Howling Commandos of S.H.I.E.L.D.: Monster Squad

Howling Commandos of S.H.I.E.L.D. #1-6

by Frank J. Barbiere, Brent Schoonover (Illustrations), Al Ewing (Text)

Hidden deep beneath Area 13 lies the clandestine headquarters of S.T.A.K.E. - a top secret division of S.H.I.E.L.D. that houses aliens, mythical beasts and all manner of extra-normals. Now, under the command of legendary soldier - and newly resurrected Life Model Decoy - Dum Dum Dugan, these monsters step out of the shadows and defend the world against threats too dangerous for normal men as the All-New, All-Different, all-too-literal Howling Commandos of S.H.I.E.L.D.! COLLECTING: HOWLING COMMANDOS OF S.H.I.E.L.D. 1-5, MATERIAL FROM S.H.I.E.L.D. 9

Genres: Comics, Marvel, Graphic Novels, Superheroes, Science Fiction, Horror, Fiction

160 pages, Paperback

First published June 14, 2016

About the author

Frank J. Barbiere is a #1 Amazon.com best-selling writer from New Jersey.

Frank is a former English teacher with degrees from Rutgers University and the Graduate School for Education.

After breaking into the comics industry with the creator-owned hit Five Ghosts (Image Comics), Frank has since worked for every major publisher in the U.S., as well as having a global presence in France (Glenat Comics), Italy (Cosmo Editoriale), and Spain (Norma) with his creator-owned work. He has written notable runs on Avengers World and Howling Commandos of S.H.I.E.L.D. at Marvel Comics, as well as the creator-owned series Black Market and Broken World (BOOM! Studios), The Revisionist (Aftershock Comics), Violent Love (Image Comics), and The White Suits (Dark Horse Comics).

In 2017, Frank began working as a writer and narrative designer in the video games industry. He has since contributed to the Destiny franchise and was lead writer on Darksiders Genesis and Ruined King: A League of Legends Story. He currently works as a Lead Writer at Skydance Interactive.

Reviews

[Sam Quixote · Rating 2 out of 5]

Marvel have a buncha weird oddball characters sitting around not doing much so why not lump them together into a team and pretend they’re important to have around? That’s basically the idea behind Howling Commandos of SHIELD, a “spooky” Marvel team book comprising: Dum Dum Dugan (a Life Model Decoy that is), zombie Jasper Sitwell, Hit-Monkey, Man-Thing, Warwolf, Teen Abomination, Orrgo, Vampire By Night, and Manphibian.

They wish they were half as decent as Dark Horse’s BPRD or DC’s Suicide Squad - this first (and last - the title was rightfully cancelled after issue 6) volume is garbage!

Al Ewing’s SHIELD #9 opens this book and it’s the best part of this trainwreck. Ewing sets up the series, introducing Dugan, zombie Sitwell, Warwolf, and Teen Abomination and establishes their motivations which are weak but there anyway. Then the reins are handed to Frank Barbiere who tosses in the rest of the gang and it’s never clear why any of them are doing what they’re doing. Like what’s Man-Thing getting out of going on these missions?!

The main storyline is piss-awful: a random kid can summon Ancient Egyptian ghosts and some guy called Sphinx wants to yadda yadda yadda - it’s not even worth discussing, it’s that forgettable. Ewing also set up a more interesting subplot about Dracula that went absolutely nowhere in Barbiere’s hands.

Monster Squad looks like a fun Marvel book on paper but it’s not - it’s the usual superhero team nonsense with a generic goodies vs baddies structure. Poorly written and told in a pedestrian, uninspired fashion, Howling Commandos of SHIELD is one big yawner throughout - don’t bother!

[Chad · Rating 2 out of 5]

I couldn't be more disappointed in this book. When I heard about a supernatural team of agents operating as part of SHIELD, I couldn't have been more stoked. This is geared directly toward me. But it was so boring when it should have been fun. The main villain was Sphinx, a terrible bad guy I hadn't even remembered until it finally dawned on me, he was in The New Warriors in the early 90s. This actually feels like one of those terrible comic books Marvel put out in the 90's filled full of text and paper thin characters. Most of the team members didn't get more than just their name stamped next to them in an issue. There's also a bunch of subplots that go absolutely nowhere.
Brent Schoonover's art was pedestrian with stilted figures. Everything about this screamed failure.

[The Lion's Share · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was really good fun, bring me more Monsterssssss please!

So dum dum Dugan is brought back to life, against his consent, as a life model decoy, L.M.D for short. He can catch bullets and also has super strength. The ever pessimistic and depressing, bossy boots Maria Hill puts him in charge of a load of monsters that are held in secret cells by SHIELD.

Teen abomination, Zombie - a former agent of SHIELD turned into a zombie, Orrgo (a space God alien), Vampire by Night, Warwolf, Man-Thing, Amphibian, Nina (controls ancient Egyptian Gods) and MY FAVOURITE.....HIT MONKEY!



Yes a monkey hitman!!! I know right! He totally steals the show.

