Civil War by Mark Millar
|
List Price: Our Price: $14.56 You Save: $10.43 (42%) Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Buy Used: from $8.29 (click here) Category: Book See more book details and other editions |
|---|
Book Reviews of Civil War
Book Review: I Loved It
Summary: 5 Stars
Now I've been looking at getting into graphic novels for a long time and I have always been very interested in the Marvel Universe and the prospect of a civil war as depicted in this book. Although I've never read a single comic book in my life, I've always been aware of the great superheroes and their particular backgrounds. Apart from the odd one or two however, seriously, who the hell are Goliath and Wasp? This being my first graphic novel and with me generally being a comic book snob and turning my nose up at any comic book or graphic novel, I was genuinely surprised by how much I was taken in by the story and enjoyed the artwork.
The story starts off with young aspiring superheroes doing a bit of crime fighting for a reality TV show, but something goes wrong and one of the villains attacked is a living bomb and explodes killing a lot of civilians and destroying a hell of a lot of land and homes. This is the fuse that sets off the bomb (metaphorically speaking) which is the mass appeal for a Superhero Registration Act. This ensures that all those who are born with or gain super powers are to register to and work for the government as a superhero police force, or risk being locked away for vigilantism or being a danger to the public if they refuse to register.
Reed Richards and Iron Man are in favour of the act and lead their army in finding and capturing the opposition which is led by Captain America, who simply wants to retain his freedom. The side of Iron man argues that working for the government as part of a policing force would place superhero teams distributed across all states, creating a balanced super protection force. It would also allow superheroes to be paid for their services and give them accountability for the damage caused by the means of which they use to stop the super villains and if there are any civilian casualties.
Of course, with two of the Marvel Universe's most politically minded characters, Captain America and Tony Stark disagreeing there were bound to be massive fireworks. The fireworks are not just sparklers that you wave in your friends face and accidentally stab them in the eye with it, landing them in hospital and blind in one eye; these are nuclear bombs of a superhero breed. Featuring some of the biggest superheroes in the Marvel Universe as a part of the front line army, you really get to feel the epic nature of the situation being depicted in the story.
Mark Millar of Wanted movie and comic book fame pens the storyline for this one and from what I knew about the main characters before going into the story, his writing style really manages to emphasise the individuals core personality and allows you to truly understand their motivation. Tony Stark being a government weaponry guy, would naturally be in agreement with this act as it would allow for S.H.I.E.L.D. to gain a more prominent role in U.S. civilian protection, and Captain America feels that it would be unconstitutional to force superheroes to register against their will and fights in favour of an Americans basic freedoms.
The illustrations by Steve McNivern and colouring by Morry Hollowell is really well done and again presents the epic nature of the story and the settings brilliantly. Supremely artistic allows it to become all the more appealing to the reader, as it's not only exciting and enjoyable to read, but really beautiful to look at and enjoy visually. After reading this, I really want to get into graphic novels and see some more work by Mark Millar meaning my next read may be "Red Son" the Superman story set in an alternative universe where he lands in Cold War Russia rather than America. Maybe I'll just join the hysteria and buy Watchmen, but overall I loved this book and for anyone else looking at getting into graphic novels I would say this would be a great starting point.
Comment
Book Review: Sophisticated Story by a Top Writer
Summary: 5 Stars
In Civil War, Mark Millar does what he does best. He tells an intriguing and sophisticated story about super-heroes wrestling with complicated and morally ambiguous issues. His versions of many of Marvel's oldest super-heroes will seem slightly unfamiliar but ultimately the story and its heroes are very compelling.
Civil War begins when a group of young super heroes known as The New Warriors attempt to apprehend a group of super-villains while simultaneously promoting themselves on a reality television show. One of the villains (Nitro) explodes, levelling the town of Stamford Connecticut. The massive death and destruction wrought by the explosion leads to calls for the registration of all super-powered beings with the federal government.
Some heroes such as Iron Man and Reed Richards support the idea of superhero registration but others such as Captain America resist it. Ultimately this leads to a Civil War between the two camps which is filled with its own share of ironies and tragedies (including the death of the hero Goliath).
Millar does a good job of exploring the motives and thinking of the leaders of the two camps (Iron-Man and Captain American). The clear distinction between good and evil that is present in most comic book story lines is almost completely absent here. Both sides struggle to come to terms with how their actions will influence society and the super-hero community at large. Millar himself tends to let his characters speak for themselves rather than trying to lead the readers toward any particular judgment.
The story itself is tightly paced and has some very suspenceful action sequences. Overall, I would rate it is one of the best comic book story lines in recent years. I can understand why it would leave comic book readers who crave a more clear cut handling of moral issues a bit unsatisfied. But if you want a book that uses super-heroes to wrestle with some of the complex moral questions we face in the twenty-first century, this is a great read.
