10 Amazing Comics You've Never Heard Of

9. S.H.I.E.L.D: Architects Of Forever

Mr Hitlers Holiday
Marvel

One of Marvel's moves away from the traditional superhero story, Architects Of Forever re-imagined S.H.I.E.L.D. as an ancient, Illuminati-style organisation founded back in Ancient Egypt. Based in a hidden city under Rome, and led by an immortal Isaac Newton, the series was clearly an attempt at tapping into the sudden success of Dan Brown's Da Vinci Code and other semi-mystical conspiracy thrillers.

While the series stood out for not featuring a single fully-fledged superhero, both Nathaniel Richards and Arnold Stark both put in an appearance, as did a host of famous names from history including Galileo, Nicola Tessla, Nostradamus, and, Leonardo Da Vinci. 

In addition, despite generally being considered non-cannon, various elements of the book have made their way into subsequent series, including the appearance of the Eternal City in New Avengers and a recent issue of Avengers that saw Captain America's recent trip to the same deserted future visited by Richards and Stark.

Architects Of Forever ultimately fell down because of an overly complicated plot which lacked any big named characters to support it. When the series came to an end, almost none of the storylines had been resolved, leaving readers with an artistically impressive, if narratively unfulfilling, vision of three possible conclusions.

Contributor
Contributor

With a (nearly) useless degree in English literature and a personal trainer qualification he's never used, Freddie spends his times writing things that he hopes will somehow pay the rent. He's also a former professional singer, and plays the saxophone and ukulele. He's not really used to talking about himself in the third person, and would like to stop now, thanks.