Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Comic Books

[Vartha]

Right now there are a few titles out there, but one main one. Anyone can start with the details.

 

[Mike Murdock]

Very cool. I was thinking of starting two a week and posting a short review (hopefully people will join in). Like I said, I just read the one with Daisy Johnson, which the first that really felt tied to the show rather than just its own thing. But I'll start from the beginning with my reviews. Obviously, everyone can post whatever they want, but I hope it'll encourage discussion. I'll start on Sunday, though.

 

[Uskok]

But those comics are set on Earth-616, not in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (Earth-199999). Therefore, the only connection between the TV series and those comics is the title and the same names of some characters.

At the moment, there is only one AoS comic set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.: The Chase

http://forums.superherohype.com/showthread.php?t=482289

 

[SirStrangefolk]

These comics are indeed not actually tie-ins to AoS, but instead mainstream comics that try to bank on the succes of the show. I personally don't mind most of the things changed in the comics, but there are some things that are rather silly. Coulson giving Daisy the nickname "Skye" because she spends time in outer space seems rather forced, especially as Daisy and Coulson in the comics aren't nearly as close as in the series and it was also right before AoS started insisting on calling her Daisy, not Skye, making it seem rather redundant. Also, the fact that Hyde formula can apparently kickstart Inhuman DNA sort of undermines the whole point of Terrigen, but then again this is not the only place where this is done, as Toro apparently also has inhuman DNA that was partly activated by Horton Cells.

 

[Mike Murdock]

Like I said, I hope that reviewing these in order will encourage others to read along and chime in with their thoughts.

SHIELD #1 - Perfect Bullets

I know this isn't a tie-in comic. It's the 616 continuity. That being said, it's "inspired by the hit TV series" and clearly draws a lot of influence from it. This issue is all about Phil Coulson the fanboy. The ultimate Marvel nerd who gets to use that to save the day. This one is very Asgardian and mystical. There's lots of spectacle. In the end, it's Phil Coulson being clever that saves the day.

If I had two complaints, they would be this: One, Carlos Pacheco's art doesn't really look like Phil Coulson. I realize that drawing real people may be harder than drawing established comic characters (and I'm not asking for photo-realism), but these aren't that good. Second, this issue is Coulson and the Marvel superheroes. I'd like to see the team do a bit more. I enjoyed Fitz's hologram monkey in the aside at the end, but I wish the characters had more of an impact.

So what did you guys think?

 

[Eddie]

I've yet to read a single comic with Coulson that had him looking like Clark Gregg at all. My Funko Pop of the character bears a stronger resemblance.

 

[Vartha]

That particular image of Phil looks more like the kid on The Middle played by Atticus Shaffer lol

Edit, I liked the Holo-Monkey and the story

 

[DN91]

The concept of Phil being such a fan of superheroes that he read up and took notes on their powers and et cetera over the years is actually something that I can buy.

 

[Mike Murdock]

I've yet to read a single comic with Coulson that had him looking like Clark Gregg at all. My Funko Pop of the character bears a stronger resemblance.

I will say, it gets better. Issue 7ish (the one with Daisy Johnson) is pretty good (and Mr. Hyde looks exactly like Kyle MacLachlan).

 

[Vartha]

Let's not forget the Series that brought Phil and Sam's Nick Fury into the 616 universe.

Battle Scars 1-6

 

[DN91]

I will say, it gets better. Issue 7ish (the one with Daisy Johnson) is pretty good (and Mr. Hyde looks exactly like Kyle MacLachlan).

The random shoehorning of "Skye" as a nickname because of her adventures in space was a bit iffy, though.

 

[SirStrangefolk]

Let's not forget the Series that brought Phil and Sam's Nick Fury into the 616 universe.

Battle Scars 1-6

No, let's

Spoiler

 

[Vartha]

lol funny guy. I still like the concept, and yeah it could have been done MUCH better

 

[Mike Murdock]

SHIELD #2 - The Animator

Sorry I'm late. I wasn't feeling well yesterday and I got into a car accident today.

I like the little opening. My biggest complaint about this book is it doesn't feel like the team gets much attention besides Coulson. However, here we get Jemma out front and, I believe, greater information about her family than the TV show gives her. Her Dad seems someone big and important, but unaware of what she does for a living. Since Simmons is going undercover, it makes sense to give her a bit of an intro.