Book Review: One of The Greatest Novels Ever!!!
Summary: 5 Stars
Alright so Civil War Starts off with a group of young heroes trying to arrest some bad guys hiding out next to a school. To their suprise one of them is an atom bomb type villian. He Blows up half the block including the school. Alot of kids are killed. So the Government wants Heroes to register iheir identities & unmask. That way the public can feel comfortable around them again. Iron Man is quick to side with the Government. Captain America is called in by S.H.E.I.L.D. to sign-up to register. What Cap doesn't know is that S.H.E.I.L.D. is ready to kill him if he doesn't sign up. Very soon S.H.E.I.L.D. gets their Behinds handed to them by Cap.(Bullets Missing Him By Inches) He escapes & goes underground. Iron Man Learns of his actions & Calls in groups of new Heroes & Groups of Villains, who now work for S.H.E.I.L.D., to hunt, capture, & to bring Cap to Prison. Many Heroes Pick Their Sides by Instinct. The Ones that picked to Register join Iron Man. Shortly after, they are sent to Arrest the Unregisterd Heroes. The Ones who chose to follow Cap go underground & put a base together. The first huge fight ends in tragedy, one of our heroes dies. The Death makes many uneasy & angry. A couple switch sides & fight based on their emotions. Along the way more Fights occur. Heroes are Put In Jail. People are Betrayed. Heroes get their Revenge. The Story is the Best I've Read In Years. If You Liked Batman:Hush. I recommend this to you. Great Story, Great Art Work, Great Read.
Iron Man's Side - She-Hulk, Thor, Spider-Man, S.H.E.I.L.D., Venom, Bullseye, Green Goblin, Black Widow, Bishop, Reed Richards, The Sentry, Ms. Marvel, Ant-Man, The Thing, Jack O' Lantern...
Captain America's Side - Hercules, Luke Cage, Spider-Man, The Punisher, Sue Storm, Human Torch, Black Panther, Storm, Falcon, Daredevil, Goliath, Spider-Woman, Namor, Cable, Young Avengers..
Book Review: Just Let Millar Write All the Events
Summary: 5 Stars
I liked Civil War a lot. It wasn't perfect, but it was more entertaining than most of the other Marvel events. Bendis tended to just put characters in a room and randomly select a superhero for a line. Millar finds how every single hero would fit in this event, and then he weaved a story that was true to every single character. The pro-registration characters all have legitimate reasons, as well as the resisting characters who have sound reasoning. The story is intelligent with a strong theme. What do we do when we have too many superheroes causing damage and casualties in their wake. Do we let them battle without training to prevent our sons and daughters from dying? It was a very alarming message and I enjoyed seeing how this idea panned out.
Like I said, unlike Bendis, Millar uses every character carefully and usefully. Millar is just the guy that knows excatly what all these heroes would do in this situation. It was a thrill to see them all interact and fight for all the right reasons. I never really picked a side, because they both had very good points. I think it is a valuable battle when you struggle to pick a side. As for the ending, yes it was a little unexciting, but I liked it. Finally Cap realizes the message Iron Man is trying to get across. It wasn't a surrender, it was a epiphany. I didn't feel like it was a "give up" ending. The reasons behind it were all valid. Sure, it wasn't epic, but does it have to be? Finally one side just discovers what they're really doing. I believe it was more enjoyable to see these characters end with a settled argument, instead of who punched who harder and who surrenders to the violence.
Book Review: great art, great story, nay-sayers begone
Summary: 5 Stars
Reading many of the reviews regarding this TPB has made me rather upset about the community, and reminded me why I typically stay away from "Critics" reviews; usually, they know nothing about what they are talking about.
This book, Civil War, is directly about the event that occurred within the Marvel Universe, the Civil War. Looking simply at that book, Civil War is filled with a wonderful story that may not delve too deeply into the characters that play a role within it, but deals primarily with the events that bring the characters together. It addresses many issues about modern society's need to regulate damn near everything, stripping away civil liberties one by one, and the broad reasons and reactions people have to those events.
When you read through Civil War, you must read it almost like you would read a newspaper article about such an event. It covers the major parts of the story, leaving you to look into side stories that give this story humanity. It does it with AMAZING art, great scripting, and wonderful pacing. Wanna find out why Peter Parker unmasked himself, read the Civil War: Amazing Spider-Man book (really, it's also very good). Curious about Iron Man's strong convictions for a registration, check out Civil War: Iron Man. You won't find much more than a mere mention of it here, this book deals with the event, but you will not be disappointed.
After a 5 year hiatus from reading comics, this is the series that got me back. If nothing else, that should give this book some merit.