S.H.I.E.L.D., Vol. 1: Perfect Bullets

I really enjoyed ABC's Agents of SHIELD. Sure, a lot of it has to do with me being a big fan of Nick Fury and the spy elements of the Marvel Universe. Regardless, Agents of SHIELD was a show that got better with age. Ironically, as the series progressed, it strayed further from the Marvel Cinematic Universe. That's because it was established that despite Agent Phil Coulson dying at the hands of Loki, everything that happened afterwards followed a slightly different timeline on another universe. So despite what you think about Spider-Man: No Way Home introducing the multiverse to Marvel movie fans, it was Marvel's Agents of SHIELD that did it first.

And before I get into my review of this book, can I just comment on the actor who brought Phil Coulson to life on many occasions? Clark Gregg is just wonderful as the walking Encyclopedia Britannica of superheroes and their adversaries. I may not agree with all of the actor's politics. But I thought he brought such an energy to the Marvel Cinematic Universe and the show. I hope he's not truly retired from the role. I'd love to see him interact with Tom Holland's Spider-Man and Cumberbatch 's Sorcerer Supreme.

This series, penned by Mark Waid, was Marvel's attempt to bring the Agents of SHIELD into the Marvel 616 Universe. Waid's been known to make some controversial changes to established DC and Marvel canon. But he did a fantastic job here. 

One of the smartest moves was to essentially have each issue be a team-up with at least one superhero. Coulson, May, Fitz and Simmons conduct missions with the likes of Spidey, Ms. Marvel, The Invisible Woman and many others. The first assignment has Phil Coulson spread extremely thin when creatures from all of the nine realms begin an all out invasion of Midgard. There's literally dozens of comics brightest stars in that story, including Tony Stark who's in his Superior Iron Man stage of life. 

6 different artists pencil an issue in this book. My favorite was Alan Davis' work in the Spider-Man story that takes place in Doctor Stranger's Sanctum Sanctorum. He evoked a mix of Steve Ditko and Steve Englehart's tenures on the good doctor's title. 

The book concludes with an odd little segment of comic strips about Agent Fitz and his new artificial intelligence program H.E.N.R.Y., which takes the holographic form of a green Capuchin monkey. I felt like there were clues or maybe some Easter eggs that were hinting to what will occur in Volume 2. However, if that's the case, I was a really bad detective.

I really enjoyed this volume. Too bad, I don't have the next volume immediately on hand. But I've got trade credit and a hole burning in my pocket. So maybe I'll continue these adventures real soon.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., Volume 1: The Coulson Protocols

Art imitates art in this series, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., based on the ABC television show of the same name. In this volume, a villain bearing stolen Stark Iron Man tech has broken into the Pentagon. Making off with a set of contingency plans to take out superheroes that go rogue, the good guy community is on high alert! For this mystery baddie looks to auction the so-called Coulson Protocols off to the highest bidder!

Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. has some great elements as well as a few that put me off. All of your favorite characters from the show are here- Coulson, May, Daisy, Fitz and Simmons. Only there's no Fitzsimmons here. The two characters aren't a couple. Heck, they're so far apart from each other, I highly doubt these two even went to the Academy together. 

One thing I love in the comic that I wish they did in the TV series was to include the Henry Hayes Deathlok as a permanent member of the cast after the completion of season 1. They missed a great chance to do that on the show. But here in the comic, I could not be more happier that he's used in great length and not just as filler. 

Bobbi Morse, Mockingbird, is also a part of this S.H.I.E.L.D. team. But she wears a costume instead of looking like Adrianne Palicki's version on the show.

It's at this juncture, I must point out that this 2015-2016 series is not a continuation of the live action show.Though masterfully written by S.H.I.E.L.D. screenwriter Marc Guggenheim, you can't expect this book to cover the gaps in-between the show's summer hiatuses. Instead, this book is Marvel's way of integrating the Cinematic Universe with the comics. I don't mind that. But I am so behind on Marvel's new stuff from the past 3 years that there were some plot points involving the Fear Itself and Civil War II story lines that kinda flew over my head.

For one reason or another this series only lasted about a dozen issues. I don't know if that was Marvel's plan or if sales were just that bad. (Marvel has this new habit of running titles for only 12-issues, so that could be the case.) But this was one of Marvel's better current titles. I'm sad to see it didn't succeed. But thankfully, there's one more volume full of story left out there for me to read and consume!

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.