Agent Carter #1

The first noble truth of the comic-book industry is that the cover sells the book. That is certainly the case with Agent Carter #1. When I walked into my neighborhood comic shop Wednesday night my eyes were immediately drawn to Declan Shalvey's art. I pulled it off the shelf and purchased it.

Sadly, the story inside does not live up to Shalvey's cover. Kathryn Immonen, who scripted some interesting material for Journey Into Mystery, teams up her star from that title, Lady Sif, with Margaret "Peggy" Carter, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D., for a completely uninspired tale of suspense set aboard a S.H.I.E.L.D. Helicarrier in the north Atlantic.

I'm not a fan of Rich Ellis' art; it gives me at times a Frank Robbins flashback. In my youth there was no greater disappointment than to discover that Frank Robbins had taken over the penciling duties on a comic-book title I was following.

One good thing about Agent Carter #1 is that it continues to paint S.H.I.E.L.D., an obvious stand-in for the gargantuan U.S. national security state, as an amoral, destructive force.

Where would the Marvel Universe be without the calculating, malign Nick Fury?

Also, based on a reading of this comic book, I might give the ABC series, Marvel's Agent Carter a try.

Below are six "action-packed" interior pages. Fury, having recruited Lady Sif as a co-conspirator, has surreptitiously booby-trapped a S.H.I.E.L.D. Helicarrier headed for decommissioning in order to test Agent Carter's crisis-management skills.