civil war II Archives - Page 3 of 8

civil-war-ii-5 The devastating fallout from the first half of this event is enormous and being felt in every corner of the Marvel Universe. The truth about Ulysses’ future-seeing power is revealed and it is a game changer. Sides are irrevocably drawn and the gauntlet is thrown for the biggest battle in Marvel Universe history. And that’s just the stuff we can tell you. All this, and the story goes galactic!

I’m not going to harp on how Civil War II lost its promise early on in the series. Instead lets just focus on this jumble of an issue where you need a pin board of pictures to keep track of who’s on what side. First, I read the issue digitally and this issue has a lot of double page spreads and pages that flowing interestingly from one into the other, so that’s not optimal and didn’t help matters at all figuring out what’s going on.

The entire issue is one giant battle as Tony and his folks face off against Carol and hers. Various individuals get their moments to fight and banter, except unless you’ve really memorized who is on what team, it’s kind of hard to remember whose side folks are on during this, and thus care about an outcome. I was distracted by it all, and the dialogue that was present didn’t give a ton as far as motivations to figure out where people stood. Things aren’t helped that I found myself trying to reference the team break down at the beginning and the two-page spread of the teams to figure out who was on what side, which killed the flow of reading. So, best to keep notes if you care.

Writer Brian Michael Bendis again gives us a comic that’s paper thin. There’s a lot of statements made back and forth to what comes to maybe 100 words total as the comic is mostly people throwing fists. The problem is we’ve seen this before in the first Civil War, and also Secret Invasion, Dark Reign, and each of those times it felt more impressive. This is the third or fourth sequel of the film where the sequence is repeated to lesser impact.

And as expected the issue goes for shock value towards the end. I’m sure folks will spoil it, but not here! It’s an interesting aspect and plays into another storyline in another shock series, at least I expect it does. It’s foreshadowing for what’s to come down the road based on statements from other creators on other series.

The art from David Marquez is still the best part of the series, but that too is a little lessened here. There’s some very cool page layouts, and some scenes have some awesome detail, for instance Tony’s army getting beat to crap, but other scenes the detail is just lacking.

It all feels like there were issues putting this issue together. Some things are rushed, othere things there’s not enough detail or discussion. I’d guess it was around this issue that plans changed and the series was expanded. Overall, the issue continues an event that’s more flash than substance.

Story: Brian Michael Bendis Art: David Marquez
Story: 6 Art: 7 Overall: 6 Recommendation: Pass

Marvel provided Graphic Policy with a FREE copy for review

Graphic Policy’s Top Comic Picks this Week!

Posted on September 20, 2016 by Graphic Policy Team

britannia_001_cover-a_nord Wednesdays are new comic book day! Each week hundreds of comics are released, and that can be pretty daunting to go over and choose what to buy. That’s where we come in!

We’re bringing back something we haven’t done for a while, what the team thinks. Our contributors are choosing up to five books each week and why they’re choosing the books.

Find out what folks think below, and what comics you should be looking out for this Wednesday.

Alex

Top Pick: Britannia #1 (Valiant) – Britain in the Dark Ages as a story setting has always fascinated me (in fact, I just picked up a book set around Ceaser’s first invasion today), so when I found out that Valiant were publishing a comic written by Peter Milligan with Juan Jose Ryp and Jordie Bellaire attached to it, I knew I’d be reading it. I know very little about the story, honestly, other than it features a Roman detective, but I can’t wait to dive in.

Batman #7 (DC Comics) – The best part about the biweekly shipping is that I don’t need to wait a whole month to get into the next issue, and with the way Tom King set up the next arc, that’s a very good thing.

Black Hammer #3 (Dark Horse) – This is a bit of a cheat, because I’ve already read the book, but I don’t hear enough chatter about Jeff Lemire’s story about Golden Age heroes that have been stuck in a purgatory-like town (though some are adapting better than others) for ten years. It’s a gripping tale, and this left me wanting more.

