| |
|
From NYT:
Embedded reporters on the front lines of war. The search for weapons of mass destruction. An attack on civil liberties. Sounds like a job for ... Spider-Man?
America's current real-world political issues will wind themselves into the lives of the heroes of Marvel Comics in "Civil War," a seven-issue limited monthly series set to begin in May. In the series, the beliefs of many well-known Marvel characters, including Captain America, the Fantastic Four, Iron Man and Spider-Man, will be challenged.
Marvel will also publish a related series, beginning in June, that is to appear biweekly. Plans for that series, "Civil War: Front Line," are to be announced by the company on Saturday at the first New York Comic-Con, a consumer and business trade show.
Joe Quesada, editor in chief of the Marvel Comics division of Marvel Entertainment, said the idea for "Civil War" came out of one of the company's creative summits, which are used to assess the state of the heroes. "Stagnation means death," said Mr. Quesada, adding that Stan Lee, the creator of many of Marvel's characters, often advised piling problems onto heroes to keep them fresh.
"Civil War" provides problems in spades. The story opens with a reckless fight between a novice group of heroes (filming a reality television show) and a cadre of villains. The battle becomes quite literally explosive, killing some of the superheroes and many innocent bystanders. That crystallizes a government movement to register all super-powered beings as living weapons of mass destruction. The subsequent Registration Act will divide the heroes into two camps, one led by Captain America, the other by Iron Man. Along the way, Marvel will unveil its version of Guantánamo Bay, enemy combatants, embedded reporters and more. The question at the heart of the series is a fundamental one: "Would you give up your civil liberties to feel safer in the world?"
Comic books have a long history of reacting to or depicting the news. In 1940's comics, Hitler and Nazi soldiers often battled Marvel's Captain America and DC's Superman and the Justice Society. More recently, superheroes have wrestled with poverty in Africa and reacted to losses on Sept. 11. A forthcoming graphic novel will pit Batman against an Al Qaeda threat.
As deeply entangled in current United States politics as the new Marvel series seem, "Civil War" and the accompanying "Front Line" series won't be written by Americans. Mark Millar, a popular comics writer who is Scottish and lives in Glasgow is writing "Civil War"; Paul Jenkins, a British writer who lives in Atlanta and had a lengthy run on "Spider-Man," is writing "Front Line."
In a telephone interview, Mr. Millar said the nature of the story — a crossover event with plot strands weaving through multiple Marvel titles — meant a lot of coordination with other writers to make sure events and characters lined up properly.
Mr. Millar said the story would cause a "seismic shift" in the Marvel heroes: "Before the civil war, the Marvel universe was a certain way. After the civil war, the heroes are employed by the government." But don't think that gives away the ending. "Some people refuse to do it," he said, "and those guys are performing an illegal act by doing so."
Mr. Jenkins's "Civil War: Front Line" will explore the ramifications of the events in the main series and more. "I have absolute carte blanche to take on the political landscape as it exists in America and all around the world," he said in a telephone interview.
Mr. Jenkins will be telling some of his stories through the viewpoint of two embedded reporters. One works for a left-leaning newspaper, The Alternative. The other works for The Daily Bugle, whose fictional publisher, J. Jonah Jameson, Mr. Jenkins likened to Rupert Murdoch. Jameson has an agenda and pushes his embedded reporter to meet it.
Mr. Jenkins will be doing some embedding of his own, using, in part, actual war letters and diaries, including "The Diary of Anne Frank" to tell the parallel story of a frightened young mutant girl in Manhattan, and the World War I poem, "Futility," by Wilfred Owen, to chronicle the last moments of a hero's life.
Are these stories getting too heavy for comics readers looking to shut out real-world tensions?
Not really, say the Marvel writers. "Civil War," Mr. Millar said, will work on two levels: "At the core, it's one half of the Marvel heroes vs. the other half." But, he added: "The political allegory is only for those that are politically aware. Kids are going to read it and just see a big superhero fight."
Sounds interesting. |
|
|
