Top 5 Nick Fury Artists

Many artists have depicted the tales of Nick Fury. Here are some of the great illustrators that have brought the old soldier/secret agent to life on the page.

Jim Steranko

More than any other artist, Jim Steranko defined the look and feel of Nick Fury's world. Amazingly, he did this in the form of his layouts and design. The visual motifs he constructed around the action and drama of Fury's adventures built the "genre" that is Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. Designs such as swirling black and white kaleidoscopes, giant cubes with story messages being climbed on by characters who are avoiding/stalking other characters - these are unforgettable images that have imprinted on us the world in which we believe Nick Fury should operate.

Jack Kirby

The "King" defined the look of the character. He started it with Sgt. Fury and the Howling Commandoes, and when it came time to bring the character into a contemporary setting, Kirby gave him the eye patch. The cigar-chomping aspect of Fury also came from Kirby. These are signature character the traits that let us know in an instant what manner of man is Colonel Fury.

Dick Ayers

Ayers drew the weight of the "Howling Commando" adventures. These stories take place in World War II and follow Fury's company on a number of missions. This gives Fury a unique place in the Marvel Universe. No other character has two parts of his life so well chronicled, and the Howling Commandos are legendary among the Marvel military minded. Ayers is another legend in the industry and has been inducted into the Will Eisner Comic Book Hall of Fame. His run on Nick Fury is longer than anyone's on the character.

Howard Chaykin

Chaykin's work on Nick Fury is a fraction of those before him, but the stories he illustrated are prominent adventures, giving us a very grittier view of the character. He drew a one issue adventure for Marvel Spotlight showing Fury in a classic 70s mold, being blackmailed by some thugs who had taken over the supply of Fury's Infinity Formula. Chaykin also illustrated the Marvel Graphic Novel - Nick Fury/Wolverine: The Scorpio Connection, written by Archie Goodwin. In this adventure, Nick and Wolverine work together to find the new Scorpio, whose identity could come as quite a shock!

Butch Guice

His tenure on Fury in comics was less than Chaykin's but while Guice only penciled two or three issues of the Nick Fury's 1993 series, he expertly captured what Steranko had put in place before him. Guice's covers were laid out in such a way as to instantly bring to mind a movie poster. His character faces, while photographically referenced, still gave a cinematic flair to the images. These covers bolstered the stories inside, some which were fully drawn by Guice. Butch has grown to become an industry mainstay, and it would be great to see him revisit the world of Nick Fury, aided by the digital coloring techniques used today.