Phantom TP Vol. 01 Danger In The Forbidden City (Hermes) – The Phantom is character that will always have a soft spot in my geekdom – and while there have certainly been some bad comics released featuring the Ghost Who Walks, there have been some great ones a well (Dynamites Last Phantom is one of the best I’ve read recently). So when I found out about this collection, written by Peter David, I got pretty excited.

Vote Loki #4 (Marvel) – Will Loki become President? Will he get punched in the face? Will he tell the truth at any point? I have no idea, but I can’t wait to find out.

Javier

Cyborg # 1 (DC Comics) – We already got a preview of what John Semper Jr. (award-winning writer who previously worked in animation on Spider-Man: The Animated Series and Static Shock), has in store for Cyborg in DC’s latest Rebirth iteration, and I am digging it. It is my top pick this week.

Horizon #3 (Image) – This unique twist on an alien incursion against Earth is impressive.

I Hate Fairyland #9 (Image) – It’s good for laughs, and I could use some.

Seven to Eternity #1 (Image) – Rick Remender has become one of my favorite writers in this new digital golden age of comics (although he can be depressing at times); plus, this new sci-fi fantasy western has echoes of The Magnificent Seven.

The Vision #11 (Marvel) – Forget the latest Batman Crossover event, this is the Tom King book everyone should be reading right now.

Shay

This is another great week for comics. Brik #3 deserves honorable mention since it didn’t make the cut but, my review of it should be up soon. This time around my picks are DC heavy because they’ve come out of the gate swinging.

Top Pick: The Wicked + The Divine 1831 One Shot (Image) – Wic/Div goes back in time to solve a mystery. It’s my top pick because one shots are always fun and Wic/Div is always good. Plus ,it won’t be in volume #4 so there’s no reason to wait.

Raven #1 (DC Comics) – The comic is promising a teen age Raven I’m San Fransisco exploring her human side trying to make it through high school. She gets thrown into a dark side version of a Nancy Drew mystery when a student disappears and she gets to face some true evil.

Injustice: Gods Among Us Year Five #18 (DC Comics) – This issue gives us Deathstroke joining the unholy superman and Luthor team up to open portals and end the war that’s been brewing. There’s even a pop up visit by Raven to keep everyone on their toes and watching their backs.

Suicide Squad Most Wanted: El Diablo & Boomerang #2 (DC Comics) – One of my fave bad guys turned good El Diablo is now working with Checkmate and Boomerang finally gets something interesting to do avoiding even badder guys and trying get out of Latin America alive.

Carnage #12 (Marvel) – My fave baddy, who I know will never have the stand alone movie I want, has the Anti-Carnage squad in his crosshairs. I know it’s about to go down but, I’m on the fence about who to root for.

Brett

Top Pick: Revolution #1 (IDW Publishing) – This is it! All of my favorite childhood properties are coming together as part of one comic universe. Transformers, G.I. Joe, Micronauts, ROM, MASK, yes, yes, yes please! Hasbro has also indicated we’ll be seeing all of this in future movies too, so this will give us an indication as to what to expect there as well. My five year old self is so excited!

Britannia #1 (Valiant) – Peter Milligan with Juan Jose Ryp and Jordie Bellaire take Valiant out of their spandex-ish superhero zone giving us the world’s first detective set in Britain during the Dark Ages.

Invisible Republic #11 (Image Comics) – If you haven’t been reading this series and you’re a fan of sci-fi (and especially politics), you’re missing out. This issue kicks off the third arc as Maia becomes embroiled in the civil war raging on.

Civil War II #5 (Marvel) – Marvel’s event has been very hit and miss, but I’m intrigued to see what happens next.

Seven to Eternity #1 (Image) – The team of Rick Remender and Jerome Opena sold me on this one. I’m not sure how to describe it, but it’s one to check out.

