S.H.I.E.L.D. #1

S.H.I.E.L.D. #1
Marvel Comics
Jonathan Hickman
(a) Dustin Weaver
FC 40 pgs w/ ads $3.99 US / Higher in Canada

Well that was an unexpected issue. I’ve been enjoying most of Jonathan Hickman’s comics. Secret Warriors, Fantastic Four and his creator owned Image titles have all been good. And with Hickman writing Nick Fury in Secret Warriors, I figured that this series was an extension of Secret Warriors.

I was wrong. Apparently this series is about a completely different organization called S.H.I.EL.D that has been around since the days of the Egyptian pharaoh Imhotep. In fact it was his shield that was used during a Brood invasion that the organization is named for. Apparently Leonardo Da Vinci, Issac Newton, Zhang Heng and Galileo have all been members of this secret organization and have fought such beings as Galactus, the Brood and the Celestials throughout time.

At first I thought that this was a secret history of the Marvel universe but after reading the comic, there was a couple of hints that this might be an alternate reality Earth. The fact that Stark and Richards are some sort of secret agents kinda of gave it away. The comic was an intriguing read and the art was impressive but with the title of S.H.I.E.L.D. I was expecting something else. While I’m not sure what Hickman is doing with this title, the premise seems interesting enough to keep my interest for a couple of issues. I’ll give Hickman the benefit of the doubt for now. (Shane Hnetka)