Book Of The Week: S.H.I.E.L.D. #2

Written by Jonathan Hickman with art by Dustin Weaver.

Why don’t we know about the first super heroes of the Marvel Universe? Leonardo Da Vinci, Imhotep, Sir Issac Newton, Nostradamus and Galileo are among the members of the Brotherhood of the Shield and have saved us all countless times. What events did they set in motion that still affect the Marvel U today? Do not miss the book that will be talked about for the next ten years.

What did we at Multiversity think of the second issue of Jonathan Hickman’s epic retelling of the secret history of the Marvel Universe?

Matt’s thoughts: I think that, in any circumstance where picking up a comic gets you jazzed as all hell to read it, it’s the sign of a great book. In this case, we’re talking about SHIELD #2. I was jazzed as all hell to grab the first one, and with the second one sitting neatly in my “read” pile for the week I’m – well, you get the point.

It’s truly extraordinary what Hickman is managing to do. The man’s ingenuity and creativity is absolutely astonishing, and the way that he has treated his time in the Marvel U is nothing short of fantastic to follow. From humble beginnings, Hickman has brought himself to the point where if he’s not already a household name, he damn well should be with the SHIELD book. He has completely reinvented the way we look at one of Marvel’s oldest organizations, and turned it into something so epic in scope that it could only work under his guiding hand and respect for history. While this issue takes less time to point out the historical figures involved with SHIELD outside of Nostradamus, it does have a lot more focus on to the goings on of what this series is primarily about, and that is the rise of Leonid and his family, with Da Vinci tagging along.

And how does that play out? Well, I already used the phrase “epic in scope,” and I’d rather not spend an entire review repeating myself, so I will say this – Jonathan Hickman’s SHIELD should be the one singular book that every Marvel fan needs in their pull/collection, and to skip out on getting it – or even waiting for trade on it – is only an insult to your own collection.

Furthermore, Dustin Weaver’s artistic prowess in this title is staggeringly great. He actually makes his panels come alive and begin to shake in reaction to an explosion in one sequence, and his various panel structure through out the issue – especially in the fight sequence between Leonid’s father and Agents Richards and Stark – are fantastically creative. I even turned the comic sideways at one point, convinced that I was somehow holding it the wrong way. Weaver’s pairing with Hickman is pretty fantastic in this situation, as Weaver is making the book as much his own as anyone else’s, and one could imagine that Hickman’s writing is essentially paying tribute to Weaver’s supreme sense of style.

So to say that SHIELD deserves it’s BOTW status is to put it lightly. Call me a fanatic, or I suppose even a fanboy, but I’m putting my money down on Jonathan Hickman every opportunity I can, and to have Dustin Weaver as well as the reimagining of SHIELD as my reward for this is reward enough in and of itself, and should be for comic fans everywhere.

Coincidently, after reading the second issue of SHIELD, I’m pretty firmly convinced that Jonathan Hickman could totally beat up Dan Brown in a bare knuckle boxing match. Just sayin’.

David’s thoughts: This will likely be a massively dissenting opinion amongst the rest of Multiversity writers, but I’m not loving SHIELD. Going in, I was about as big of a Hickman fan as anyone was and was incredibly excited about the title. However, issue two was a bit of a downturn in overall quality for me as Hickman doesn’t have the exposition angle to lean on for why the story isn’t really going anywhere nor does Dustin Weaver perform to the same levels he did in the first issue. In short, my opinion of this book is it is a better collection of ideas than it is a comic, and until they prove otherwise I’m more than a little suspicious of it.

Granted, there is some phenomenal stuff here, namely Leonardo Da Vinci. I find Hickman’s handling of his voice to be exemplary and something that pushes the story forward in an exciting way, especially when he reveals that he has returned to reinvigorate SHIELD and to “shatter the notion” that the there is an end to humanity and that the origins have SHIELD have stood on his shoulders for too long. Everything that character is involved with is intriguing and progressive feeling, but whenever the book steps out of that and looks at the Night Machine (oddly referred to as The Night Man in the intro) or any other aspect, the book suffers.

Also, I’m not sure if it is just because he didn’t have the same rich vistas to display or wasn’t asked to do as much as he was in the first issue, but Weaver’s art did not stand out nearly as well as it did the first time through. While still exceptional in parts, some aspects felt rushed and brought down the exercise as a whole.

