Civil War Comic Review – “Civil War #3”

The first of three of this week’s comic reviews is here. Also reviewed this week will be X-Factor #8 and 9, which form the complete X-Factor / Civil War tie-in, and Daily Bugle: Civil War Edition, which may get an Impressions column instead of a formal review as it doesn’t really fit our review scheme as a comic.

General Information

Title: Civil War #3

Author: Mark Millar

Illustrator(s): Steven McNiven, Dexter Vines, and Morry Hollowell

Original Publication Date: July 19, 2006

Cover Price: $2.99 US, $4.25 Can

Past comic reviews can be found here. All Civil War related reviews are listed below.

Premise

Captain America’s team gets lured into a trap, and the first all-out battle begins, complete with unexpected reinforcements.

High Point

Cap’s realistic fighting abilities, given the track record of the characters he’s facing.

Low Point

Apart from the newspaper article that now establishes Doctor Octopus in three places at once (with the other two in the most recent issues of Sensational Spider-Man and Thunderbolts), there’s nothing that really drives me up the wall. I also would have expected the main reinforcement to have been on the other side of the fight, but it’s entirely possible that I don’t know as much about that character as I thought, given his own recent history. These are two minor points, the first of which is actually insignificant to this particular story, and the second of which can be explained away quite easily very quickly.

The Scores

This is still an original series. Cap’s limitations have never been treated so naturally, which made a big difference in the way this battle plays out. The series still feels fresh. I give it 5 out of 6.

The artwork is very good. We’ve got some great poses, excellent combat, and some expressive faces. In fact, Reed Richards’ wet head was the only part I wasn’t thrilled with, and that’s one head in two panels in a comic with at least 32 distinct and recognizable faces, many of whom appear both in and out of costume. I give it 5 out of 6.

The story is progressing nicely, with action and other high interest moments. The characters at the centre are all handled very well, and are treated consistently with past experiences. This story just keeps building. I give it 5 out of 6.

The characterization has one flaw; with a cast this huge, only a handful of characters have any sort of deep moments, and even those are fleeting. Anyone we see long enough to accurately judge is certainly in character, but we don’t get to see any kind of depth from any but the “new” Daredevil. I give it 4 out of 6.

The emotional response is still going strong. As I said before, the momentum of this story just keeps building and building. I give it 6 out of 6.

The flow is helped by the fact that there are really no moments of respite. One instant leads into the next, though there are still gaps left for the other stories to take place. (For instance, this week’s absolutely hysterical issue of Cable and Deadpool takes place between these pages.) I give it 6 out of 6.

Overall, it’s another very good issue in a very good series. If you read Marvel, read this title. If you don’t read Marvel but have been tempted to, read this title. Also, read Cable and Deadpool #30. I give it 6 out of 6.

In total, Civil War #3 receives 37 out of 42.

Civil War Review Checklist

  • New Avengers:
    Illuminati

    Special

  • Amazing Spider-Man
    #529-531
  • Fantastic Four
    #536-537
  • Civil War 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, complete
  • Civil War: Frontline #1-10
  • Amazing Spider-Man #532-537
  • Black Panther #18
  • Cable/Deadpool #30-32
  • Captain America #22-24
  • Civil War: Young Avengers and Runaways #1-4
  • Civil War: X-Men #1-4
  • Daily Bugle: Civil War Edition
  • Fantastic Four #538-543
  • Heroes for Hire #1-3
  • Iron Man #13-14
  • Ms. Marvel -8
  • New Avengers #21-25
  • Punisher: War Journal #1-3
  • She-Hulk #8
  • Thunderbolts #103-105
  • Wolverine #42-47
  • X-Factor #8-9

2 replies on “Civil War Comic Review – “Civil War #3””

  1. crossing over
    One of the reasons I’ve had trouble with this series is the number of crossovers. I understand this makes for strong inter-title continuity, but it can make the story a little difficult. (Spider-man’s reasoning for joining the side he has appears in another title, for example).

    Any thoughts on how to adjust for this fact if someone doesn’t want to read every title Marvel puts out? Or do you find it’s not too significant a problem at this point?

    • Re: crossing over

      One of the reasons I’ve had trouble with this series is the number of crossovers. I understand this makes for strong inter-title continuity, but it can make the story a little difficult. (Spider-man’s reasoning for joining the side he has appears in another title, for example).

      Any thoughts on how to adjust for this fact if someone doesn’t want to read every title Marvel puts out? Or do you find it’s not too significant a problem at this point?

      When everything is all said and done, I’ll do a summary column indicating the best of the spinoffs and the most independent stories. For now, the main title seems to reflect events in Amazing Spider-Man and Fantastic Four more than anything else. Wolverine, Cable and Deadpool, New Avengers, and Civil War: Frontline seem to be accessible to those who are only reading the main series. So, if you want to read Civil War, ASM and FF are the minimum additions to really make things work.

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