Event Overview: Civil War (3)

Civil War #3

Writer: Mark Millar
Peniciller: Steve McNiven

For the first time the pro-regs seemed like the more reasonable bunch. It's Captain America's fault that things escalate to the first big battle of the "Civil War" - and an epic one it is. McNiven's art together with Holloway's brilliant colouring evoke cinetamtic images. And of course there is Thor, yay!
RATING: A

X-Factor #9: Trust Issues
Writer: Peter David
Peniciller: Dennis Calero

Again not so much of a "Civil War" tie-in, but a continuation of "Decimation" - although we learn with which faction of the conflict Jamie sides. There are some brilliant moments with Layla and Quicksilver and I loved the bantering between X-Factor and the Astonishing X-Men.
RATING: B+

New Avengers #22: Disassembled Part 2
Writer: Brian Michael Bendis
Peniciller: Leinil Francis Yu

In this backstory issue we learn why Luke Cage allies with Captain America. Besides a cool fight between the "Secret Avengers" and a SHIELD unit the best moments of this story are the ones which deal with the relationship of Luke and his wife. Can't have too much of Jessica Jones! And compared to Chaykin, Yu's art is a big step up.
RATING: B

Wolverine #44: Vendetta Part 3
Writer: Marc Guggenheim
Peniciller: Humberto Ramos

Basically we get one issue of Wolverine pounding the crap out of Nitro. To further complicate matters we learn the identy of another group which is after the bastard - a relevation I didn't see coming, but a cool connection to one of the "Front Line" stories. I'm hooked for the next issue.
RATING: B

Civil War: Young Avengers & Runaways #1
Writer: Zeb Wells
Peniciller: Stefano Caselli

I was very looking forward to this tie-in, as I'm a fan of both teams. So I was very pleased that Zeb Wells got a grip on both of them. The characterizations are top-notch - especially the Runaways dealing with Gert's death just feels right. The only thing, which bothers me, is the sexualized depiction of these young adults by Caselli.
RATING: B

Civil War: Front Line #4
Writer: Paul Jenkins
Peniciller: Ramon Bachs, Steve Lieber, Lee Weeks, Sean Chen

Finally, the reporters' stories pick up steam. We have seen quite a bit SHIELD raids in "Civil War", but so far they don't fail to impress. The best part of the whole issue was the cliffhanger ending with Ben and an unexpected villan, who seems very pissed! Speedball's part was ridiculous though.
RATING: C

Amazing Spider-Man #534: The War At Home Part 3
Writer: J. Michael Straczynski
Peniciller: Ron Garney

The anti-regs' raid of a prisoner transport ist well staged, the highlight being the awesome fight sequence between Spidey and Captain America. There are some minor glitches like none of the anti-regs has any visible injuries despite them having their asses handed in "Civil War #3". Oh, and Tony switched back to asshole-mode.
RATING: B-

Fantastic Four #539: Decisions Made
Writer:J. Michael Straczynski 
Peniciller: Mike McKone

JMS rehashes the events of "ASM #534" from another point-of-view. Now we find out how the reasons behind the chaos during the raid, which is a much more satisfying read. Also Ben has to choose a side and makes an unexpected decision. One of the best tie-in issues. 
RATING: B+

Ms. Marvel #6: Battle Lines Part 1
Writer:Brian Reed
Peniciller: Roberto de la Torre

There is nothing really wrong with this issue. I liked the portrayal of Carol, Wonder Man the other players, the art is competent enough, but nothing really clicks with me. The plot is very generic "Civil War" stuff we have seen a dozen times at this point. A hero struggles with his decisions and has to face off against some others...
RATING: C-

Civil War: Front Line #5
Writer: Paul Jenkins
Peniciller: Ramon Bachs, Steve Lieber, Lee Weeks, Roy Allan Martinez

The reporters' stories continue to get more interesting as the other plots fail to impress. I especially hate Speedball more and more with each issue, even though Jenkins wants the reader to root with him. What really drags the issue down is the "Sleeper Cell" story with its depiction of SHIELD agents as evil motherfuckers.
RATING: C

