''S.H.I.E.L.D.'' is a
comic book
A comic book, also called comicbook, comic magazine or (in the United Kingdom and Ireland) simply comic, is a publication that consists of comics art in the form of sequential juxtaposed panels that represent individual scenes. Panels are of ...
series published by
Marvel Comics
Marvel Comics is an American comic book publishing, publisher and the flagship property of Marvel Entertainment, a divsion of The Walt Disney Company since September 1, 2009. Evolving from Timely Comics in 1939, ''Magazine Management/Atlas Co ...
, premiering with a first issue
cover dated 2014. It was written by Mark Waid. The series was loosely based on the TV series ''
Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.'' and was used by Marvel Comics to introduce many characters from the show into the world of the comics. After its cancellation it was followed by the series ''
Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.
''Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.'' is an American television series created by Joss Whedon, Jed Whedon, and Maurissa Tancharoen for ABC, based on the Marvel Comics organization S.H.I.E.L.D. (Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement, an ...
'' The series also had a spin-off named ''
Howling Commandos of S.H.I.E.L.D.'' which picked up after issue 9.
Publication history
The series was published from December 2014 to January 2016 and was part of ''
All-New Marvel NOW!
Marvel Now! (stylized as Marvel NOW!) is a comic book branding for the relaunch of several ongoing comic books published by Marvel Comics, that debuted in October 2012 with new #1 issues. The relaunch also included some new titles, including ''Un ...
'' The first issue had eleven variant covers.
The series features the first comics appearance of the following characters and teams:
:Agent
Melinda May
Melinda Qiaolian May, also known as The Cavalry, is a fictional character that originated in the Marvel Cinematic Universe before appearing in Marvel Comics. The character, created by Joss Whedon, Jed Whedon and Maurissa Tancharoen, first appeare ...
[''S.H.I.E.L.D.'' Vol. 3 #1]
:Agent
Leo Fitz
Leopold James Fitz is a fictional character that originated in the Marvel Cinematic Universe before appearing in Marvel Comics. The character, created by Joss Whedon, Jed Whedon and Maurissa Tancharoen, first appeared in the pilot episode of '' ...
:Agent
Jemma Simmons
Jemma Anne Simmons is a fictional character that originated in the Marvel Cinematic Universe before appearing in Marvel Comics. The character, created by Joss Whedon, Jed Whedon and Maurissa Tancharoen, first appeared in the 2013 pilot episode ...
:Agent Billis
:Grayson Blair
[''S.H.I.E.L.D.'' Vol. 3 #2]
:Mr. Simmons
:Skeesh
:Colonel Myrdden
:Athol Kussar
:Ethan Slaughter
[''S.H.I.E.L.D.'' Vol. 3 #5]
:Horguun
:Agent Jeremiah Warrick
[''S.H.I.E.L.D.'' Vol. 3 #6]
:All-New Howling Commandos
:Detective Nicole Orr
:D.E.A.T.H.
Issue 9 of the series (named "The Man Called D.E.A.T.H.") was an extra large special issue and part of series of one-shots to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the creation of S.H.I.E.L.D. by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby in 1965. The story includes a sequence pencilled by Jack Kirby and inked by Jim Steranko that had never seen print as part of a series before. The issue also features backup stories named "Dugan Lives" and "Nick Fury, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D.: The Man for the Job", the former is part of the prelude to the Howling Commandos series that follow this series and the second is a reprinting of the first ever S.H.I.E.L.D. story from issue 135 of ''
Strange Tales
''Strange Tales'' is a Marvel Comics anthology series. The title was revived in different forms on multiple occasions. Doctor Strange and Nick Fury, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. made their debuts in ''Strange Tales''. It was a showcase for the science ...
'' in 1965.
Plot
Each separate issue is mostly a one-and-done story, with some connections between them but the series functions mostly as an anthology series.
Reception
The series holds an average rating of 7.9 by 72 professional critics according to
review aggregation
A review aggregator is a system that collects reviews of products and services (such as films, books, video games, software, hardware, and cars). This system stores the reviews and uses them for purposes such as supporting a website where users ...
website Comic Book Roundup.
Jesse Schedeen of IGN stated that the series may not appeal much to the fans who are craving an old school type ''
Nick Fury, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D.'' revival, but the first issue does a fine job of drawing elements from the TV series and merging them with the traditional Marvel Comics universe. Meagan Damore of expressed that the first issue focused too much on the character of
Phil Coulson
Agent Phillip J. Coulson ( ) is a fictional character portrayed and voiced by Clark Gregg in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) media franchise. Coulson is depicted as a high-ranking member of the espionage agency S.H.I.E.L.D. and longtime partn ...
and that while he was very well written that could not be said for the other characters. She also said that the first issue does a good job of establishing the team dynamic, albeit lightly, in a fun and memorable way. Michael Maillaro of InsidePulse stated that he enjoyed the fact that story is a complete done-in-one per issue. He also enjoyed the fact that Phil Coulson in his opinion got more characterization in the first issue than he had ever been given before in comics where he is usually portrayed as
Nick Fury Jr
Nicholas Joseph "Nick" Fury Jr. (Marcus Johnson) is a fictional comic book character appearing in books published by Marvel Comics. He is a son and successor of former U.S. Army hero/super-spy and the intelligence agency S.H.I.E.L.D. director N ...
's sidekick.
Jideobi Odunze of GeekedOutNation expressed that if one is a fan of the TV show or Coulson the series is worth picking up.
Prints
Issues
Collected editions
See also
*
2014 in comics
This is a list of comics-related events in 2014. It includes any relevant comics-related events, deaths of notable comics-related people, by conventions and first issues by title.script by Aviraj
Events
March
* March 7: Mafalda becomes the fi ...
Notes
References
External links
*
*
{{S.H.I.E.L.D.
S.H.I.E.L.D. titles