S.H.I.E.L.D. is a Marvel Comics fictional advanced counterterrorism and intelligence agency charged with investigating and neutralizing paranormal and superhuman threats for global security. It was created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby in Strange Tales #135 (August 1965) and appeared throughout the publisher's entire comic book line. The agency and its traditional executive director, Nick Fury, have also starred in their own series and miniseries sporadically since that time, most notably during a late-1960s run by writer-artist Jim Steranko.