Steed and Mrs. Peel #1 caught my eye because of Grant Morrison’s name attached. I’d never heard of this series until the solicitation so I decided to do some research into Steed and Mrs. Peel. It’s a reprint of a 1990 Eclipse Comics 3-issue miniseries reformatted into a six issue series by Boom! Studios. If you’re unfamiliar with Steed and Mrs. Peel like myself, they’re the UK’s legendary spy duo The Avengers. I do like reading Grant’s work before he hit the heights that he’s at now. Reading early Grant Morrison is interesting and him stretching what you can do with a licensed property is cool in itself. Ian Gibson’s art is what sets this out from the pack, I’m not as familiar with him but by the time I was done, I wanted to know more about the Avengers and Ian Gibson’s artwork.
At the beginning of Steed and Mrs. Peel, I have to say I was a little lost, a character named Tara King appears, though I do love the atmosphere around her. Grant makes the pub scene come to life with lots of conversation, while Gibson’s art makes the entire scene feel like you’re there. His expressions are dynamic and lively. After the pub scene you get your first meeting with Steed, I have to say for not knowing much about this Grant does a good job of giving you a feel for these characters. If anything you get to see Gibson’s creative way he has Steed enter headquarters to meet with his boss Mother. I could tell fairly quickly in how they related to each other, credit to Grant for that one. You learn from this that Steed is now in the midst of a murder mystery and it involves the disappearance of Tara King. That’s when Steed has to call his partner Emma Peel to help him on his mission.
The intro pages helped to hook me into the book, they’re set as creative framing devices to help hook you into the story. If you’re not even a fan of the UK Avengers, there is a fun mystery to be had within this story. Even in the first issue of this there’s some twists and turns that I didn’t see company. That and the unique way Grant has Steed and Mrs. Peel enter into one building cracked me up. Who would have thought hopscotch was a valid way to enter somewhere? Only Grant Morrison’s mind on that one. At the end of the issue I wanted to know more about Steed and Mrs. Peel and I am intrigued to see what’s going to happen next in this series.
Reviewing a work like this isn’t easy, I have to say though it was fun to look at an earlier period of Grant Morrison. I now want to see more of what the series The Avengers is like just so I can learn more about Steed and Mrs. Peel. This is one worth grabbing if you’re a fan of the Avengers or just want to see a side of Grant you don’t get to see often. Ian Gibson for some is going to be a surprise, his artwork makes Steed and Mrs. Peel what it is. It’s another factor in why I’m glad Boom! brought this back to life. The 1990 copies are long out of print so to have the opportunity to read this work is a treat. You’ll be glad on many levels that you gave this book a look, especially since if you only reaction to the Avengers is that strange movie with Sean Connery. This book will purge those memories right out of your system.
Review copy provided by Boom! Studios
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