10 Criminally Underrated Comic Book Runs EVERYONE Missed

1. S.H.I.E.L.D. - Jonathan Hickman

Jonathan Hickman has been working his magic over at Marvel for years now, presiding over a barnstorming stint on Fantastic Four before applying his same talents to the Avengers, which culminated in 2013's Infinity, the storyline that inspired many of the elements seen in Avengers: Infinity War.

However, there's another of Hickman's books that many fans seem to have overlooked, and that is S.H.I.E.L.D. Published in 2010, and featuring art from Dustin Weaver and Christina Strain, S.H.I.E.L.D. was effectively a prequel that revolved around the adventures of Howard Stark and Nathaniel Richards, the fathers of Iron Man and Mister Fantastic respectively.

It's a truly beautiful book, one that blends history, science and magic together to create one of the best espionage stories in the Marvel library. It also provides valuable insight into the Earthly history of the Marvel Universe, and though it was a relatively brief run, clocking in at around 12 issues and a tie-in comic, it was one of the most unique series Marvel published that year.

Hickman is never short of praise when it comes to his work on Marvel, but one does get the sense that S.H.I.E.L.D's status as one of the writer's few overlooked works is a slight injustice. Definitely check it out if you get the chance.