CIVIL WAR #1

Updated Sunday 15 May, 2011 12:18 PM

CIVIL WAR #1 REVIEW

Reviewer: W. Molstad, mols0019@umn.edu
Story Title: Civil War: Part One of Seven

"His name is the Watcher, Spider-Woman, and he only appears to record moments of great change and enormous upheaval." - Dr. Strange

Writer: Mark Millar
Artist: Steve McNiven
Inker: Dexter Vines
Colorist: Morry Hollowell
Letterer: Chris Eliopoulos
Assistant Editors: Molly Lazer and Aubrey Sitterson
Associate Editor: Audrey Schmidt
Editor: Tom Brevoort
Editor In Chief: Joe Quesada
Publisher: Dan Buckley
Published By: Marvel Comics

Some of the most sought-after stories of the Silver Age of Comics are those in which two powerhouse superheroes go toe-to-toe due to some trivial spat. Deep down in many fans is an urge to quarrel with each other over the timeless question often posed since then - "Who would win?" It takes a skilled writer to portray the answer for such a captious crowd.

Yet Mark Millar, the writer of Civil War #1, has decided that another examination is much more important - "Why do they fight?" I have an intuition that after all of the battles to come, after the victories have been tallied, readers will be be more concerned about what tugged at their heartstrings. Such will be true if Millar's issues continue to show such an enormous amount of zeal on his part. He certainly gives superheroes a good reason to have a fight, and it doesn't take him long to flesh out the arguments.

The reason is one of the most compelling things about this first issue. I've always felt that the Marvel Universe has been best when it examines the struggles that we have to deal with, personally or politically. It's what makes Spider-Man so interesting. Peter Parker's vigilante nature has often been questioned since long ago. The Daily Bugle of course portrays him as more trouble than he's worth. In Civil War, the media has a field day. J. Jonah Jameson stands behind Peter like a vulture ("I hope you're getting all of this, Parker.") after the funeral for the victims of the inciting "Stamford Disaster". And along with the media and shifting public opinion, the US Government decides to finally take action. The heroes need somewhat of a leash.

This single introductory issue proves that this series is a step above last summer's very confusing event from the same publisher, the well-hyped House of M. The writer is not known for decompressed stories. I'd say that it would take four issues at the House of M's pace to tell what is told here. Part of the strength of this story is that it does not take place in an alternate universe, or inbetween them. Also, what's happening is laid out very clearly. The tension of the situation is not mysterious or vague. It's in your face, but not without room for future surprises. You can tell too that Millar wants to give the artist clever action sequences to draw.

And the story would not be so graspable without the uniquely clean-lined, dynamic, and detailed illustrations of Steve McNiven. His style is recognizable without being too uniform or avant-garde. I'm very tired of art that you have to examine very closely. McNiven shows off his skills with more subtlety than most have in his position. He seems more concerned about the readability. The fight scenes jump out of the panels, just like Speedball or Captain America would. But yet tragic scenes too get a lot of work, especially those involving the ruins of the Stamford Disaster and one involving an unlucky member of the Fantastic Four.

The illustrations can be summed up in one word - cinematic. There are lots of "wide-angel" panels, detailed crowd scenes, and character-specific closeups. McNiven does layouts like a 35mm camera. Yet this is still a comic book, deservedly stylized and not as hyper-realistic as the super-detailed Bryan Hitch, the painted Alex Ross, or the photo-referencing Greg Land. Plus it comes out on time.

Dexter Vines gives another boost to McNiven. His inks help keep the story running smoothly from page to page. Morry Hollowell gives each scene in the book its own tone. He also adds personality to the characters by playing with the colors in their scenes. Given the cast, there are a lot of egos to portray.

The writer too keeps it under control despite the large roll-call. There are a few main characters hand-picked in this, and yet plenty of standout moments by those relegated to a more minor position. I was surprised at how realistic Millar was able to keep his dialogue. It doesn't seem nearly as forced as in most big events. The characters run the plot, not vice-versa. This alone makes it more accessible than Infinite Crisis has felt. And alot more fun, I might add.

There are representatives from across the Marvel Universe here, with no undue focus on the usual mutant suspects - The X-Men. I'm sure that they'll have a place here, but it doesn't have to be front and center. The Avengers, Fantastic Four, and characters in the Marvel Knights line show up too. What I especially like about the editors is how they included the more unknown characters in the story without forcing the reader to have read obscure tie-ins.

This especially works well with the already-printed New Warriors scene at the beginning. Also, it was thoughtful of the Editor in Chief to put footnotes at the end of the story in case someone wants to pick up some trades to find out who the lesser-known heroes are. The important thing is, you don't need to buy anything in some additional limited series to understand the plot. But if you're a collector, there certainly is the option of tie-ins. I think that New Avengers: Illuminati is the strongest one so far. At least Civil War itself is not intimidating for a less-experienced reader.

The non-variant cover is unusually designed. It seems that they are aiming for the book market again. Is this another sign of how the monthly book format is falling to the trade paperback? The lettering and horizontal wrap tries to strike a serious tone. Some regular readers might be annoyed. And if you want a typical cover, you'd have to buy Michael Turner's variant. This may annoy readers even more because it is done in the style of Fathom. It would be nice to see Michael Turner tone his "pretty boys and tough guys" thing down a bit. But it's just a cover.

One thing that Millar does in Civil War is contrast the regular, almost 67-year old Marvel Universe (known as the "616") with its "Ultimate" counterpart. He seems to be the man to do it - being responsible with starting nearly all of the Ultimate books, and being famous for the Ultimates. He shows how the Marvel Universe teams couldn't just be set up to work for the government as the Ultimates do. If you've read both that book and Civil War, Captain America will be the character who provides the easiest contrast.

He's also the main character here, so far, as the first champion of the "anti-registration" side. Iron Man gets some great moments to explain his position, the "pro-registration" side, but I think we'll be seeing more of him in the next issue. Plus the government itself, between SHIELD and the White House, is finally depicted in a more realistic light. It's nice to see them portrayed as not completely stupid. They are the ones in power, after all.

And their decision to have superheroes sign up should not be without consequences. And that's exactly what we need. I seriously hope that Marvel's promise of a departure from the status quo actually happens this time. It would set Civil War apart from all crossovers since the 1980's. What has really changed since then is not as much the characters or their relationships, but moreso the overall quality of the art, writing, and the production itself of comic books. We need another step.

This limited series is not trying to "reset" anything back to "the way things used to be". A "reset" is not what readers need, and it certainly isn't what the market needs. The 30 and 40-year olds who run the comic book industry need to adapt, too. You have to try something different when everything goes around in such a cyclical pattern. And yet Stan Lee and Roy Thomas were constantly putting their comics through upheaval year after year in the old days. Maybe we could at least return to that.

So maybe the Watcher actually did appear for a good reason. I certainly haven't seen him for a long time. Maybe he's just here to watch how exciting this is going to become. Let's just hope that the creative team keeps it up.

OVERALL:

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