Overall I love the dynamic team, different monsters are found along the way and they clean up any mysterious circumstances. They are like Mulder and Scully, but they don't have sex and they solve the crimes.

Strike a pose!

[Shadowdenizen · Rating 2 out of 5]

Let me start by saying the "Spooky Monsters" comic genre is kinda my thing.

Creature Commandos, The Tomb of Dracula Volume 1, Essential Werewolf by Night, Vol. 1, Monster of Frankenstein Vol. 1, The War That Time Forgot, Vol. 1, etc; I love 'em all!

I rarely rate below 3 stars, but this title was embarassingly bland given the potential, and it did absolutely nothing for me, which is, frankly, embarrassing, since I'm not only the target audience, but an easy mark for it!

[Gianfranco Mancini · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read as individual issues.

This series was just an almost perfect mix of horror, humour and action, a real must read for old Marvel monsters fans like me.
What a shame Marvel canceled it :(



Robo-Dugan and zombie-Sitwell parts were the best ones, hope someone take them back sooner or later.
And please, someone set free Dracula from S.t.a.k.e. laboratories and give him back his old look, the new one "Legacy of Kaine"-style really sucks!

[Ed · Rating 2 out of 5]

I like the horror character team idea but this is still pretty standard superhero stuff.

[Mitchell Friedman · Rating 4 out of 5]

This really shouldn't have worked. A SHIELD team of Monsters whose purpose is to catch monsters. And done like a Monster-of-the-week. But the characters were interesting and different. And the team worked well together. And the book was actually funny without being dumb. A lightweight read, but a better than expected one. 3.5 of 5.

[Alex E · Rating 2 out of 5]

What I thought was going to be a fun, easy read turned out to be a bit of an exposition filled slog.

I mean everything was in place for this to be great. LMD Duggan leading a band of rag tag monsters as special SHIELD paranormal team? What could go wrong. Unfortunately, I think this book suffers from biting off more than it can chew. Instead of having an adventure book, Barbiere tries to build relationships and plots, and double crosses, and back history, and double agents and.... it was just too much.

And the art, while very nice at times, at other times appeared very stiff and almost like models for action figures. It doesn't help when at times, the characters faced the camera and stood completely straight.

Overall, I think this had potential, but this volume definitely didn't live up to that.

[Quentin Wallace · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ive always been a big fan of 1970s Marvel Horror comics so seeing a team filled with those characters was intriguing. Overall this wasn't bad, but it didn't really have time to get going. I think the series had potential but didn't really get a chance to reach it.

If you liked any of the other Howling Commando stories you'll probably like this one. It's interesting to see SHIELD form a special branch with "monster" agents to deal with supernatural threats. Not great, but still entertaining.

[Terry Collins · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was ready to love this series, but instead merely liked it ... I think it might have worked better without the current status of Dum Dum Dugan as a self-loathing LMD (a revelation that still makes me angry - I guess it explains a lot in terms of why he didn't age, but still ....).

However, there's a twist that is not very original, in that Dugan is now recast as Marvel's answer to "NoMan" from Tower's T.H.U.N.D.E.R Agents with 100 LMD bodies in reserve. Even worse - we get poor dead Jasper Sitwell as a zombie. Thanks, Marvel, for disrespecting two past agents who deserved better fates than this one.

Also - how many times are we going to the same pool to have evil members of S.H.I.E.L.D in charge of projects with hidden agendas? At this point, it rivals this trope for being overused in every season of "24." However, it was a blast to have Man-Thing and Orrgo on-board. Why we couldn't get other Marvel Monsters from the past (is anyone using Jack Russell/Werewolf By Night these days? Or Simon Garth? Or other Lee/Kirby monsters?).

The Battleworld issues of Mrs. Deadpool and the Howling Commandos sounds like a lot more fun since it did use characters like Marvel's take on The Frankenstein Monster (as well as Dracula and Werewolf By Night). I think I'll pick up that collection at some future point.

So, in closing - a decent read, with some clever bits of action and dialogue, but far from essential.

[Honora Quinn · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was fun!! I did also read the run of Nick Fury's Howling Commandos as a pre-game and pretty much expected this to sort of be the same thing. And it was! And yet wasn't... It was a wonderful combo of new and old character and the sort of classic S.H.I.E.L.D story I've missed. There is so much potential in Marvel monster stories and I really hope we get to see more of oddball teams like this taking more of a big roll. Glyph is so cool and I could actually see her headlining something of her own in the future, Nina Price (Vampire by Night) as well! I know I generally rate things high but I like to see the good and this was pretty much all great! I hope we'll see more Marvel Monsters some day soon! :)

[Scott · Rating 3 out of 5]

I will buy anything with Man-Thing in it, but I wish they'd respect his continuity more. Glyph's story hooked me, but it took a while for me to track down the final issue, and it left way too many loose ends for a six-issue series. The cliffhanger on the final page of the fifth issue wasn't dealt with in the sixth, and Orrgo, who stars in the sixth issue, really isn't that interesting of a character. Hit-Monkey is just plain weird, but Nina, LMD Dugan and Zombie Sitwell get some interesting character development.