Wolverine #45: Vendetta Part 4
Writer: Marc Guggenheim
Peniciller: Humberto Ramos

Unexpectedly this is my favorite of all the tie-ins. I became very fond of Guggenheim's style with the over-the-top action and the clever twists. Again I really didn't see them coming. And after just four issues I converted to being a fan of Ramos' art. The icing on the cake is the cool conspiracy plot. 
RATING: A

New Avengers #23: Disassembled Part 3
Writer: Brian Michael Bendis
Peniciller: Oliver Coipel

Another suprise hit! This issue is pure fun! Bendis culminates Jessica Drew's emotional appealing story, which he has spun in the pages of "Spider-Woman: Origin" and "New Avengers". Oliver Coipel once again amazes with his vibrant pencils in this adrenaline-filled spy story.
RATING: A

Civil War: Young Avengers & Runaways #2
Writer: Zeb Wells
Peniciller: Stefano Caselli

I really like how Zeb Wells fathoms all possible conflicts between the two teams. A new player, No-Vahrr, is introducing. He seems to be an existing character, but I don't no anything about him. The only thing which bothers me is that all these young girls obviously underwent breast surgery when they were 14...
RATING: B-

Ms. Marvel #7: Battle Lines Part 2
Writer:Brian Reed
Peniciller: Roberto de la Torre

The scenes with Araña were cool but they were the only interesting pages of this issue. The chase of Arachne (as they said in the comic itself, there are to many spider-related characters...) is pretty dull.
RATING: D

Review: Avengers Disassembled HC

Collects: Avengers #500-#503, Avengers Finale

Writer: Brian Michael Bendis

Pencillers: David Finch (Avengers #500-#503), Oliver Coipel (Avengers Finale)

STORY

Shit hits the fan at Avengers Mansion: Mysterious attacks decimate the world’s team of super heroes. Tony Stark (USA's current Secretary of Defence) goes nuts in front of the UN. She-Hulk fights her own allies. Somebody obviously messes with our friends. Somebody with the ability to bend reality. Somebody they know…

REVIEW

First of all, let me say this: This isn’t a very good comic. The story seems rushed, the art suffers from David-Finch-syndrome (all characters look exactly the same) and the end is one of this anticlimactic deus-ex-machina-moments. And yet I like it!

"But why", you ask? Because two years ago, when I was searching for an entry point into the Marvel universe, I found it in this comic event. This comic was supposed to be, as I would put it, some kind of "soft reboot". In 2004 many Marvel series were stagnating creatively. So the powers that be decided to infuse them with some fresh blood and provide the readers with a new, easy-to-understand status quo. The series with the greatest need for innovation certainly was "Avengers". For one of Marvel’s flagship titles were put on the back burner for far too long. The team was crowded with C-list characters nobody really cared about. So Bendis did the necessary thing: In just four issues he managed to throw all excess parts of the "Avengers" overboard and to set things up for more exciting stories to come.

But you have to break an egg to make an omelet. And to form a new "Avengers" team you have to disband the former. Naturally some heroes die in the course of this - in one case a fan favorite. Just as naturally, the fans were furious. This is understandable but I had the advantage of not having much of a relationship with most of these characters, so for me these deaths really served their purposes: to set the wheels in motion for the things to come. And boy, the pay-off was great: Many wonderful series and events (like "New Avengers", "Young Avengers" and "House Of M") spun out of this "Avengers Disassembled".

The plot itself was therefore no real issue for me - the execution was. This book is a typical example of the old Bauhaus-principle "form follows function". Bendis obviously knew where he wanted to go with this run, but didn't bother much about how to get there. There isn’t much suspense in this story. It is also very annoying that the Avengers themselves don't have to do much - except for being present. In the end all problems are solved by Dr. Strange - who isn’t even on the cover!

So, in the end this is what the open-minded reader gets: An okay-ish story with some okay-ish character moments, okay-ish action scenes and okay-ish art. But - as I said - it’s the perfect place to hop on the "Avengers" trains. And that’s a ride you don't want to miss.

RATING: C-