Legendary comic book artist Jim Steranko, who famously rendered the sixties ‘Nick Fury, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D.’ comic book series, was hired by The Hollywood Reporter earlier this year, to serve as the regular reviewer of ABC’s ‘Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.’  He, uh… hates it.  He’s managed to find a few bright spots here and there, but he is overwhelmingly negative in his reaction to the series, which was created to bring some of Marvel’s cinematic mojo to the small screen.

Regarding this week’s installment, “The Bridge” he yawned about the soapy nature of the show.

In his words, “Last night, soap got in my eyes — and I wasn’t even taking a shower! I was watching Agents of SHIELD‘s big midseason closer: “The Bridge”

He goes on to criticize:

“I’d prefer, upon the investment of an hour of my life, to witness an imaginative, satisfying and complete action-driven story, featuring compelling heroes and villains… It’s obvious by episode 10 that the SHIELD audience is looking for explosive, fast-moving, plot-twisting, high-tech adventure — and not getting it. And perhaps it’s equally obvious that the Whedon audience is looking for complex character studies and mega-issues — and not getting it. Both expectations are valid, but meeting them both successfully may be as vexing as reading the definitive study of quantum mechanics in a hammock during a hurricane… It was clear in “The Bridge” that the never-ending agonizing — not only by the good guys, but the bad guys as well — sucked up valuable narrative time (that’s the stuff that moves a story forward) like a Bissell on crack!”

Ouch!

As far as the soapiness, he lashes out:

“Have I just developed a severe allergic reaction to soap or must I accept being flayed to smithereens by every soporific, onscreen character’s romantic history?… I tuned in to Agents of SHIELD and got As the World Turns!”

He then makes a sexist remark that practically yanks the rug out from his statements.  (This is following a mildly racist remark in his first review.)

So ‘Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.’ isn’t for everybody, especially the man who created his own version decades ago.  Our reviewer enjoys the show.  Do you?  Or do you agree with Jim Steranko?