Civil War: Front Line #8
My! That’s a mighty big picture, isn’t it?
Writer: Paul Jenkins
Letters: VC’s Randy Gentile
“Embedded”
Pencils: Ramon Bachs
Inks: John Lucas
Colours: Laura Brown
“The Accused”
Artist: Steve Lieber
Colours: June Chung
“Sleeper Cell”
Breakdowns: Lee Weeks
Finishes: Lee Weeks & Nelson
Colours: SotoColo’s J. Brown
“The Battle of Edgehill”
Artist: Frazer Irving
(I’m going to get the full credits for this book right, even if Marvel can’t be arsed to do it themselves on their own website).
The Long of It
Last week I gave DC’s 52 a bit of a shit-kicking. I make no apologies. It deserved it. And I KNOW that what DC are trying to do with 52 is a hell of a lot more ambitious and difficult than what Marvel are doing with Civil War: Front Line; and also that Marvel have had delays with Civil War that DC could never have let happen on 52, or the concept would have failed completely. I know all that. It’s all true. But you know what? I don’t give a shit. If you can’t do it properly, then don’t try it. And there are reasonable comparisons to be drawn between the two, despite the differences in scale of the two projects.
Firstly, the concept. There are similarities. 52 is trying to present a view of the missing year from some of the lesser-known lights of the DCU, with a series of concurrently running stories. Front Line is presenting a view of what’s happening in Civil War from some of the more obscure characters involved (specifically Speedball & She-Hulk, two reporters and, bizarrely enough, Norman Osbourne). And the differences? With Front Line, these three stories are running individually, in the same order, through every issue. That’s as opposed to DC’s “Oh f*ck, we haven’t looked at Supernova for about five to ten issues, so quick – throw something in about Supernova.” And the result? Civil War: Front Line makes a whole lot more sense. No awkward, seemingly pointless gaps in the narrative. The characters are given time to develop. The stories are already interconnected by definition of their involvement in Civil War, as opposed to some contrived storytelling devices that link the stories tenuously together (e.g. Why exactly did the Question and Renee have to find The-Artist-Soon-To-Be-Known-As-Osiris rather than having Black Adam and Isis find him on their own?). Less clusterf*ckage. The book has a point.
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Jenkins has the freedom to delve into some of the more complicated nuances of the law and its effects, and he possesses the subtlety of writing to deliver on that. |
Second, the writing. Because DC are trying this massively ambitious challenge of chucking out an issue a week, they’ve got to spread the load of the writing chores between Morrison, Waid, Johns and Rucka. And this means that the tone changes from one scene to another. The dialogue is different, issue to issue. There’s no focus (and also arguably no individual responsibility on the part of a particular writer to make the whole thing readable). With Civil War: Front Line, Marvel have entrusted the writing duties to Paul Jenkins. On his own. And Jenkins has a history of making books readable. His Spectacular Spider-Man was the Spider-Book of Choice for a lot of readers who were at the time sick of JMS’ shock-plotting and Milla’s drivel in the other web-books (no, not that kind of web-book). Because he gets what it is that people want to read. Interesting yet consistent dialogue, plot twists that are actually going somewhere, fully developed characterisation, and the right mix of drama and humour. Front Line is no exception. With all the conspiracy-theory stuff that’s going on with Ben Urich and his pet police officer, you still get the “little things”, like Ben eating ice cream that he’s just dropped on the floor, and the Big Wheel tearing off down the river being pursued by the authorities. It lightens the mood, but doesn’t distract from the plot. And as a companion to the main Civil War book, it’s invaluable. Because Jenkins has the freedom to delve into some of the more complicated nuances of the law and its effects, and he possesses the subtlety of writing to deliver on that.
Next, the art (I can’t count past “second”). With this book, Marvel are sticking to one artistic team per story. No over-complication, or rushed feel that someone else is being asked to ink this page because whatshisname couldn’t get through it all. It’s simple. Yeah, sure they try and match the styles together so that they mesh within the framework of one book, but they’re clearly assigned to a specific story. Result? Consistency. It’s not gorgeous, flashy spreads, but it doesn’t need to be. It’s not that sort of book. It’s not really a superhero book, although there are super-characters in it. It’s a more personal book, so the art is more earthy. And it works.
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I for one hope there is some part of Jenkins that is quietly smiling at JMS. |
All in all, you’re left with the feeling that Marvel are taking this book seriously. I know that it’s not going to stay in people’s memories for as long as 52 (which at the moment is going to be more of a haunting than a fond recollection), because it’s not the central story. It’s not the story of Iron Man & Reed Richards, Cap and Falcon, Spider-Man, Punisher or any of the “big players” in Civil War. It’s about the collateral damage. It’s about making Civil War bigger than just the central tale. It’s effects are spread across all of Marvel Earth (and with the introduction of the Super Heroes of Europe, it’s showing just that), and down to the level of the man on the street. And the cliffhangers are there in each of the stories to make you want to read Issue #9. I for one hope there is some part of Jenkins that is quietly smiling at JMS and saying “See, Osbourne doesn’t have to be the chief manipulator for everything. Even he can be played.”
The one area where this book is at its weakest for me is the final section. Every issue has a comparison with the events of a real war, set to a war poem. This cheapens everything as far as I’m concerned, because it’s not the same as a war. It’s an insurgency, if anything. The only “real” war that Marvel is publishing right now is Annihilation, but I wouldn’t want even that compared to real people dying. But maybe that’s just me. I’m unnerved by it, and not in the way I think they want. But compared to the shitty origin stories of 52, or the joke of Donna Troy explaining continuity, it’s bloody genius.