Anthony

Top Pick: Seven to Eternity #1 (Image) – Rick Remender has been writing some of the most fresh and exciting comics on the stands. Seven to Eternity looks to be another intriguing sci-fi/fantasy concept with some absolute gorgeous art from Jerome Opena and Matt Hollingsworth. The plot focuses on Adam, whose crossroad journey is split by a major decision between killing the world’s evil God or accepting the offer being extended by the same deity.

Black Hammer #3 (Dark Horse) – Black Hammer #3 looks to focus on the character of Barbalien, digging into some of his past. Each issue so far has been a treat to read as Jeff Lemire has been providing some poetic, deconstructive conversations around the group of heroes, with an art style from Dean Ormston and Dave Stewart that really provides a parallel of emotions between the warm nostalgia of the past and the cold, hard present reality.Wicked & Divine 1831 One Shot: Looking to step away from the main storyline, this one shot, diving into the past (Victorian Pantheon?) features the wonderful art of Stephanie Hans. There has always been this floating curiosity in the main series in regards to past iterations of the Pantheon so it will be very interesting to get some back story on characters unfamiliar to the present time being focused on.

The Wicked + The Divine 1831 One Shot (Image) – Looking to step away from the main storyline, this one shot, diving into the past (Victorian Pantheon?) features the wonderful art of Stephanie Hans. There has always been this floating curiosity in the main series in regards to past iterations of the Pantheon so it will be very interesting to get some back story on characters unfamiliar to the present time being focused on.

I Hate Fairyland #9 (Image) – I Hate Fairyland is always an entertaining read within a very vibrant, colourful, violent world. It’s continuously fun to see the world being expanded with graceful playfulness and tongue in cheek wit.

Did You Ignore 2016’s Summer Events?

Posted on September 3, 2016 by Alex K Cossa

SUMMER-OF-4001-AD_POSTER_FINAL There are three publishers that are currently telling, or have told, an event story this year; Valiant, Marvel, and DC.

Valiant’s 4001 A.D. was absolutely fantastic. It may not be the best miniseries Valiant have published this year (Valiant‘s Divinity is head and shoulders above everything else right now from any publisher), 4001 A.D. was still bloody good. Of the tie-in comics released about half have had relatively little to do with the main story, instead focusing a story that takes place on the periphery of the event – whether in the past or present – which has actually had the effect of enabling the tie-ins to be read independently of the overall arc, something that seems to be more and more infrequent with tie-in comics these days.

Marvel‘s Civil War II is something that personally I have avoided because over the last five or so years I’ve become tired of the events from the Big Two, our fearless leader Brett has said that 4001 A.D. is running circles around yet another Marvel story where it’s heroes are fighting each other. Graphic MAR169027 STL014758 CIVIL WAR II #1 CHO B&W VAR Policy’s review of the third issue was less than glowing, saying that “it has failed at any social commentary that it has attempted.” I’d love to say I’m surprised by that… but I’m honestly not. It has been a long time since I cared about a Marvel event, andCivil War II has done nothing to change that.

Conversely, over at DC something unexpectedly strange is happening. Rebirth, their line wide reboot, is actually a resounding success! How DC have been able to turn something that so many comic book fans were tired of into possibly the best line wide reboot/relaunch since Valiant returned to comics in 2005. DC have done the nigh unthinkable by not building their reboot around another miniseries; Rebirth was one 80 page comic that cost a whopping $2.99 (for a first print run – subsequent editions have doubled in cover price), followed by a series of character specific Rebirth specials that were utterly optional, albeit suggested if you intended to read that character’s series. But Rebirth isn’t really a summer event, is it?

