SHIELD [Nick Fury and His Agents of SHIELD] 1973 #1 - 8.0 - $17.00

On-sale date from The Comic Reader #90, October 1972.

• They Are the Unliving! - Cover depicts a scene from Strange Tales #146 (July 1966). Fury's pose is a variation of the one from Page 5, Panel 4 of Strange Tales #166 (March 1968).
• When the Unliving Strike! - Part 2 of 5. Story continues from TALES OF SUSPENSE #78 (June 1966), and presumably the flashback in STRANGE TALES #160-161 (Sept-Oct 1967) which was "too secret" for anyone to talk about. The android-growing tanks appear to pay tribute to THE THING FROM ANOTHER WORLD (1951). 1st published appearance of Count Royale; based on the dialogue the story takes place after his appearance in this month's TALES OF SUSPENSE #79 (July 1966) since his motivations in this story are questionable (his guilt is confirmed in the Captain America episode). Stark's problems with the Senate in TALES OF SUSPENSE #72-84 (December 1965-December 1966) are mentioned; his plant is forcibly shut down in SUSPENSE #78 (June 1966) presumably allowing A.I.M. to offer their technology to SHIELD.
• The Enemy Within! - Part 3 of 5. Ayers inks per Nick Caputo, via the GCD Error List (24 July 2005). Mike Esposito (as Mickey Demeo) is incorrectly listed in the credits. Henry Kujawa confirms (7 August 2007). Story is edited, cutting out splash page to form one continuous story.