Comics
Why Marvel’s “Agent Carter” Is The Comic Book TV Show We Deserve
I know many of you, like me, may have shrugged off the possibility of Marvel’s “Agent Carter” being any good before the show even aired. For some reason I wrote it off as a cheap way to cash in between the painfully long midseason hiatus of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D (But you know, you’ve got to wait for Ultron to make a move) but it is anything from a cheap cash in. In fact Agent Carter is one of the best and most fully realized pieces of the Marvel Cinematic Universe we’ve been served so far, thanks to an incredible cast, fantastic direction, and having style to spare.
The first episode of the miniseries, “Now Is Not The End” was charming to say the least. Hayley Atwell as Agent Carter is instantly likeable, she’s a strong women in a room surrounded by pigheaded men who don’t like her doing her job. It’s as if Mad Men and Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D had a baby and it got all the good features of its AMC father.
I’m not against Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D but I find it at times… melodramatic. It services plot over character week after week. But with a condensed episode run, Agent Carter is forced to focus on the pure cream of storytelling, namely character driven episodes that also happen to have an incredible adventure filled with chilling villains and a hell of a lot of intrigue.
Peggy Carter herself is thrilling to watch because she means something new for the world of Marvel. She proves that a female driven show can survive and even be better than it’s male driven counterparts. Episode two, “Bridge and Tunnel” featured a phenomenal fight scene intercut with the Captain America adventure hour radio program. You get to see Peggy throw a thug across the room while a hammy radio announcer breaks a lobster in a microphone to show his disdain for that ol kraut Hitler.
The dichotomy is welcomed because it displays the fine line that Agent Carter walks. It could have easily fell into the world of self-parody. It was a dangerous move to give Haley Atwell her own show to headline with really only one supporting role in the film universe, but it paid off. There is confident world building in this show that rivals Guardians of the Galaxy. And there is absolutely no looking back.
The supporting cast does a lot of work to support Peggy in her endeavors. They see her as a leader instead of a doormat. Dominic Cooper as Howard Stark is a treat, he doesn’t really capture his son’s razor wit, but has enough charm to carry a show all by himself. The real thief of the supporting cast is James D’Arcy as Edwin Jarvis. He’s a gentleman who’s skilled at espionage. I mean, he once caught the help stealing the good silverware.
Peggy Carter is a sight to behold. She’s got incredibly confident dialogue that establishes her firmly as the first female hero in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and her staying power is colossal. “Agent Carter” may look like the typical superhero fare, but I assure you it’s anything but. It may be one of the most important pieces of work that Marvel has created to date, and I’m not even sure if they know it.
Agent Carter airs tonight on ABC at 9/8 Central.
Comics
‘You’ll Never Leave This Place Alive’ – IDW Dark’s Next Horror Comic Will Make You Question Reality
Five friends. Four houses. One perfect life. Bloody Disgusting is excited to exclusively announce You’ll Never Leave This Place Alive, a brand new horror comic from IDW Dark.
From Eisner-Nominated writers Jackson Lanzing and Collin Kelly, and rising horror artist Heather Vaughan, You’ll Never Leave This Place Alive is described as a “paranoia-laced, socially-conscious, horror mystery that will leave you questioning reality, and reveal that this crafted world is more of a nightmare than the idealistic dream they were expecting.”
Phoebe Joplin has never questioned the world her parents built: a secluded community where she and her friends were raised to be smarter, stronger, and better than anyone else. No distractions. No dangers. No secrets. Until the night of their graduation.
When one of them dies under impossible circumstances, Phee starts to pull at the edges of her perfect life—and what she finds is something far more terrifying than she ever imagined.
Because this place isn’t a sanctuary. It’s a cage. And no one who discovers the truth ever leaves it alive.
Collin Kelly & Jackson Lanzing (Batman – One Bad Day: Clayface, Star Trek: The Last Starship) co-write the upcoming IDW Dark horror comic, featuring art by Heather Vaughan.
Jackson Lanzing said in a statement to Bloody Disgusting, “You’ll Never Leave This Place Alive is in many ways a spiritual successor to our last creator-owned horror, The Principles of Necromancy – a dive into the promise and consequence of playing god with the blood of innocents. But the Hivemind book this reminds me of most is Clayface: One Bad Day. This is a deeply human story with intensely raw emotions – five best friends and their five mysterious parents, tearing one another apart for the promise of some impossible glory that’s waiting just beyond their darkest actions. We’re thrilled to be bringing this story to life with our long-time partner in crime, editor Heather Antos, at IDW Dark – and we’re particularly excited to give our Clayface fans a new, brutal and emotional horror made just for them.”
Adds Collin Kelly, “We’re deconstructing a feeling that seems universal these days; our elders have a death grip on their power, without any intention of giving it up to the generations that come next. YNLTPA is about growing up with the limitless potential of the future… and realizing how much it’s a lie we’ve been fed to keep us under the yoke of the past. Bringing this brutal experience to life is our artist and co-creator, Heather Vaughan, who brings an incredible amount of humanity to our cast. But it’s in our youthful leads that Heather’s art really shines – you are going to fall in love with these young people, even as they go through the worst experience of their lives. What we’ve all crafted together is going to be tragic, painful, but above all else, sincere – with a future so uncertain, there’s only one thing we can trust: you’ll never leave this place alive.”
“Some horror stories are about monsters in the dark. YNLTPA is about realizing the monsters raised you,” previews Senior Group Editor Heather Antos. “Working with Jackson Lanzing and Collin Kelly on this series has been a dream in the darkest possible way. They’ve built a story that’s layered, brutal, and deeply emotional, and every issue gives artist Heather Vaughan opportunities to push the art into places that feel both haunting and deeply personal. Some horror comics will keep you up at night…this is one that will stick with you for years to come.”
The first issue of You’ll Never Leave This Place Alive goes on sale October 14, 2026! Make sure to pre-order at your local comic shop by September to guarantee a copy.
Exclusively check out the various covers for Issue #1 down below.
IDW Publishing’s horror imprint IDW DARK features comics like A Quiet Place: Storm Warning, Smile: For the Camera, The Exorcism at 1600 Penn, Beneath The Trees Where Nobody Sees, The Twilight Zone, Event Horizon: Dark Descent & Event Horizon: Inferno, and more.
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