Give 'War' A Chance

Marvel Comics has re-energized the fanboy in me with its current "Civil War" storyline.

Some quick history: In the early 1960s, DC Comics was the unchallenged king of the superhero world with characters that had been around since the 1930s like Batman and Superman. But the storylines were getting more and more outlandish: Batman in space; Superman with a super dog and a Supergirl cousin with a super cat.

In 1961, the remnants of a publishing company once known for heroes from the World War II era - Captain America, Submariner, the Human Torch - hired editor/writer Stan Lee to relaunch the Marvel Comics brand with a twist: These superheroes would have real-life problems and would be based in real-life places like New York City.

One of Marvel's first new characters, Spiderman, was almost an immediate hit: Scrawny, four-eyed Peter Parker was victimized by bullies at school and after he was bitten by a radioactive spider, he learned – by the death of his Uncle Ben – that with great power comes great responsibility. It was relatable then and, still, 40 years later when director Sam Raimi remade the story into a powerful film franchise.

Over the years, DC and Marvel fought hard for readers who quickly separated into distinct camps: The Merry Marvel Marching Society and the DC Apologists. The rivalry was on! My brother Eric was mostly loyal to DC (cough!) while I made mine Marvel.

Truly, the fortunes of each brand would be determined by each company's ability to develop (or steal) talent or come up with storylines that catapulted comics into the mainstream: The death of Superman; the art of Alex Ross; the casting of Jessica Alba for the "Fantastic Four" movie, to name but a few.

Last summer, Marvel launched a storyline that has been carried through all of its major comic titles: "Civil War." In a nutshell, some b-level superheroes were part of a reality show and when they attempted to capture some bad guys, things went wrong. An ensuing explosion killed more than 600 people – many of them children at a nearby school – in Stamford, Ct. The public backlash was, as well could be imagined, huge and Congress passed a registration act: Superheroes either had to register with the government or they were captured and held without trial. Secret identities, no more!

The parallels to what is going on in the world today are often obvious from internment without trials to the debate over privacy rights. The story is a hit because it is instantly relatable, in the Marvel tradition, and it is so different from anything that has been written in comics in decades.

The story is dark: Captain America opposes the registration act (and the very government he embodies) and leads the underground resistance. His former compatriot, industrialist Tony Stark (Iron Man) sees the registration as the natural evolution of the superhero world in the 21st Century. Other heroes have divided up along those lines. Journalists, meanwhile, are about to break a big story which seems to be that Stark has made secret profits because of his connections to the government.

The story has nuances of the War on Terror, detainees at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba, domestic spying, Halliburton, etc. It shakes up relationships, long-held beliefs and simple notions about a complex world.

Now, what most non-comic book readers are unaware of is that most major comic books today are written and edited by guys in the 30's, 40's and 50's and, therefore, enjoyed by guys in their 30's, 40's and 50's. The list of celebrity fanboys runs the diverse gamut from radio personality Howard Stern to actor Nicolas Cage (who famously dumped his comic book collection when he married Lisa Marie Presley and famously spent ensuing years rebuilding it after he dumped her) to comedian Jerry Seinfeld to rock legend Paul McCartney to pretty boys Ben Affleck, Ashton Kutcher and Keanu Reeves to singer/songwriter K.D. Lang. OK, you can argue that Kutcher and Reeves aren't all that diverse and, in fact, may be the same person, but the point remains.

In fact, I was struck Saturday while in the comic book shop that, thanks to Civil War, the customers are definitely older, grayer, fatter these days than the "kids" behind the counter. Go figure! Still, it is clear younger readers are, too, enjoying the books and I hope the series causes them to look around at their world and ask some pointed questions about freedoms they might take for granted.

Next month, the Civil War seven-part series ends in a finale that, judging by issue No. 6 this past week, will either be the greatest comic book ever written or the biggest disappointment since "Infinite Crisis." The stakes are high in the world of fanboys and we eagerly await the outcome of a series that has more "OMIGOD!" moments packed into each chapter than an average episode of the also-great TV series, "24."

To read more about "Civil War," including a story synopsis through issue No. 6, check out: Wikipedia Entry

To find a comic book shop dealer near you, go to: Diamond Comics

'Nuff said! Excelsior!

More later,


Mark