DC-Universe-Rebirth-1-1-600x923 By not having a traditional summer event, per se, DC have had the most critically successful summer from either of the Big Two in a long, long time. But comparing Rebirth to either Civil War II or 4001 A.D. is like comparing chalk and cheese. When DC decided to have another reboot (or was it a de-boot?) instead of following the pattern of the past decade of miniseries event story followed by negligible change, when DC decided to erase the controversial New 52 reboot from 2011, rather than use another Flashpoint style storyline explaining how and why it would happen, DC just bloody did it. No need for fans to buy another six issues telling us how the Flash would change history that we could just read about online and get the gist of the story, instead DC published an 80 page single issue for $3 – and that was it. With one issue, the publisher changed everything.

One. Fucking. Issue.

They didn’t faff about wasting time and money telling an irrelevant story about how and/or why their comic book line would change (or not change as has often been the result of Marvel‘s big summer events) that many readers would invariably ignore only to jump on with the newest batch of number one issues that would come out long after the story to reboot the universe has started. By rebooting everything (or un-rebooting everything, depending on the side of the fence you stand) with one 80 page issue DC have shown Marvel just how a line wide reboot should be done.

How successful Rebirth will be for the publisher, as the old saying goes, only time will tell, but it’s off to a surprising start with almost all the series being published right now being both of a high quality, and most importantly, being accessible to new readers – despite obvious fears to the contrary with the continuity returning to the pre-New 52 era in the publisher’s history.

If you want to read an event story that’s wiping the floor with anything either of the Big Two have put out in recent years, read 4001 A.D.. The page composition, artwork, and the comics that tie-in with the main miniseries, are superb, but it’s the potential consequences that the series holds in store for the future that really has me excited, especially when you look at some of the tie-in comics that have been released in conjunction with the event – specifically the War Mother and Bloodshot issues – Valiant‘s future is looking incredibly bright right now.

Marvel, however, much like they did with Secret Wars last year have delayed Civil War II and green-lit an 8th issue. While the reason for the delay is a very good one (the book’s artist became a father), I have to wonder how it will impact the comics that were scheduled to be released after the story, and whether they’ll spoil the final events of Civil War II or not. Whether Marvel will have any lasting change after the end of Civil War II is honestly doubtful – although I’m more than happy to be proven wrong, and to be reminded why I used to love Marvel comics so much ten, fifteen years ago. But my inner cynic doesn’t expect that to happen anytime soon.

Until it does, you’ll see a lot more Valiant and DC in my pull list.

Civil War II #5 Pits Iron Man vs. Captain Marvel in All Out Grudge Match!

Posted on September 3, 2016 by Brett

The battle lines have been drawn and war erupts! As the devastating fallout from the death of Bruce Banner sends shockwaves across every corner of the world, Iron Man and Captain Marvel duke it out with the future of the Marvel Universe on the line!

Marvel has released a first look inside the explosive Civil War II #5 – coming at you this September from the A-List creative team of Brian Michael Bendis, David Marquez and Justin Ponsor. As punches are thrown and the war hits a fever pitch, truth behind Ulysses’ predictive powers stands revealed – and it’s a game changer! Plus – an ending so shocking it’ll have the world talking!

CIVIL WAR II #5 (JUN160760)
Written by BRIAN MICHAEL BENDIS
Art by DAVID MARQUEZ & JUSTIN PONSOR
Cover by MARKO DJURDJEVIC
Variant Covers by KIM JUNG JI (JUN160761), MICHAEL CHO (JUN160762) and PHIL NOTO (JUN160763)
FOC – 08/29/16, On-Sale – 09/21/16

Civil_War_II_5_Cover

Review: Civil War II: Choosing Sides #5

Posted on August 31, 2016 by Logan Dalton

ChoosingSides5Cover In the latest installment of the anthology series Civil War II: Choosing Sides, Alpha Flight goes on a mission on American soil, Misty Knight and Colleen Wing trade blows with the cast of a cancelled Marvel series providing backup, and the Declan Shalvey/Jordie Bellaire Nick Fury spy saga continues. The Alpha Flight and Nick Fury stories are good, and the Colleen Wing is okay so everything averages out in the end.