At this point, I’m still waiting for greatness and for the ideas involved to congeal better into an overall whole. I feel as if it is on both Hickman and Weaver’s fingertips, and perhaps with the next issue we’ll get there. As of now, I find myself considering SHIELD as a book that is standing upon the shoulders of its hype for too long.

Gil’s thoughts: Jonathan Hickman has one of the most creative minds in the business. In every issue of any book he writes, he pushes the boundaries of genre and what exactly a comic can be. This issue is no exception, where he bucks the norm and tells a story where you never expect what is coming. And Dustin Weaver’s art; oh holy crap, what kind of awesomeness is this? He’s overwhelmingly creative and the perfect artist for the series. Hickman said it best on Twitter when he chided Marvel for misspelling Weaver’s name:

There’s a massive typo in SHIELD 2. They misspelled Mohammed Jesus Vishnu’s name as Dustin Weaver. Not so classy, @Marvel

Brandon’s thoughts: After the first issue I was not totally convinced this would be a title that I would pick up regularly. This issue solidified that feeling. While I loved the art and was appreciative that the issue pushed the storytelling boundaries for a title like this I just wasn’t sold on it. For everything I liked I found seemed to find something I equally disliked.

So let’s start with the positives shall we? I really enjoyed Dustin Weaver’s art. I think with this book he is turning in some really fantastic pages. The page that accompanied the prose/dialogue page was the best page of the book bar none. I really enjoy Weaver’s detailed style but I’d prefer to see it on a book like Iron Man or even Thor. I think he’d be a great fit for either of those books.

Another thing I liked about this book was the previously mentioned page of art accompanied with the prose/dialogue page. It felt very reminiscent of the Earth X Aaron Stack and Watcher pages at the end of those books. I liked Hickman tossing that in because it helped to set the book even more apart from the other books Marvel does. I feel out of the box things like that are great to see on the writing style of the medium just as artist like J.H. Williams III continues to push the comic art form in his panel layouts and designs.

What I didn’t like about the book the most is the story itself. DaVinci as a superhero agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. is such a ridiculous idea to me. I know this is a comic universe overrun by individuals who have been frozen in ice for years and even shoot things from their eyes but this just doesn’t jive for me more or less because it feels out of place in the Marvel Universe. While it’s fresh and different it’s just in the wrong universe in my opinion. If this was a alternate universe I’d find it easier to swallow. I mean I suppose it could be but I’m pretty sure this is supposed to be continuity.

Another thing I didn’t like was the placement of the prose/dialogue page. I just felt it was placed in an awkward place in the book. While it was a transition portion of the book it still through me off and took me out of the book at a time I felt the audience should be brought deeper in. I loved the idea but not the execution. As I said it reminded me of Earth X and I found the use in Earth X far better suited the reading then this does.

So in the end I think I’ll pass on this book and potentially pick it up in trades. I know I’m in the minority here but the books just not a flavor I enjoy. I love the creators and I truly wanted to love the book but the fire just wasn’t there for me. S.H.I.E.L.D. I know you think I say this to all the books, but it’s not you it’s me.

Walt’s thoughts: I have a confession. Despite my love of Jonathan Hickman and all the good news I had heard about S.H.I.E.L.D. #1, I didn’t read it until this weekend. I know, how dare I. I wanted to wait until the whole story was finished so that I could read it all in one sitting. I couldn’t argue with #2 getting the nomination for Book of Week, however, so here I am. Honestly, I can’t really complain about “having” to read something by Hickman.

Now, were I not familiar with Hickman’s work, I might be a bit dubious about this title. It’s incredibly ambitious and filled with all sorts of big ideas. Unfortunately, there are plenty of times where a bright young creator will start some comic just like this one (incredibly intelligent and creative) wherein the first couple of issues are jam-packed with awesome ideas and concepts, only to just leave the series top-heavy and let it fade out with a whimper rather than explode with brilliance. As such, most books by newer creators that begin like S.H.I.E.L.D. did typically have to wait a while before getting my praise in abundance.

Lucky for him, Hickman doesn’t need to prove anything to me. With series like The Nightly News and Secret Warriors he has proved multiple times that he knows exactly how to deliver everything the reader feels promised with a great first couple of issues, and I doubt that he will lose that touch with this series. He is just so good at telling a story that it should be criminal, to the point where I would say reading a comic by Hickman probably improves the reader’s skill as a writer through some strange sort of reading/writing osmosis. If I need to tell you to pick up a book where Hickman has nearly limitless control then you’re insane, especially considering he’s paired with the excellent Dustin Weaver in this book.