Sgt Fury and his Howling Commandos 96 cover by Gil Kane

I recently came across this cover I had never seen before - probably because I never collected that many war comics - Sgt Fury and his Howling Commandos 96, March 1972 (probably hit the newsstands 3 months before in December 1971).

This is a smashing cover illustration by Gil Kane and John Severin! The overhead view perspective on the three figures as gunshots rain down on them - as Dum Dum Dugan tries to carry an injured Nick Fury - wow. John Severin, a veteran of many war comics, inks Kane here.

However - Severin wasn't the first choice to ink this cover! The editors originally gave Kane's pencils to Ralph Reese to ink. This version was printed as a pin-up in the next issue. You can see that Reese's inks are superb as well, but they make the figures covered in shadows. It really increased the horror factor. I can only assume the editors didn't want this effect. Interesting that someone objected to it so strenuously that they had another inker do it before the publication deadline. Nuff Said!