The best and strangest story of the bunch is writer Chip Zdarsky and artist Ramon Perez‘s Alpha Flight story featuring a prominent guest appearance from current Canadian Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau. Trudeau doesn’t just appear in a blink and miss cameo, but has a substantial role in the issue as he is caught between the clashing factions of Captain Marvel and Iron Man. He is smack dab in the middle of this ideological conflict and has some good points about each side’s from Captain Marvel and Alpha Flight’s civil rights violations to Iron Man’s propensity for hero versus hero conflict.

The big setpiece in this story is a two page sparring session between Trudeau (known for his boxing as well as politics) and Tony Stark as Stark gets some of his guilt and grief about Rhodey’s death in the grief, and Trudeau tries to redirect him towards a path of compromise. Perez composes the sequence expertly with beat panels of punching juxtaposed with quick, barbed lines of dialogue from Stark and Trudeau. I won’t spoil the victor, but the issue ends with both Team Iron Man and Team Captain Marvel not feeling well.

ChoosingSides5Interior

Having a guest star from the world of, let’s say, non-fiction puts some much-needed perspective on the Civil War II event where it’s starting to look like both sides are in the wrong as the body/injury count continues to rise. Chip Zdarsky balances his zany sense of humor (There are so many cheesy Canada themed jokes in this story.) with a critical perspective on Marvel’s latest summer event while Ramon Perez finds a happy medium between cartooning and photorealism befitting a story starring real and fictional humans or mutants.

The second story featuring Misty Knight, Colleen Wing, and the Howling Commandos by writer Enrique Carrion (Image Comics’ Vescell), artist Annapaola Martello (Spider-Gwen Annual), and colorist Nolan Woodard (All-New X-Men) is the weakest of the bunch and could have benefited from being a two parter. Carrion plots a story about Misty Knight, Jasper Sitwell, and Man-Thing transporting a Huntstalker (Basically, a rogue demon hunter.) to STAKE (The supernatural version of SHIELD.) HQ when Colleen Wing attacks them because she needs them to track down a vampire. This one sentence plot summary is cooler than the actual comic with the exception of a too short battle between Colleen Wing and Man-Thing, which features a green/orange explosion from Woodard.

The comic also deals with the fallout of Colleen Wing and Misty Knight not being friends any more because of Civil War II, but spends a single, pink flashback panel on it before going back to some stale banter between Misty and her teammates. There is something to be explored in this friendship as Misty has gotten closer to Sam Wilson in the pages of Captain America: Sam Wilson, but Carrion also tries to shove in an action sequence and a kind of twist ending.

The final page of the story is really rushed as Misty Knight immediately decides to stop doing missions for STAKE and lets Colleen go off with the Huntstalker off panel. It seems like a setup for a Colleen Wing vs. vampires story, but the comic unfortunately reads “The End”. Martello and Woodard indulge in the wild and wacky side of Marvel with katanas and monsters galore, but unfortunately this story is cut short and doesn’t reach its full potential.

The third and final story in Choosing Sides #5 is the penultimate chapter in Declan Shalvey and Jordie Bellaire’s neo-Sterankoean Nick Fury Jr. saga. Nothing will probably top the completely silent battle between Nick Fury Jr. and Black Widow in the previous issue, but Shalvey compensates with a fun twist, some great one-liners, and a battle between old school and new school Nick Fury.

Bellaire complements Shalvey’s taut, minimalist plotting with a clear emphasis on green and grey as Nick Fury Jr. faces off with a rogue Nick Fury LMD in a super secret base. Green and grey could also symbolize Nick Fury Jr and Nick Fury as the first has only been in comics since 2012 whereas Nick Fury has been the “man on the wall” since the Silver Age. There are also little touches of red when Nick Fury Jr. gets the upper hand on the LMD like when he stabs his robot eye with some kind of high tech weapon and on the SHIELD emblem on his chest. Nick Fury Jr. wants SHIELD to continue to be a peacekeeping force, but in light of Civil War II and events like Avengers Standoff where Maria Hill used a Cosmic Cube to brainwash villains, maybe it’s better if it died off.

