Because Monkeys, That’s Why: Joe Quesada Draws Fitz From Marvel’s Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D.

There is a dearth of comics news between Christmas and New Year’s, for the same reason there is a dearth of anything else going on other than liquor sales during that same time: everyone is on vacation.

So on days like these, while we are trying to get our heads around our inevitable Best of 2013 posts to appear later this week, we’ll take what comics-related news we can get. And what we got is the birthday of Iain De Caestecker, the dude who plays Fitz on Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Which normally would be about as comics-newsworthy as The Crow: Wicked Prayer star Edward Furlong picking up yet another drug-related arrest, but in the case of De Caestecker’s birthday, he got himself a gift from Marvel’s Chief Creative Officer Joe Quesada. A present in the form of a Quesada drawing of his character. With a monkey.

You can check the image out after the jump. Or not. Look, this is as good as it’s gonna get today, folks. You’re just lucky you didn’t get 500 words about Reb Brown approaching a stranger and asking if they want their groceries bagged in paper or plastic.

Turns Out Aguilera Is Scorpio: New Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D. Spot With Non-Pilot Footage

Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. debuts tonight at 8 p.m. Eastern time, and its long-term fate is very much in the balance, what with the crippling competition it faces from Seth Green’s Dads and reruns of Amish Mafia on The Discovery Channel.

Actually, the show is not necessarily a slam dunk: it is opposite NCIS on CBS, and I can tell you this: even though my parents brought me up on comic books, there is not a force on Earth that will convince them to watch something that is opposite that nice Mark Harmon smacking that other nice man in the head three times per episode. Further, it is debuting opposite The Voice on NBC, and must therefore battle against whatever dark and unholy forces that Christina Aguilera has allied herself with to remain famous for this long.

We, however, will be watching it (and if we decide to hit the liquor store before 8, possibly live-Tweeting it) because, between S.H.I.E.L.D. and WB’s Arrow, this could mark the first time there are two superhero shows we can watch per week since the days of late-season Heroes and The Cape, which was a double-whammy experience that made us die inside a little. Kinda like dining on cotton candy and old, spoiled meat.

So we want to build up a little excitement for this series, and therefore we’re gonna give you a new, 90-second commercial for the show, which is also the first  to contain footage from episodes that aren’t the pilot.

So, as Stan The Man used to (kinda) say: Don’t Yield (To Aguilera And The Forces of Eternal Evil), Back S.H.I.E.L.D! And check out the spot after the jump.

Watch The Cast Of Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D. As They Interview With…Michael Symon?

Damn it, Marvel/Disney/ABC – stop mixing my chocolate with my sriracha.

Last night, ABC unveiled a six minute promo clip that featured interviews with Gregg Clark, Ming-na Wen, and other members of Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D. by none other than celebrity chef, Michael Symon. Symon, when not appearing on Iron Chef America or actually running his restaurants, apparently also hosts the ABC daytime talk show, The Chew. I’d like to say that program is like The View and Rachel Ray had a mutant waterhead baby, but it is day time programming and I have a job. Either way, having Symon, of all people, interview this cast is about as appropriate as having Chris Cosentino write a Woverine comic; it gets the job done, but mostly just leaves you shaking your head and asking why.

Mercifully, the promo is fairly on point and gives the viewers a good glimpse into the upcoming show with only a minor veer off into Symon’s Joker impersonation oddball laughing fits. Sadly though, no Lola. Watch after the jump.

The Lola Is My Penis: Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Full Trailer Released

Waitaminute, Waitaminute, WAITaminute… this is a Joss Whedon show… based on a movie by Joss Whedon… and someone he killed comes back to life?

Well, someone who isn’t named Buffy?

Okay, I’m getting ahead of myself here.

It was just Friday when ABC formally announced that they had made an order for Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., and normally when a show developed by Whedon is announced, the normal immediate network response is something like, “…and we don’t know when to schedule it or how – or if – it should be promoted! The empty suits on the Top Floor, who split their time between programming decisions and rapid cocaine disposal, have recommended pretending that this program will never air! Now let’s talk about Whitney Cummings’s new magnum opus!”

But that reaction was for shows that aren’t related to a movie property that has grossed roughly a bazillion dollars in the past year. For Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., not only has ABC already announced that it will air on Tuesdays at 8 p.m. this fall (although the premier date has not been announced), but today they have released the first full-length trailer for the show, which you can search for on Google, or perhaps Altavista, to watch on the online video platform of your choice.

Yeah, just kidding; you can check it out after the jump.