The guest this week is Kamala Khan - Ms. Marvel. She's a newer character, so I feel like her appearance gives some synergy (fans of hers might check this out, fans of SHIELD might check out her book). Plus, she and Coulson get to nerd it up. It's fun to see her get to be the hero, while SHIELD still gets to play an active role. My biggest complaint is I don't really like the bad guys. I know they weren't invented for this, but they remind me too much of the Adipose from Doctor Who. Plus, seeing people puke them up is kinda disgusting. The ending was nice. It went full circle with the intro and created some good character development for both Simmons and Kamala Khan. Overall, I like this one quite a bit. I guess it helps that I like Ms. Marvel.

 

[Mike Murdock]

Let's not forget the Series that brought Phil and Sam's Nick Fury into the 616 universe.

What did you think of it? I know nothing beyond the fact that it exists.

The random shoehorning of "Skye" as a nickname because of her adventures in space was a bit iffy, though.

Yeah, when I get to that issue, I'll certainly comment on that. Let's just say, while it may have been well-intentioned, it didn't work then and it works even less now. But I have a few issues to go before I get to that one.

SHIELD #3 - Home Invasion

This issue is very plot-heavy. As such, there's no character development and no team dynamic. It's just Coulson. That being said, there are a few powerful moments in the surrealness of the whole thing. The bad guys crawling away from a tentacled monster killing them all is pretty cool. And following it by an ordinary kitchen borders of a scary mental state for the writing team. The solution of closing the book is a bit pedestrian, but made sense under the circumstances and there seems to be some sembleance of a greater plot since Coulson finds writing on the furnace that matches something I believe was connected to the first issue.

The variety of characters in this series is certainly noteworthy. Have to say, I have no idea who Pavel Rasputin is. On the other hand, I do know who Spider-Man is, so I guess that makes up for it. I like how his only purpose for being there is his Spider-Sense. Mark Waid, of course, used to write for Spider-Man, so he has no trouble capturing his voice. Still, I have to say this one is a step down.

 

[Mike Murdock]

SHIELD #4 - Fuel

First off, I loved this cover when I bought it. There's something cool about the blue with the outline of the Invisible Woman both evoking her costume and doing something different. Another plot-centric story. The Mole Man is briefly in it as an antagonist, but the big thing is the bomb in the chest of the guy they're trying to extract.

I like that Sue Richards gets a solo mission. Most of my experience with the Fantastic Four is Silver Age, so this is certainly a very different Sue. The idea that she's having a secret spy life bothers me a touch, though. She's confident, dedicated, and resourceful (her powers arguably make her the strongest member of the Fantastic Four, when used effectively). On the other hand, this is another story with very litte SHIELD. Simmons serves a small plot role, Coulson at least has a moment, but it's all Sue. It's all well and good, but it's hard for a fan of the series to appreciate this without more and you'd have to be a pretty hardcore Marvel generalist to want to tune in every month to see what could possibly be anyone helping them out.

 

[Vartha]

Secret Wars Agents of Atlas #1 came out last week. It's pretty good, but THAT Phil Coulson was killed in the 1st issue

 

[Mike Murdock]

Any good?

Anyone still care that I'm reviewing these? Should I just stop?

SHIELD #5 - Magic Bullets

I like that this story builds off from an element two weeks ago. This show seems to like exploring the magical side of Marvel. And it turns out someone is shooting magical beings with a ... gun? Turns out it's a magical bullet from a magical gun forged by a troll. May, Fitz, and Wanda Maximoff quickly save the day. If it seems too easy, that's probably because it is. I won't spoil the ending, but things get a whole lot worse very quickly.

Team watch: The opening scene had Fitz and May shooting guns. It wasn't really a great use of their characters, but Fitz got to say some techno-babbly lines. I do love the term "Fitzplaining," though.Mike Choi is the artist this week. I think he did a good job of making the characters look like who they're supposed to be. Nothing else stands out about the art, though. The guest is Scarlet Witch. I think they use her OK. There's an interesting dynamic of May and Wanda and how both are fairly cold-blooded and business first even if one uses her wits and skill, the other uses improbable luck. Unfortunately, I don't think it's explored all that much.

Good use of a surprise twist leading to a cliffhanger. But for that, I was going to say it was a relatively pedestrian issue, but that improves things to make me want to read the next one.

 

[Vartha]

I liked Battle Scars like I said Mike. I thought it could have been done alot better, possibally even mixed into the beginning of Sins somehow to allow fans to get moore used to the switch/add.

 

[Vartha]

Any good?