But Shalvey leaves things ambiguous for now as Nick Fury Jr is fed conflicting reports about his mission and reacts to it through some nice secret base destruction. Shalvey captures the angry sneer that Samuel L. Jackson brought to his performance as Fury in the Marvel films without resorting to stiff photorealism and leaves us with this image of defiance as the storyline reaches its end.

Civil War II Choosing Sides #5 features a funny and insightful Alpha Flight story, a subpar Misty Knight/Colleen Wing battle royale, and an enthralling spy thriller with virtuoso storytelling from Declan Shalvey and Jordie Bellaire. It’s definitely worth picking up.

Story: Chip Zdarsky, Enrique Carrion, Declan Shalvey Art: Ramon Perez, Annapaola Martello, Declan Shalvey Colors: Ramon Perez, Nolan Woodard, Jordie Bellaire
Story: 8 Art: 7.5 Overall: 7.6 Recommendation: Read

Civil War II Expands to 8 Issues

Posted on August 16, 2016 by Graphic Policy Team

It’s the story that has the world on the edge of its seat as heroes stand on opposite sides and fight to preserve the security of the future. And if you thought it couldn’t get bigger – you thought wrong! Marvel has announce the expansion of the blockbuster Civil War II event with Civil War II #8 – coming to comic shops later this year!

Creators Brian Michael Bendis and David Marquez will extend their stay in the trenches of battle for one more unforgettable issue. Cracks are starting to immerge in the predictive visions of the new Inhuman, Ulysses, and the foundation where our heroes once stood is starting to fracture.

Will the heroes of the Marvel Universe wield the power of “predictive justice” to change the future or battle to protect tomorrow? The additional issue of Civil War II will bring the explosive event to its powerful conclusion, but with an Inhuman at the center of the conflict with the ability to see what’s to come, has the future already been foretold or can it be changed?

Ideologies have been challenged, alliances have been tested, and battle lines have been drawn. What will be the end result as the final vision from Ulysses is revealed to the heroes of the Marvel Universe and which side will stand triumphant over the other? Join Marvel this fall as Iron Man and Captain Marvel gather their sides and come head-to-head for the epic confrontation! CivilWarII008Teaser

Civil War II #1 Gets a Digital Special Edition

Posted on August 5, 2016 by Graphic Policy Team

One of the biggest books of the year just got bigger! Fans can go deeper into the blockbuster Civil War II event with Civil War II #1 Special Edition – available exclusively on digital platforms. Go behind the scenes of one of the biggest events in Marvel history and see how blockbuster creators Brian Michael Bendis, David Marquez and Justin Ponsor created this high-octane first issue.

Clocking in at over 200 pages, the Civil War II #1 Special Edition contains the entire, explosive first issue along with never-before-seen extras. See the process that went into making this landmark issue as you go from script to layouts to inked pages to final colors. Read Brian Michael Bendis’ entire script to Civil War II #1 and see how artist David Marquez and colorist Justin Ponsor brought each page to life in vivid detail. A must see for comic fans and art enthusiasts!

Then, feast your eyes on an exciting Civil War II #1 variant cover gallery. Featuring the talents of Steve McNiven, Phil Noto, Michael Cho, Kim Jung Ji, Yasmine Putri and more – witness some of the greatest artists in the industry take on Civil War II in style!

Civil_War_II_1_Special_Edition_Cover

Around the Tubes

Posted on July 28, 2016 by Graphic Policy Team

It was new comic book day yesterday. What’d everyone get? What’d you like? What’d you dislike? Sound off in the comments below!

While you decide on that, here’s some comic news and reviews from around the web in our morning roundup.

Around the Tubes

The Beat – Geoff Johns is now President AND CCO at DC Entertainment — with a complete updated DC masthead – Congrats!

