foreign affairs, and that's always interesting to read about.

I especially like Goran Parlov's artwork.  He's drawing this series in a very European style, and it works well with the settings he portrays.  I'm kind of surprised that I haven't been buying this series all along, but now that I'm caught up with it, I'm going to get the remaining four issues for sure.