[Sean · Rating 2 out of 5]

This reads like a bad 80s cartoon. Random characters, with codenames, together for no discernable reason fight monsters. There are so many jumps in logic that even for a comic book that doesn't take itself serious, its laughable. These characters are all forgettable and won't be seen much at all again, I'm guessing. The artwork by Brent Schoonover was fine but unremarkable. Overall, not worth the time.

[Anthony · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fantastic look into the supernatural and horror aspects of the Marvel Universe and how it impacts the broader Marvel Universe overall! The more muted and haunted artwork compliments the mythos-heavy storyline and exploring what it means to be a “monster” in the Marvel universe was so fascinating to read. The deep-cut villains that are explored here really make this an unusual yet powerful story to dive into.

[Nicholas Ahlhelm · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fun book that ended too soon

One of Marvel's abbreviated ongoing, this book had tons of potential to be an amazing journey into the supernatural end of the Marvel U. Instead, it ends with more questions than answers. But the issues here are all worth the read, so make sure you don't skip it the 2nd time around.

[Adan · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was fine, but it got severely hampered and rushed by its cancellation and the forced Standoff crossover at the end. They were building up Dr Kraye and his machinations (he had Dracula in the basement, after all), but they clearly had to change their plans at the end. I liked all the characters in this, but I feel like I barely got to know any of them.

[Bryan Miller · Rating 2 out of 5]

What a rushed, unfinished mess! This should have been a no-brainer. A Marvel Suicide Squad featuring classic Marvel monsters from a trusted alt-comics creator. Instead, this book felt like...a rushed, unfinished mess (so many plot threads left to dangle). What happened here??

[Villain E · Rating 3 out of 5]

Meh. SHIELD sends a team of mostly-not-magical creatures out to deal with magical things. I didn't recognize most of the characters and they were not (re)introduced well. It wasn't bad, but it wasn't engaging.

[Lisa · Rating 2 out of 5]

Marvel's attempt at a monster mash-up super team that fights supernatural forces falls flat. Random characters with no depth don't inspire a connection with the reader. Elementary school aged kids might be amused by this, but even that's a stretch.

[Jen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I like the characters and thought it was fun. Was it a stretch? Yes. But I mean that is most of Marvel.

[Ron Turner · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cheesy good fun. Best if you don't take it too seriously and treat it as an amusing one-off. I got a kick out of Orrgo and Hit Monkey. Marvel has so many underrated oddball wacky characters.

[Emily · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5

[Kurt · Rating 2 out of 5]

1.5. A reeeally dumb premise. This sort of felt like a really low rent knockoff of The League of Extending Gentlemen.

[Derek Newman-Stille · Rating 4 out of 5]

An amazing comic full of monsters... but distinctly lacking in back stories. I would have liked a bit more personality to the characters and to get a sense of WHO they are instead of WHAT they are.

[B · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm not really sure what the point of this book was. There were too many monsters and none could the focus.

[Brannigan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thought this was a ton us fun. Cool monsters and a fun story. What else do you need?

[David Ray Johnson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Monsters are great

A mix of super heroes monsters and old time action .It leaves so much room for storytelling and chapter growth keep it comming

[wbforeman]

Got through 2 1/2 issues and said this is not for me. I think the art is fine but forgettable. I get what they’re trying to do something like BPRD by putting all the spooky weird marvel characters together and make a team that could work. The writer had overstuffed word balloons that need to get cut down, and I never felt the story was that compelling when I wanted something a bit more wacky, and a bit more sillier over the top but this felt more just kind of boilerplate

[Alex Sarll]

An abortive attempt to do for Marvel's monsters what Guardians of the Galaxy did for the cosmic characters, even down to having an early Kirby beastie with comedy speech patterns lined up for the Groot role. Alas, Orrgo never quite excels in the same way his woodier contemporary did, and too often nor does anything else. The backdoor pilot was written by Al Ewing, and even more than his other Marvel work feels heavily 2000AD-influenced ("WARNING! THRILL LEVELS AT 90% AND RISING!"); it is, as one has come to expect from him, bonkers fun. But then the regular creative team take over, and most of the time it feels like just another superteam, with Manphipian and a robot Dum-Dum Dugan looking different to the usual spandex types but not *feeling* different enough. Sure, there are moments - something like zombie Jasper Sitwell with a rocket launcher, or a monkey gunning down mummies, can never fall entirely flat. But when Man-Thing is fading into the background, you know the whole dynamic of a team book needs heavy rethinking.

[Silas · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was first exposed to this iteration of the Howling Commandos while reading the SHIELD series with the first part of this story, and I liked the idea of a team full of monsters. While I feel that they stretched the term "monster" a little bit (why is Hit Monkey a monster, just because he is an intelligent monkey?), and I don't understand why Man Thing stuck around after he was released from containment, given that he has historically been an almost mindless character, overall, I enjoyed this story. The story is generally well written, and has me interested in where it will go in the future. I also found it rather interesting how integral to a big event this trade gets, which I wouldn't have thought would be the case for this somewhat wacky kind of book.