Civil War by Mark Millar
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Book Reviews of Civil War
Book Review: Graphic SF Reader
Summary: 4 Stars
The old registration story.
The overall theme here is one mined from several of the best comic works of the past, including :-
The Dark Knight Returns
Watchmen
Squadron Supreme
Kingdom Come
Powers
etc.
After a ludicrous superhero show decides that they can take on Captain Marvel level villains for ratings points ends up in little pieces of school children being scattered all over a block or two, the government bows to pressure to institute a registration act for superhumans, where they all work for the government.
That sounds good in theory, but the super geniuses involved, Stark and Richards have plans beyond that, although they don't go as far as the mind control techniques used in Squadron Supreme or kingdom come.
Super-gulags, clones, cyborgs, created armies, hit squads, etc., though, sure, no problem.
The interesting part is that it hinges on Captain America, a patriotic symbol for Americans, of course, and actually used in the past as a propaganda too. Here, though, he makes the decision to lead the left wing rebel group after the new Shield director gives him too much grief.
Part of what lets it done (apart from this having been done better in the past), is the lack of the X-Men - they are kept to their own little mutant reservation, apart from the odd conversation along the lines of 'hah, not so much fun when you are saving the world and the government is out to get you, is it'?
This leaves the most interesting and popular team out in the cold, as Marvel tries to pump up the status of the Avengers, as per New Avengers etc., some more.
It is quite pretty though, artwise.
Things spiral badly out of control, of course, splitting teams, spying, and even families, in the case of the FF.
You can see these in a classic panel or two where Captain America is shown to be crazier than the Punisher, of all people, given what he has gone through.
Book Review: Not just for comic fans
Summary: 4 Stars
Civil War may be one of the biggest homeruns in comic stories. With comics now in the mainstream once again, Civil War takes huge, iconic characters and develops them in a direction that even the biggest fanboys wouldn't expect.
The heart of the story is very layered. On a superficial level, the story shows off the gusto of a well-written Hollywood blockbuster, delivering smart dialogue, weaving plot twists and a superhero vs. superhero brawl that'll appease the pallets of any action-hungry reader. On a deeper level lies a satirical story examining America's current terror-phobic state, with writer Millar not so subtly delivering jab after jab to hot button issues like the Patriot Act and the military's current "cowboy" mentality towards war. This is once of the story's most enjoyable qualities. Seeing these larger-than-life characters not only take their own individual stands, but stands that are reflective of a divided America is not only engaging, it's also insightful.
The story executed superbly by McNiven's detailed pencils and Millar's "Who could come up with that?" style of writing. The story and art marry each other perfectly, coddling readers when it should, and smacking them around when it's not.
Civil War is a surprisingly deep and enjoyable story that not only will impress long-time comic loyalists, but is also very user friendly and entertaining to those not so familiar with the funny pages. Overall, a solid read for people who like a good action/drama.
Michael Ferrari
Author, Assault on the Senses
Book Review: Ok...So theres a Civil War
Summary: 4 Stars
Here's the deal. Civil War has Excellent art so you don't have to worry about that. But I must tell you that if you are an Iron Man fan, this series made me HATE Iron Man a whole lot!!! I moderately liked him before,but after he takes it upon himself to dictate rules and become "MR. Superhero Fascist" I quickly sided with Cap's Underground Avengers. Spiderman is a major player in this story and the X-men are not, so don't expect to see a whole lot of them. The end, however, left me dissapointed. (Spoiler: the rundown) How in the world can you disobey an order, jump out a helicarrier with bullets flying at you, gather an underground team, get your face busted up by a punk in a tin-can costume, almost get killed by the return of Thor, watch your friend Goliath get murdered by Thor, let punisher join your team only to kick his murdering behind back out, mount a last stand by freeing all superhero prisoners of the punk in a tin-can, take the all out brawl into the streets, beat the tar out of the tin-can and all his punk friends after he did the same to you, only to say that you won "everything but the argument," and give up?? Only to get ASSASSINATED in Cap number 25??? Interesting, but not breathtaking.Book Review: Does Not Meet My High Expectations
Summary: 4 Stars
I'm going to keep it short, simple and get to the point.
-Fabulous Artwork and drawings. WOW.
-Great Battle scenes WOW.
-Story is semi-flawed. It builds up hype for a 1 page ending...poorly.
-No accurate characterization of characters. Don't even get me started on Spider-man.
-Too short for something of this magnitude. The ending seems to just END. There is no thorough sum up of the post civil war plot of every character involved...I was hoping there would be the Cap going to court scene..but there wasn't.
-A bit pricy for the number of pages it had.
I personally bought this book because of the new marvel ultimate alliance 2 game coming out. I wanted to really know what the story will be about. I Don't regret buying it because the artwork leaves a high re-readability factor.
Exact rating: 3.5/5 (cant give halves in official amazon ratings)
I recommend it to Epic Marvel Fans, people curious about half of the plotline of the Marvel ultimate alliance 2 game, and fans of great graphic novel artwork. For undecided people, its worth it under about $17, otherwise don't waste your money. <<MasterMind>>
Book Review: Marvel's monumental event
Summary: 4 Stars
As you've probably heard, in 2006 Marvel launched a huge event that promised to change the Marvel Universe forever. Unlike many such crossover events, this might actually deliver on that promise. When the heroes of the Marvel Universe fight each other over a law that requires them to register their secret identities and start working under the guidance of S.H.I.E.L.D., all heck breaks loose. The result is a fun and energetic story packed with action. The art is spectacular, guided by Steve McNiven's exceedingly capable pencil hand, with support from Dexter Vines (inks) and Morry Hollowell (inks). Mark Millar's scripts are often good, though there are a few moments that seem out of character. With a cast this large, that should be easy to forgive, but when those moments include virtually every appearance by Reed Richards and the conflict-ending moment itself, they add up to enough to cause problems for some readers. They irk me, but not so much so that I can't enjoy the collection, which should be considered mandatory reading for anyone trying to follow along with Marvel's post-Civil War universe today.