8 Things We Now Know About "Civil War II" (No Major Plot Spoilers)

With "Civil War II" #0 by Brian Michael Bendis, Olivier Coipel and Justin Ponsor out today, here's the 8 things we now know about Marvel's big 2016 comics event.

1. The conflict that looms on the horizon is not going to be as essential as that in the original "Civil War", but should still make for an entertaining summer.
2. She-Hulk looks and moves like she's in some weird shampoo commercial.
3. There's a lot of exposition going on. You hardly need any previous knowledge to get right into it.
4. Hill is so damn nice. A reason to trust her even less.
5. Captain Marvel is a convincingly conflicted and complex character. A great choice for protagonist.
6. Doc Samson is definitely up to something. 
7. Olivier Coipel's "less is more" approach makes for some great art.
8. Even Brian Michael Bendis can't write an even remotely fresh court scene any more.

10 Things We Learned from "Captain America: Civil War"

Now that the movie is out for a couple of days, here's a no-major-spoilers run-down of 10 important things we learned from Captain America: Civil War:

1. Chris Evans' Captain America is as good a comic book movie super hero as you'll ever see. 
2. Nobody misses Thor and Hulk
3. The whole "choose your side" thing is complete nonsense. The movie is directed so that you sympathize with Captain America.
4. Tom Holland as Spider-Man is not cool. Do we need another High School Peter Parker?
5. Black Panther is an absolute success.
6. Although Chadwick Boseman doesn't know though how to do an African accent.
7. Too many scenes play on generic German airports or grey Soviet ruins.
8. Black Widow still kicks ass.
9. Ant-Man is better than Giant-Man
10. Helmut Zemo makes for a compelling villain, although he might not be what you'd expect.

Comic of the Day 5/5: "Thunderbolts" #104

With its "Civil War" story line coming to a close, "Thunderbolts" seems to finally have found its footing. It ties in smoothly into the main "Civil War" comic, providing readers with valuable background information of "Operation: Justice Like Lightning". But is it fair to credit writer Fabian Nicieza, or is the "Civil War" story line just too strong and full of potential? 

It's probably a mix between both, as he still does an impressive job in the dialogue and characterization department. Helmut Zemo is thoroughly well written, while Hank Pym and Reed Richards make for some exciting scenes as antagonists. Tom Grummett's art, however, still doesn't manage to convince. His insistence on big, crowded panels for fights remains confusing and highly antiquated, especially when he shows here that he has far more talent drawing tighter, more reduced scenes.

All in all a good issue that is far away now from the disaster that was the first two.

6/10

Comic of the Day 3/5: "Thunderbolts" #103

Most surprisingly, Thunderbolts #103 is actually a half-decent comic. After the disaster that was the first two issues, Fabian Nicieza is finally able to appropriately integrate the Thunderbolts cause into the larger "Civil War" story arc, including some enjoyable references to Spider-Man's unmasking.

The dialogue between Helmut Zemo and Iron Man stands out especially here, as Nicieza shows an understanding of how to build up these tense and well-paced verbal skirmishes between the two. Unfortunately, Tom Grummett's  generic tag team fight scenes still can't convince, as he relies too heavily on large, confusing panels. Nicieza's jokes also more often than not miss their target, while Songbird's naive and dull depiction feels painfully sexist at times.

Thunderbolts #103 is mostly entertaining, which is mainly due to it finally embracing the "Civil War" story arc. But it's still too flawed to make it an entirely enjoyable affair.


6/10

Comic of the Day 5/4: "Thunderbolts" #101

This one is the first Thunderbolts comic I've ever read, without knowing much about the series in general, and having close to no clue what anyone of them is talking about in any given scene. Hence, I have to admit I don't feel in the most comfortable position to review this properly. 

But then, don't they say that every comic you pick could potentially be your first one, offering enough insight and background to make it an enjoyable read? So then, does that hold true for Thunderbolts #101, letting me jump right into the action?

The answer is simple: no. Although the comic offers sufficient exposition at the beginning, I hardly ever had the feeling to know what's going. Too much seems to depend on whether you've read earlier issues and are familiar with the characters. I do not say this is a bad thing in general, as I can see seasoned Thunderbolts readers enjoying this issue.

And, consequently, this also makes it rather difficult to answer another important question positively. Is the comic fun? The Thunderbolts seem oddly dated in 2016, with group dynamics and an art style that simply don't hold up with today's comic standards. 

So, will I read another issue. Strangely, yes. I have four more comics in the Civil War volume, so eventually I'll see if things get more coherent over time, letting me enjoy the comic at least a bit.

Comic of the Day 28/3: "Ms. Marvel Special" #1

A surprisingly clever story, that's not so much about the wider picture of "Civil War", but raises questions about authorship, agency and meta-narration. The fact that Danvers inadvertently subverts some of the core superhero-legislation principles by helping Gavin, provides a nice edge to what otherwise is a Ms. Marvel that seemed too smooth.