Planetary is one of both Warren Ellis and John Cassaday's best comics ever, and that means a lot for either of these creators. (Photo: John Cassaday)Ĭreated by: Warren Ellis, John Cassaday, and Laura Martin

play a complex game of chess with their motives and intended outcomes constantly changing, both for themselves and the reader.

It's a delight to see masters of spycraft masters like Maria Hill and M.O.D.O.K. Fans are bound to love the battles set in space and deep in the Amazon rain forest, as well as the lies and double-crossing that runs throughout the entire series. The adventures of stalwart Marvel agents like Nick Fury, Maria Hill, Black Widow, and Hawkeye transforms into a story about empathy, trauma, recovery, and (typically) explosions.Īles Kot and Michael Walsh managed to fuse the fun of big action and crazy plots with all of their even bigger ideas in Secret Avengers. It's a story that plays with the superhero and spy genres, but one that transcends its genre trappings to become something else altogether. (Photo: Michael Walsh)Ĭreated by: Ales Kot, Michael Walsh, and Matthew Wilsonīefore Secret Wars Marvel had many Avengers series, including Jonathan Hickman's acclaimed New Avengers and Avengers, but Secret Avengers was by far the best. Seeing her throw off years of desk work in order to become the top spy she was trained to be is an absolute delight and one that may lead some readers to wish there were women in the driver's seat of spy tales more often. Velvet lands in the very first issue as a fully formed character with a complicated past and plenty of drive. However, the real heart of Brubaker and Steve Epting's comic lies with their protagonist. Velvet contains all of the tropes that make Bond fans drool with great tech, twisty plots, and some eccentric villains.

Cartoon spy agent posing