There's a certain irony in the fact that Marvel tapped Marc Guggenheim, one of the driving forces behind The CW's Arrow, to pen an Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. comic. Where the previous S.H.I.E.L.D. comic was loosely inspired by the cast and framework of the show, this new series makes no bones about why it exists or what audience it's targeting. This series is basically the show recreated in comic book form and within the confines of Marvel's comic book universe. Sadly, it doesn't seem like the comic has captured much of what actually makes the show enjoyable in the first place.
If anything, the comic is more reminiscent of the show in its early Season 1 form, before the events of Captain America: The Winter Soldier shook up the status quo and gave it the focus and drive it needed. There's a similarly aimless quality to this series right now, and little impetus to the plot. If anything, the book seems more interested in dragging Tony Stark into the mix rather than building a compelling conflict. All the drama that has propelled the TV series - Coulson's mysterious resurrection, the Hydra conflict, the rise of the Inhumans - is absent. Not that it would be ideal for the comic to shoehorn those same conflicts into the picture, but it should add something equally bold and dramatic in their place. This issue ignores the one big advantage the comic has over the show. It has no limits on where it can go, what it can do and whom it can showcase. Why is this book so small and unassuming?
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If anything, the comic is more reminiscent of the show in its early Season 1 form, before the events of Captain America: The Winter Soldier shook up the status quo and gave it the focus and drive it needed. There's a similarly aimless quality to this series right now, and little impetus to the plot. If anything, the book seems more interested in dragging Tony Stark into the mix rather than building a compelling conflict. All the drama that has propelled the TV series - Coulson's mysterious resurrection, the Hydra conflict, the rise of the Inhumans - is absent. Not that it would be ideal for the comic to shoehorn those same conflicts into the picture, but it should add something equally bold and dramatic in their place. This issue ignores the one big advantage the comic has over the show. It has no limits on where it can go, what it can do and whom it can showcase. Why is this book so small and unassuming?
Continue reading…
Continue reading...