Well, a full four months after it was originally scheduled to end, Marvel's Civil War has finally drawn to a close.
As anyone could have guessed, it all came down to a big throw-down between the two opposing factions: pro and anti-superhero registration. This issue is essentially a protracted fight scene, which in this case is not a bad thing at all.
Finally, the resolution of the conflict hinges not on the leader of one faction punching out the other, but on an epiphany. It's quite well-conceived in that sense, and although the ending may seem inconclusive to many, it actually remains quite true to the original spirit of the series which was to reflect the state of America and its civil liberties.
This series has been a bit of a mixed bag, but at least there have been some constants: every issue has boasted some of the best comic book art ever to see print in the new millenium. It has been consistently engaging, whether because of interesting plot developments or character flaws. The question that arises now is whether Marvel will be able to top themselves in the near future, and the way I see it, they won't be able to do it this year, which is pretty much why I've taken a sabbatical from collecting for awhile, and possibly have given up collecting monthlies altogether.
Civil War has served as an incredibly clever marketing tool for Marvel in that, just after getting everyone's attention, it has basically shattered the existing status quo and set the stage for just about its entire line for the next few years.
The thing is, I like self-contained stories, event or otherwise. I come back for more because of the creative teams and not necessarily because any particular hype machine.
I'm not really interested in buying titles just because they spring "from the pages of Civil War."
Fortunately, as a storyline, Civil War has worked on a number of levels, though only time will tell how memorable this series will truly be.
What I truly appreciated about this story was how very grounded it was. Sure, it was fantastical at some crucial points, but the creative team never lost sight of their real-world parallels. I love the resolution precisely because it isn't some neat, cut-and-dried good triumphs over evil, right beats wrong solution to everything.
And, contrary to the expectations of a lot of fanboys, never once did any deus ex machina rear its head.
Yes, this series has provided a hell of a roller-coaster, and anything that comes afterwards is likely to feel rather bland, so for the moment, I'm getting off.
To Mark Millar, Steve McNiven, Tom Brevoort, and everyone else involved, though, I say thanks for the ride.
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