Broken Frontier

The penultimate chapter of this "Marvel Comics Event" is here chock full with enough build-up to make your blood boil!

I know there are several haters out there who can spend an arguably ridiculous amount of time explaining why this series sucks. I know some of your points are justified, for instance the fact that you really only get part of the story when you get the "main" comic. There is also the argument that heroes are acting out of character, events don’t jibe with the past, etc, etc, etc. To those arguments I rebut with a resounding and unarguable, "Whatever . . . hater." Or perhaps, "So what? Hater."

This comic is awesome. Issue #6 begins with a glimpse of what the future holds for the "signed" heroes. We get to see a highlight of the uneasy relationship between the Invisible Woman and Namor, as well as Captain America and Punisher. Where has Dr. Strange—who some believe is the most powerful mortal in the Marvel Universe (Sentry who?)—been? You find out here. Will the X-Men pick a side? You find out here. No, we don’t get to see the final clash in its full glory, but it does begin in this issue with a better bang than even I anticipated.

Mark Millar is tending to focus on the bigger picture with this comic. He’s been given that ability thanks to the way The Amazing Spider-Man, Fantastic Four, New Avengers, and many other titles tie-in to the storyline. While it can be frustrating at times for those of us strapped for cash, it is also reminiscent of some of the big crossovers from the eighties and early nineties. This thing is happening everywhere, but Millar gets to the guts of it, the heart. Emotions are running high, tensions are running higher, and the stress these characters are going through is crystal clear, which is most brilliantly presented in a shocking interaction between Captain America and Punisher. But that, I imagine, is what Millar is going for. And like it or hate it, it has been shocking.

"Shocking," that is a good word for Civil War, its writer, and its artist, Steve McNiven. Or perhaps stunning. This is his best work ever. Each issue gets better. His paneling, his action sequences, and his interpretations of the script are cinematic, bigger than any comic out there now. In the aforementioned interaction between Captain America and Punisher, McNiven captures the anger and frustration this story is responsible for, both within the community of fans as well as the Marvel Universe itself. His facial expressions are moving, the stress is evident, the struggles these heroes have been facing are described with simple detail in every line. Appropriately, McNiven’s work is marvelous.

Things are changing in the Marvel Universe. Whether these changes are good or bad is entirely up to you, but the telling of how these changes take place is worth a look—even if it is just so you can explain to all of us less than wise fans out there why it sucks for hours and hours and hours and hours and hours . . .