Graphic Novel Review- Civil War

Firstly this week I'll address something- for the pedants among us, I'm aware that in reviewing some one-shot series alongside collections of issues all relating to one storyline arc but published across different in-universe series I'm playing fast and loose with the term graphic novel. However, according to Wikipedia, [Show][Hide]
the term is not strictly defined, though one broad dictionary definition is "a fictional story that is presented in comic-strip format and presented as a book."[3] In the publishing trade, the term is sometimes extended to material that would not be considered a novel if produced in another medium. Collections of comic books that do not form a continuous story, anthologies or collections of loosely related pieces, and even non-fiction are stocked by libraries and bookstores as "graphic novels" (similar to the manner in which dramatic stories are included in "comic" books). It is also sometimes used to create a distinction between works created as stand-alone stories, in contrast to collections or compilations of a story arc from a comic book series published in book form.

So there we are. I'm going to keep using it to apply to both collected works and one-shots, which is just as well as this week we're back to Marvel, for there big in-universe crossover collection Civil War, written by Mark Millar and pencilled by Steve McNiven, who incidentally produced Old Man Logan reviewed a few weeks ago. The Civil War storyline doesn't just span the seven issues collected in the main graphic novel but has subsidiary issues based around several of the players in the storyline, creating a gigantic sprawling fixed point similar to DC Comics' Crisis crossover. For the purposes of this review, though, we're concentrating on the seven issues collected into one volume. If you don't like politics in your comics, look away now.

As the title suggests, the storyline revolves around a schism that splits Marvel superheroes into two factions, who fight it out both physically (leading to some pretty awesome artwork where both parties, essentially armies, clash) and intelligently, with the issue that's polarised them being a political, moral and social minefield. Civil War is definitely a thinking man's comic. It's essentially a "what if?", where superheroes have become so commonplace that that everlasting curse of the 21st century, reality TV, follows a bunch of obnoxious kid superheroes around as they fight crime- only to have it blow up in their faces, literally, as the villains they are trying to detain prove they outweigh the talent and level a huge area of a city, killing hundreds of people.

From there the US authorities, already worried about having to watch mutants, decide to up surveillance on all superheroes and push for a registration act to hold them accountable. The two sides set themselves up behind faction leaders Tony Stark or Iron Man and Steve Rogers or Captain America. Stark, guilt-ridden after a confrontation with a dead child's mother angry over the incident and the carefree attitude teams like the Avengers have had to their power, argues that unmasking and registering as an official enforcement team is the only way forward. Rogers, having been turned on by SHIELD when he refused to forcibly bring in those who won't register, feels that it's more simple- the superheroes fight the supervillians and politics is outside of that.

The set-up is familiar to anyone who knows anything about comics, sharing similarity with Watchmen, several DC crossovers and one-shots, and, possibly the most exposed instance, the X-Men (seen in the third X-Men film, which was a disaster but used the Registration Act as plot, as well as in several games, most cartoon versions and in the comics preceding Civil War). Incidentally, it's because of the fact that the Sentinels are still watching the X-Men and other mutants even while all available superhumans are engaged trying to rescue people from the initial accident that they decide to stay out of it, leading to one of the few flaws I saw in the graphic novel- Wolverine sits it out along with the rest of the mutants at Xavier's School. Which pangs a little, because adding Logan to the fray between Thor, Cap, Iron Man, all the members of the Fantastic Four and dozens of others would have been interesting.

The story goes on from there fairly predictably, in terms of its direction, but with unpredictable moments of detail (who sides with who, who switches sides, etc). And make no mistake, this graphic novel is for all fans of Marvel, casual, expert, all the way up to professional geek. The cast is a veritable who's who of pretty much every Marvel hero, hidden away in groups and crowds in panels. The lucky ones get mentioned in passing, but can be picked out elsewhere, like Luke Cage, Wasp, the Falcon and loads more. This gives the story the scope needed to not just be another registration plot, but literally splitting the whole Marvel universe of heroes in two, where every major fan can see their favourite character joining the fight no matter how small-time they are in continuity.

The artwork is incredible, a style that, really, is probably my favourite. It's colour rich, realistic and incredibly detailed, and compared to the more traditional patchy work inspired by original comics where printing wasn't able to include as much detail it really is more of an artwork. McNiven really brings his game, populating crowd scenes brilliantly and using the panels and the characters in them to tell the story, not just facilitate the words, meaning plot points get the weight they need. And there are a lot of them, including Peter Parker making a decision that shapes the rest of the storyline and gives us one of my favourite J Jonah Jameson moments ever (spoilers)- [Show][Hide]


Now who can say that wasn't well drawn?

The two niggles I have with Civil War are minor but, I think, fair- the ending seems rather an abrupt realisation, perhaps because I haven't read the surrounding "expansion pack" titles that give a bit more story to the main casts' motivations; and, also tied to the satellite titles, at points it does feel as though the plot has taken a large leap forward in time and you have to catch up with little hint at what has happened, again I assume detailed in the other issues.

That said, as either an entry into the Marvel universe for readers to see what it's all about or for hardcore fans of any title or character, Civil War is an excellent read and builds up what could have been a tired rehashing with style and skill. Using 21st century concerns as its edge, reflecting social anxieties of the surveillance culture and with thinly veiled parallels to terrorism, human rights and imprisonment for national security, it becomes something more adult than the beleaguered "mutants are dangerous" argument and delivers a very grounded "what if?" question.