Issue #1 – 50 Years of SHIELD: Agent Carter

Title: 50 Years of SHIELD: Agent Carter #1

Writer: Kathryn Immonen

Artist: Rich Ellis (Art), Rachel Rosenberg (Color)

The Buzz: SHIELD is 50 years old! To celebrate, Marvel have put out a series of one-shot comics in honour of five iconic SHIELD agents, combining mythos from the Agents of SHIELD & Agent Carter TV shows, 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.

All You Need To Know: The same team who created the recent Agent Carter mini-series Operation: S.I.N. are back with an adventure showing an older Peggy Carter in the midst of Swinging Sixties SHIELD. She might be blonde, but this version of the character is definitely influenced by Hayley Atwell’s iconic performance across the MCU, most recently in her own awesome show, Agent Carter, which Australians still can’t buy within our own country, WTF!

Story: It’s 1966 and Peggy Carter is paired with Asgardian warrior goddess Sif for a secret mission – but is Peggy supposed to babysit/spy on Sif for SHIELD, or is it the other way around? This is a splendid buddy action story with a side order of friendship, betrayal and SHIELD-related paranoia. Really nice stuff

Art: I love this retro style artwork for Peggy’s adventures – it worked extremely well in Operation: S.I.N. – and I very much enjoyed Ellis’s take on the mighty Sif, who appears huge in contrast to the elegant figure of Peggy with her pearls and beret. The scene in which Sif commissions the mightiest sandwich in SHIELD cafeteria history is especially great.

But What Did I Miss?: There is a reference or two to the Original SIN mini-series, but you don’t need to have read it. Also if you’ve seen Sif, Dum-Dum or Peggy in the Marvel Cinematic Universe you may be either a) extra invested in them appearing here or b) weirded out by Peggy being blonde. I’m still not okay with it.

Would Read Issue 2?: 1960’s lady spy team up book? Hell yes.

Read it if you Like: Operation: S.I.N., Journey into Mystery (Sif), Agent Carter, Thor & Thor: The Dark World (movies), Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries only with flying cars.

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

50 Years of SHIELD: Mockingbird #1

50 Years of SHIELD: (Don’t Call Her…) The Cavalry #1

50 Years of SHIELD: Quake #1

50 Years of SHIELD: Fury #1