Kotaku – Zombie Batman Thirsts For Flesh, Not Justice – Looks pretty cool.

CBR – Netflix Explains Why It Didn’t Pick Up Marvel’s “Agent Carter” – Figured it was due to business reasons.

Kotaku – The Marvel Ultimate Alliance PC Ports Are A Disaster – That’s a shame. It’s a good game.

Cosmopolitan – When Will Black Women Feel Like They “Belong” at Comic-Con? – Rather odd and sad.

Around the Tubes Reviews

Newsarama – Batgirl #1

Comicvine – Civil War II #4

Comicvine – Hal Jordan and the Green Lantern Corps #1

ICv2 – Jughead Vol. 1

Comicvine – Titans #1

Comicvine – Wonder Woman #3

Around the Tubes

Review: Civil War II #4

Posted on July 27, 2016 by Brett

Sides are harshly divided as the Marvel Universe’s trial of the century reaches its shocking verdict! Now, the abstract issues are very real for the heroes of the Marvel Universe and battle lines must be drawn. Captain Marvel or Iron Man, who will each hero stand behind?

We’re starting on the back half of Marvel’s summer event in an issue that gives us the truth about Ulysses’ power. Civil War II #4‘s entire purpose is to set up the final three issues, the actual conflict, and the battle that’s been brewing. The issue also continues to fail at giving us anything more than just what will be yet another fight between heroes. It uses a real-world issue as a prop making this issue, like those before it, thin in its execution.

At its core, Civil War II was set up to be about an Inhuman with precognitive ability and whether it’s right to use that power to prevent crime/wrongdoing. It’s a similar plot to Philip K. Dick’s Minority Report written in 1956.

It’s also a real issue that’s worthy of discussion. As I wrote in my review of the last issue it was reported in 2012 that algorithms to predict crime were being embraced by police forces. In May it was revealed that these algorithms were riddled with bias, flagging black people twice as often as white people, having low accuracy, and generally being unreliable predictors of crime. In an age of Black Lives Matter and police murdering individuals, this could have been a comic event with something to say. The series began with the death of an African-American character (a “fridging” to move the story along, much like what happened in the previous Civil War event). That death was a short focus as the event pivoted to the death of Bruce Banner, a white character. Now in this fourth issue, we see this algorithm at play as it’s used to arrest a white banker who may be a Hydra sleeper agent.

Instead of focusing on the real issue of bias towards minorities that real world issue is co-opted and applied to white individuals. The victims of the pre-cog algorithm are white here. The African-American character is a casualty of the action, not a victim of its use to prevent a “crime” which may or may not happen. That’s saved for two white characters. Writer Brian Michael Bendis fails to challenge the reader or properly explore the issue at hand.

The art by David Marquez continues to be solid though. So, there’s that. A lot of the issue involves characters standing around giving soliloquies, but it’s beautiful to look at. The use of panels and positioning of characters really sets the tone and helps build the mood throughout the issue. His character design is top-notch and everyone looks fantastic. For as bad as the story is, the art is actually fantastic.

Much like the previous issue, this issue thinks it’s smart, but is paper thin when it comes to its deeper themes. This is a box office event blockbuster on the printed page, when it’s over you wonder what the point was other than to watch folks beat each other up. With three issues to go, I don’t see things improving based on the final few pages.

Story: Brian Michael Bendis Art: David Marquez
Story: 4 Art: 8.45 Overall: 4 Recommendation: Pass

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Tag Archives: civil war II

Around the Tubes

Review: Civil War II #5

Graphic Policy’s Top Comic Picks this Week!

Did You Ignore 2016’s Summer Events?

Civil War II #5 Pits Iron Man vs. Captain Marvel in All Out Grudge Match!

Review: Civil War II: Choosing Sides #5

Civil War II Expands to 8 Issues

Civil War II #1 Gets a Digital Special Edition

Around the Tubes

Review: Civil War II #4