CIVIL WAR

By: Kurt Amacker
Review Date: Thursday, September 28, 2006

I applaud Marvel and decry the publisher at the same time. Almost everyone knew Thor would return. And, he does, after a fashion. I applaud Marvel for thwarting everyone's expectations and resurrecting him on the side of those in favor of the Superhero Registration Act. I decry them for the manner in which they resurrected him. Read the issue and you'll understand. It's an all too convenient comic book cliché, but one that Marvel will likely undo within CIVIL WAR itself.

I hate to write so vaguely, but Thor's return builds to the first of two spoilers within this fourth issue of Marvel's controversial event series. The fallout leaves one hero dead and a few ready to favor the Act to stop the bloodshed. The second rings far more personally, when Sue Richards makes a decision that will impact both her family and the conflict between those both in favor of and in opposition to the Superhero Registration Act. In that regard, Mark Millar writes this fourth issue of CIVIL WAR with a more intimate stroke. Though the issue lacks the startling revelation of the second issue or the "holy f-ck" cliffhanger of the third, it resonates with both the moral degeneration of the pro-registration faction and the familial conflict of Sue Richards. It's a quieter chapter in CIVIL WAR, but not an unwelcome one.

Steve McNiven's art continues to impress. My fury over Marvel's delays and selective disclosure aside, CIVIL WAR will benefit in the long run, even if comic shop owners everywhere won't. Though admittedly his work looks a little rougher than his masterstroke first issue, he still balances the humane and the fantastic in his characters with grace. Some artists make their characters look like steroid-riddled caricatures. Others make superheroes so realistic that they subdue any semblance of wonder. McNiven brings humanity to heroes, while still inspiring awe. Look at the close shot of Thor on the slab in Tony Stark's lab, as he looks at Peter Parker with cold, hard eyes. Some artists work for it. Others never find it. McNiven mastered it a long time ago.


It's late and I'm still annoyed, but I'll be damned if it isn't good.

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