Issue #1 – Mockingbird: SHIELD 50th Anniversary

Title: Mockingbird: SHIELD 50th Anniversary #1

Writer: Chelsea Cain

Artist: Joelle Jones

The Buzz: SHIELD is 50 years old! To celebrate, Marvel have put out a series of lovely one-shot comics in honour of five iconic SHIELD agents, combining mythos from the Agents of SHIELD TV show and from the comics themselves. The characters in question are Mockingbird, Melinda May, Quake, Peggy Carter and Nick Fury – though there are also cameos and guest appearances from many others. Yes, Hawkeye and Black Widow are adorable, but they already have their own books in which to be great. A lot of the media enthusiasm about this mini-series came from the focus on female characters, many of whom have never helmed their own solo titles – and introducing some new female writers to the Marvel stable too, in this case Chelsea Cain, a New York Times bestselling thriller novelist. Her interview about how she got the gig is kind of amazing, especially when she laughs at the idea of coming into comics by traditional means and squees about the joy of getting to give Bobbi her own story.

All You Need To Know: In the comics, Barbara “Bobbi” Morse AKA Mockingbird AKA Agent 19 is a biochemist turned spy and occasional Avenger/Secret Avenger, known for her professional/personal partnership with ex-husband Clint Barton (Hawkeye), for fighting with a bo-staff (which separates into 2 batons) and for coming back from the dead – most recently, thanks to the Super Soldier Serum. In the Agents of SHIELD TV show, Bobbi Morse is a SHIELD agent who joined Coulson’s indie team in Season 2 after a long term undercover operation at the heart of Hydra. She is the ex-wife of British mercenary and SHIELD recruit Lance Hunter, presumably because they couldn’t afford to include Jeremy Renner’s Hawkeye in the show. She’s played by Adrianne Palicki, and so far the show has not debunked my personal headcanon that Bobbi is the new identity that Tyra from Friday Night Lights constructed for herself after she graduated college.

Story: Bobbi Morse wakes up in bed with her latest mistake (AKA Lance Hunter), and her day only gets worse from there. This is a fun, action-packed one-shot with a sly sense of humour, placing Mockingbird as a witty, competent protagonist capable of solving a murder mystery and avenging one of her heroes, an older female scientist who also contributed a great deal to the SHIELD legacy. (Bonus points for Bobbi’s self-deprecating musings on what her life might have been like without SHIELD – as a biochemist in an academic career) A great introduction to a much under-utilised character who really could be leading her own team, or her own solo book. As a bonus, this issue also includes a mini comic introducing Red Widow, a teen hero spin off from Black Widow, who will be properly launched in a YA novel by Margaret Stohl. I really like that Marvel are bringing in more female writers by looking at the popular writers in general fiction, and cross-promoting via different media. The Red Widow/Black Widow comic (art by Nico Leon) is super cute, and a great taste of what to expect from the upcoming novel.

Art: I really like Joelle Jones’ style, which reminds me a lot of Annie Wu’s work on Hawkeye and Black Canary. I especially enjoy the in-jokes and references across the art – the bright colours and sometimes pop-art/70’s style hinting at Bobbi’s earlier comics appearances, the sunglasses that evoke her weird goggles costume, and the focus on her strength and competence in the field rather than her boobs. Not to mention that she drinks from a coffee mug featuring Skottie Young’s Lil Black Widow, and Lance keeps his special bullets in a TARDIS tea caddy!

The first page is especially clever – Bobbi awakes in the arms of Lance, whom she deems Mistake B (romantic smartasses with ties to shadowy goverment agencies & great abs – she has a type) and we get a David Aja style sketch to compare the salient features of Clint vs Lance including patriotic underwear and preferred weapons. The script is cute, but the I-can’t-believe-its-not-Hawkeye art on this page really sells the joke. Also, Lance’s appearances revolve around him being in his underwear, impressive abs on display, while Bobbi is fully clothed and often drawn in positions of power. Hooray for celebrating the female gaze in comics! Chelsea Cain said that Joelle Jones’ version is “the coolest Mockingbird that has ever been drawn” and I totally agree with her!

But What Did I Miss?: Not much! If you’ve followed Bobbi in the comics or in the show, then this story will have extra adorbs and resonance, but it works as a standalone.

Would Read Issue 2?: I would if it existed! I want this to be a real book. Chelsea Cain can write comics for me any time, and I am going to run, not walk to hunt down other work drawn by Joelle Jones.

Read it if you Like: Hawkeye (Fraction & Aja), Agents of SHIELD (TV), Secret Avengers, Hawkeye & Mockingbird, New Avengers: The Reunion

Previously reviewed this year:

Thor #1 (2014)

Spider-Woman #1 (2014)

All-New Captain America #1 (2014)

Captain America & the Mighty Avengers #1 (2014)

S.H.I.E.L.D. #1 (2014)

The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl #1 (2015)

Bitch Planet #1 (2014)

Secret Six #1 (2014)

Operation: S.I.N. #1

Spider-Gwen #1

Curb Stomp #1

Jem & the Holograms #1

Silk #1

Issue #1 – Convergence Special – Oracle, JLI, Batgirl

Issue #1 – Battleworld Special: Lady Kate, Ms America & Inferno

X-Men ’92 #1

Giant-Sized Little Marvels: AvX #1 (2015)

Runaways #1 (2015)

Loki, Agent of Asgard #1 (2014)

Fresh Romance #1

All-New Hawkeye #1

Black Canary #1

The Wicked and the Divine #1 (2014)

Bombshells #1

Captain Marvel & the Carol Corps #1