Anyone still care that I'm reviewing these? Should I just stop?

SHIELD #5 - Magic Bullets

I like that this story builds off from an element two weeks ago. This show seems to like exploring the magical side of Marvel. And it turns out someone is shooting magical beings with a ... gun? Turns out it's a magical bullet from a magical gun forged by a troll. May, Fitz, and Wanda Maximoff quickly save the day. If it seems too easy, that's probably because it is. I won't spoil the ending, but things get a whole lot worse very quickly.

Team watch: The opening scene had Fitz and May shooting guns. It wasn't really a great use of their characters, but Fitz got to say some techno-babbly lines. I do love the term "Fitzplaining," though.Mike Choi is the artist this week. I think he did a good job of making the characters look like who they're supposed to be. Nothing else stands out about the art, though. The guest is Scarlet Witch. I think they use her OK. There's an interesting dynamic of May and Wanda and how both are fairly cold-blooded and business first even if one uses her wits and skill, the other uses improbable luck. Unfortunately, I don't think it's explored all that much.

Good use of a surprise twist leading to a cliffhanger. But for that, I was going to say it was a relatively pedestrian issue, but that improves things to make me want to read the next one.

Keep going. I love it, I barely have time lol Atlas confuses me. Is it going to be cannon or what?
In some ways I hate these Secret Wars sort of books because they're like a What-If and anything can happen to multiple versions of one Character.

 

[Mike Murdock]

SHIELD #6 - Dark Dimensions

This issue really isn't one for the SHIELD team (it involves a spell that turns the brightest into Mindless Ones, so FitzSimmons were the first gone). However, it introduces one of my favorite new SHIELD agents - Jeremiah Warrick. A guy who, by reading all of Dr. Strange's spells turned into an owl-man with a suit and tie. The best bit of trivia according to marvel wiki is that he can spin his head all the way around. There's also a clever moment of forming laptops in a pentagram, giving magic a bit of modern touch. The other groan-worthy thing is the introduction of the new Howling Commandos (in all pun-tastic glory). I think they have a spinoff now. There's also a reference to Agent Koenig. It's pretty ambiguous to avoid the fact that he's an actual comic book character and not Patton Oswalt, but it still made me smile.

I do think there was a clever Phil Coulson moment in the resolution. The way Waid writes the character is basically like this: Even the most invinsible character can be beaten by the right counter. Coulson's genius is in finding out what that is and using his resources effectively. I won't spoil it beyond that.

What I really want out of this series are the Agents of SHIELD shining. This one doesn't have that. However, it's actually a really creative story that's loads of fun. Plus, it introduced a new SHIELD agent that works wonders in the comics but wouldn't work on the show. Because of that, all is forgiven.

 

[Vartha]

There was a similar episode on the Avengers Assemble but shadow demons were duplicating the Avengers. I liked that issue alot

 

[DN91]

The issue's ending is very amusing.

 

[Mike Murdock]

The issue's ending is very amusing.

It is. Perhaps a bit too campy and far-fetched, though.

Some other news to talk about:

Mark Guggenheim channels James Bond to bring Agents of SHIELD from TV to comics

Some mild spoilers, mostly teases, but it gives his thoughts on how he's going handle it. I think it's going to be a lot of fun and perhaps more true to the show than Mark Waid, while also being true to what Waid established and while being very much a Marvel comics story. The hope is to post this once a month as well for anyone who wants to follow along.

Also, Marvel announces creative team for first ever Mockingbird ongoing.

Anyway, on to issue 7.

SHIELD #7 - The Strange Case of Daisy Johnson and Mr. Hyde

While I had originally bought the first couple issues, I hadn't really cared about this book. However, when I heard this issue was coming out, my outlook changed. This is one that introduced Daisy Johnson to the book. In the show, Skye was a secret for quite some time. So much so that the promotional artwork for this SHIELD book had to include Skye even though she wasn't going to be a character. But when it was revealed who she was, it was only a matter of time before the book had her interact with Coulson. I will say, for better or for worse. There's a shoe-horned effort to have Coulson call her Skye, which comes off as extremely forced and extremely dated since, even in the show, everyone is now calling her Daisy.

