The various S.H.I.E.L.D. 50th Anniversary one-shots may be aimed at celebrating the long history of this super-spy organization, but they've also been not-so-subtly targeting fans of the Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. TV series with their character inclusions and storytelling choices. Not that this is inherently a bad thing. The idea of the Agent Carter one-shot teaming Miss Carter with the one and only Lady Sif is actually pretty appealing (and something that would make for a great Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D./Agent Carter crossover someday). Unfortunately, this issue doesn't wind up using this novel team-up to very good effect.
The bland story is all the more puzzling considering that this issue reunited the Operation: S.I.N. creative team of writer Kathryn Immonen and artist Rich Ellis. The book starts out well enough, with Peggy and Dum Dum Dugan butting heads and the latter attempting to recruit the former into full-time S.H.I.E.L.D. service. But after Sif enters the fray and the actual conflict begins, the story begins losing steam. Despite the characters being in mortal danger, there's not a real sense of investment in the conflict. It's not entirely clear why Sif actually needs to be in the story in the first place. This is only exacerbated by the story's resolution, which makes the whole thing come across as a pointlessly loud exercise.
Continue reading…
Continue reading...
The bland story is all the more puzzling considering that this issue reunited the Operation: S.I.N. creative team of writer Kathryn Immonen and artist Rich Ellis. The book starts out well enough, with Peggy and Dum Dum Dugan butting heads and the latter attempting to recruit the former into full-time S.H.I.E.L.D. service. But after Sif enters the fray and the actual conflict begins, the story begins losing steam. Despite the characters being in mortal danger, there's not a real sense of investment in the conflict. It's not entirely clear why Sif actually needs to be in the story in the first place. This is only exacerbated by the story's resolution, which makes the whole thing come across as a pointlessly loud exercise.
Continue reading…
Continue reading...