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: Alias Ultimate Collection #1 TPB

Collects: Alias #1-#15
Writer: Brian Michael Bendis
Pencillers: Michael Gaydos, Bill Sienkiewicz, Mark Bagley, David Mack

STORY
Jessica Jones used to be a super heroine but for some reason she turned her back on this life. Now she tries to earn her living as a private investigator under the banner of "Alias Investigations". But fate isn't through with her. In a new case she gets tangled into a conspiracy of national dimensions – involving none other than Captain America and US-president George Bush! She also has to deal with two cases of missing persons. First she has to find Hulk's old pal Rick Jones. Then she has to face anti-mutant prejudices during her search for a missing girl (and possible mutant) in a small rural town.

REVIEW
Some people obviously can't stand the guy but I just LOVE Brian Michael Bendis - okay, that came out wrong... What I meant to say is that I like his gritty, realistic approach to the super hero genre, especially in his earlier work. I would argue that "Alias" is his masterpiece.

The one thing that really makes this comic stand out is the character work. Jessica is a very engaging character. She is (for reasons we're not told yet) a very frustrated woman who tries to ease her pain with swearing, booze and men. She easily could come across as unlikeable, but in his excessive dialogues Bendis manages to convey that her hard exterior hides a heart of gold. You really become invested in her life, not least because her cases are fresh and engaging. Bendis cleverly uses A-, B- and C-list-characters of the Marvel universe. I especially liked the small character moments, for example Ms. Marvel as Jessics's BFF, Jessica's complicated relationship with Luke Cage or her date with Ant-Man. The entire characters act like real people in these situations.

The whole feeling of the series is very mature. No wonder: "Alias" was one of the first comics of Marvel's "MAX" imprint which focuses on R-rated titles. But that doesn't necessarily mean that you have to stand much unnecessary violence and pointless nudity. In fact there are quite a few sex scenes (one even heavily implies some backdoor action) but each one of them is a vital part of Jessica's character development. And it's the same case with the swearing: As I said, Jessica has quite the potty mouth – the very first word of the comic is "fuck". This, too, never seems forced. Jessica just doesn't mince matters.

Enough about the writing, let's talk about the art: I have to admit, I was at first a little turned off by Gaydos' pencils. Over the time it really grew on me – so much that nowadays Gaydos is one of my favorites and the definitive Jessica-Jones-artist. The keyword here is like in all the other aspects of "Alias" realism. Gaydos' people just look real – not as in "photo-realistic" but as in "authentic". When other artists draw Jessica, they tend to illustrate her as the typical comic babe with big tits and a perfect face. In "Alias" she is attractive despite some problem areas. I like her better this way.

One last word about this trade paperback: I really love these "Ultimate Collections" of Marvel (maybe not as much as I do Brian Michael Bendis ;-) ). You get 15 issues for a very reasonable price (for example just under 17 Euro at bookdepository.com). This is what I call "value for money"!

RATING: A