I had never heard of Steed or Mrs. Peel, but after a quick search it appears that they are the original Avengers. Although I’m not a fan of the Avengers at all, I thought this comic would be an interesting spy fiction story. That said, it looks like I’ll have to give it a few more issues because this first issue was very dull and not captivating at all. There’s really not much going on in this issue at all, you can just read Boom’s “What It’s About” two sentence synopsis and spend your time doing something else than reading this issue. I’ll just use their quote: “When an old associate of John Steed is killed, a grand conspiracy is suspected. This will take Steed and Peel to a strange village, where one of the spies finds themself a prisoner.”

With books out like Velvet, it’s hard to appreciate this piece of spy fiction. I felt there was way too much talking that took up too much of the story. I reached the end and just had a feeling of “really, that’s it?” I also felt very indifferent towards the characters; neither the main characters nor any of the others introduced were interesting or had me rooting for them at all. In the last few panels of the issue, something pretty serious happens to Steed, and I didn’t feel anything towards him which is never good.

The art was good but not great; I was under the impression that the cover artist that did the Mrs. Peel cover was doing the interior art as well, so I was a bit disappointed. That’s probably the best way to explain my experience with this comic: disappointing. I’ve been a big fan of what Boom has been putting out lately with books like The Woods and The Last Broadcast, but I’m going to have to give Steed and Mrs. Peel: We’re Needed another chance next month and hope it’s better than this debut issue.

Score: 2/5

Writer: Ian Edginton Artist: Marco Consentino Publisher: Boom Studios Price: $3.99 Release Date: 7/23/14 Format: Mini-Series, Print/Digital