Civil War from the Sidelines
Civil War from the Sidelines
Jan 11I think it was Thomas Jefferson–or maybe it was George Jefferson–who once said, “It is a foolish man indeed who seeks quality storytelling and character development in a major comic book crossover.”
Damn straight, Thomas and/or George. Damn straight.
And yet–and YET–there is something gurgling within the depths of Civil War that continues to intrigue me.
The main series has jumped the shark a bit–it’s always been more of a Cliffs Notes version of the larger story, but now the gaps between the overall tapestry and the main title have become too wide to manage. Meaning that if you’re just reading the main Civil War miniseries, I have no idea how you could be anything but a little lost.
So the main series has the curious effect of discouraging interest in the crossover titles and spinoff miniseries and one-shots, even though the real meat of this tale is being told anywhere but Civil War proper.
What really brought this home, at least most recently, were the two one-shots released a few weeks back, Iron Man/Captain America: Casualties of War and Civil War: War Crimes. Two strong stories with sharp characterization, both of which detail critical events in the story, at least from where I sit–the best articlation of the pro-reg and anti-reg viewpoints anywhere (Iron Man/Captain America), and both Iron Man and Cap colluding with the Kingpin to gain an advantage (War Crimes).
These seem like pretty big story beats–or at least, they could be. They’re also juicy as hell. I’m not sure why they’re not in the main series, but I guess I’m glad they’re out there.
I think it’s also easier to draw a distinct character arc for all involved parties if you just pretend the main Civil War title doesn’t exist and think of Civil War as everything that happens AROUND the main title. Sad to say, but true–Tony is his most bastardly, Reed is his most spineless, etc. if you just look at Millar’s writing. Everyone else seems to GET it, to varying degrees.
Really, it’s an editorial failure. There are a lot of ducks to keep in a lot of rows, but still, it’s their JOB.
Anyway, those Civil War one-shots are good shit.