Leaving aside the connections to the show, I thought this was just a good issue for Daisy Johnson and Mr. Hyde. It's often easy to dismiss Hyde as a second rate villain, but I think this does more. The parallels to the show are obviously there. His love for his daughter comes off the same way, but that's something that's good for the books to explore too.
The story is a depowered Hyde being forced to work for SHIELD to cure his daughter, who is rejecting her powers. As a depowered Calvin Zabo, he's capable of human conversations and moments of genuine empathy. Of course, it doesn't last. Fun action scene at the end. Coulson jumps in, which isn't surprising, but there's a nice Fitz moment as well.

In retrospect, this one isn't quite as team-centric as I originally thought. That is, unless you count Daisy as part of the team. But it's fun to see the very different Marvel comic versions brought together in a way that brings the best of both. Certainly, it was necessary for them to have this story and I'm glad they did.

 

[ChrisTinnef]

SHIELD #5 - Magic Bullets

I like that this story builds off from an element two weeks ago. This show seems to like exploring the magical side of Marvel. And it turns out someone is shooting magical beings with a ... gun? Turns out it's a magical bullet from a magical gun forged by a troll. May, Fitz, and Wanda Maximoff quickly save the day. If it seems too easy, that's probably because it is. I won't spoil the ending, but things get a whole lot worse very quickly.

Team watch: The opening scene had Fitz and May shooting guns. It wasn't really a great use of their characters, but Fitz got to say some techno-babbly lines. I do love the term "Fitzplaining," though.Mike Choi is the artist this week. I think he did a good job of making the characters look like who they're supposed to be. Nothing else stands out about the art, though. The guest is Scarlet Witch. I think they use her OK. There's an interesting dynamic of May and Wanda and how both are fairly cold-blooded and business first even if one uses her wits and skill, the other uses improbable luck. Unfortunately, I don't think it's explored all that much.

Good use of a surprise twist leading to a cliffhanger. But for that, I was going to say it was a relatively pedestrian issue, but that improves things to make me want to read the next one.

"Magic Bullets" is one of my favourite issues from the series – mainly because of the great Fitz-May-Scarlet Witch interaction, but also because of the interesting mystery plot. And it's great to see the larger story arc pay off in this one and issue #6.

However, it introduces one of my favorite new SHIELD agents - Jeremiah Warrick. A guy who, by reading all of Dr. Strange's spells turned into an owl-man with a suit and tie. The best bit of trivia according to marvel wiki is that he can spin his head all the way around. There's also a clever moment of forming laptops in a pentagram, giving magic a bit of modern touch.

You're gonna love issue 10 with its Fitz-Warrick team up! I also think that Warrick is a great addition to the team and hope that Guggenheim will keep him around in some way.

SHIELD #7 - The Strange Case of Daisy Johnson and Mr. Hyde

(...) But when it was revealed who she was, it was only a matter of time before the book had her interact with Coulson. I will say, for better or for worse. There's a shoe-horned effort to have Coulson call her Skye, which comes off as extremely forced and extremely dated since, even in the show, everyone is now calling her Daisy.

Leaving aside the connections to the show, I thought this was just a good issue for Daisy Johnson and Mr. Hyde. It's often easy to dismiss Hyde as a second rate villain, but I think this does more. The parallels to the show are obviously there. His love for his daughter comes off the same way, but that's something that's good for the books to explore too.

This issue actually works the least for me. As you mentioned, the fact that Coulson calls Daisy "Skye" is just shoe-horned (By that logic, you could basically call any character who was in space for some time "Skye" – I think that I will refer to Star-Lord by that name now t. Additionally, the whole interaction between the both of them seems off. Here's the – given, important – field superior officer who's been with SHIELD only for a few years, and there's the former director of said agency. Coulson shouldn't be treating her the way he does, at least Waid should have done some flashback suggesting that they know each other from somewhere already.

Keep going. I love it, I barely have time lol Atlas confuses me. Is it going to be cannon or what?
In some ways I hate these Secret Wars sort of books because they're like a What-If and anything can happen to multiple versions of one Character.

Yeah, it's pretty clear afting reading the book that Agents of Atlas is just an Otherworld story. Though I really think that Coulson as high-ranking Hydra official who secretly works against Zemo is a great twist of the source material! And the part where Gorilla Man visits him in his office is awesome t: (Still not sure whether that guard is supposed to be Ward, he kinda looks like him...)

I'm looking forward to the Mockingbird on-going, her one-shot was probably the best one of the 50th SHIELD anniversary editions (with May's coming a close 2nd place). The Fury one was decent as well, mainly because it gave Junior a different look on his father than he had had... Peggy Carter's was forgetable however (and I'll do exactly that, forget that it ever happened).