The new Captain America movie looks awesome and since all I read these days are comic books and graphic novels... yeah. why not travel down the Civil War story arc!?I promise I'll try to read books without pictures next year. Thanks for indulging me these last few weeks. I don't think I've lost any friends along the way...And Merry Christmas you guys. Hope it was awesome. Anyone seeing Star Wars for a second time this weekend?Time to go dubsmash....!! KAPOW!

3.5 stars. I wasn't super interested in the Fantastic Four comics, but the first comic and the Spider-Man comics were FANTASTIC. The art wasn't my favorite, but the writing and storyline were great! Civil War is coming...

This worked well as a quick primer of the major events that came before Civil War. It reminds us that Ragnarok has happened, that Spider-Man is under Stark's thumb, that Scarlet Witch and the House of M are still sitting very high in the nation's collective consciousness, that the mutants are still struggling with the fallout of M Day and the 198, and that there is a high level of fear towards all superheroes brewing in the American government.Especially, The New Avengers Illuminati, is an impor...

Apparently the roads to both Hell and Marvel’s Civil War are paved with good intentions…This collection pulls issues from several comics to tell essentially three stories that lay the groundwork for the upcoming conflict. The first shows a previously unknown piece of Marvel history in which the Kree/Skrull War that nearly destroyed Earth so rattled Tony Stark that he gathered a small group of influential figures to convince them that the superheros and mutants need to organize and join forces to...

This comic departed from the franchise, offering much needed clarification in between the events of Age of Ultron and Civil War. The legality issues regarding the Accords, the responsibility several wanted to issue superheroes and superhumans. It is something that I think I could attempt to write about in-depth, but the short of it remains I'm more Libertarian, and as much as I believe in accountability - forced accountability can only lead to the loss of our freedoms. Which is why I really enjo...

So, basically what I've learned from this is that the entire Marvel Universe should listen to T'Challa.

I guess I took something away from this...? New Avengers: Illuminati: This artwork was really unappealing and this all-male group of superheroes including Iron Man, Black Bolt, Mr. Fantastic, Namor, Dr. Strange, Black Panther, and Professor Xavier basically tried to form a superhero version of the UN and that was voted down and they fought because none of them can get along. Fantastic Four #536-537: So Thor's hammer has landed on Earth after Ragnarok and the FF are called there when Doom shows u...

I had heard about the Marvel Civil War story arc when it was being first published. The concept was interesting and I was curious. When I saw this book at the library, I thought it would be a good way to get started into it. I was already familiar with what happens during the Civil War and which super heroes were on which side. This is graphic novel is a good way to lead into the story arc.This novel is comprised from three comic lines:New Avengers Illuminati Special: Issue 1Fantastic Four: Issu...

A good introduction and background to Civil War - definitely got me excited to read through the next three volumes in the series.

While working my way through the Marvel events, I found that each usually has some kind of prelude, or road to set-up book that collects some issues to help orient the reader to what’s coming. They set the stage. Of the few I've read so far, this is the best set-up collection I've seen.I’m familiar with the basic premise of the Civil War event, but am just now starting to read the graphic novel collections. The most important aspect of this book is the Illuminati one shot. The greatest superhero...

I loved the beginning of the Civil War series. I forgot how much I loved some of these characters, especially The Thing. I'm interested to see what happens next. I have all of the comic books in the series, and will probably binge read them tonight, before I have to return them to the library tomorrow.

A little back story on some things that happened before the Civil War started. You also get a glimpse of what happened prior to the Planet Hulk story, if anyone is interested. Hmmm. All in all, you could skip it and not be out of the loop. However, it does paint Tony Stark in a questionable light toward the end, so maybe that alone would be worth reading this one.

My library got a LOT of Marvel's Civil War books, so I thought I'd start it off right.Brian Michael Bendis and Alex Maleev's New Avengers: Illuminati is a good continuity-steeped, talking-heads superhero book. Straczynski and McKone's Fantastic Four story has a nice return for Dr. Doom (he literally comes back from hell), but feels mostly like it's introducing a chess piece in the return of Thor's enchanted hammer. Straczynski and Garney's Spider-Man story tries to show off all the moral complex...

The idea of this trade is to lay out the groundwork for the events of Civil War. It does this through three separate storylines. The first is the single issue Illuminati, which has the strongest writing in the collection. The idea is that some of the most influential voices in Marvel's superhero communities have been secretly meeting for years. The second storyline is a two-issue Fantastic Four thread that honestly didn't do much for me. Not a FF fan. Finally, there's a three-issue Spider-Man st...

Such a great book and its basically peter being asked by Tony to be his well Assistant and they go to senate to testify regarding the Superhuman Registration Act and there is some arguments that are had about the responsibility and accountability of superheroes and all, which was all fascinating until they are attacked by Titanium Man and Pete with his Iron suit saves the day then he as his alter ego Spidey has some interesting talks about the consequences of the act with Senators but if he want...

Iron Man and Mister Fantastic are assholes...way more than in the movies. They shoot Hulk into space, manipulate Spider-Man, and keep secrets from everyone "for their own good". I can see no reason why anyone would side with them at all, other than that I really liked it. The act that pushes the government into passing the Superhero Registration Act makes a whole lot more sense and is much more horrifying than the one in the movie also.

The comics collected here were good, and I could just about see how they tied the story together, but it felt like it was taking some very big & unexplained leaps and just presuming we'd keep up. Good for existing Marvel fans, probably, but for me (who's trying to learn more about the Marvel universe than just what's in the movies) it's a little lacking. Don't get me wrong; still very good... just not what I'd hoped.

Well, now I know what lead to the Superhero Registration Act, although I don't know how much that cleared up for me haha I had no idea that Peter Parker worked as Tony's assistant. Tony must be like, almost 50? I imagine him to be RDJ's current age. Parker seems to be in his mid-20s, which by now is too late (although let's be real: in Hollywood, not really) for the mid-30s Andrew Garfield to play him, but now I'm sad that they recasted SO YOUNG. I realize that Reed is a strong figure, but I did...

[Re-read after half a decade]A glimpse into the events that would one day lead to a massive rift between superheroes. Friends and families stood on opposite sides when the line got drawn. Tony Stark does what he thinks is best for humanity without acknowledging repercussions of his own actions. House of M gets mentioned (in which Scarlett Witch messes with reality) and Hulk's destruction of Vegas. These two become triggering factors to half of the public that is weary of collateral damages induc...

The most important part of this book is that Doom is the real MVP (and got trolled by Thor's hammer).