Civil War: The Initiative #1

Marvel Comics

Writer: Brian Bendis (pages 1-12, 22-34), Warren Ellis (pages 13-21)

Penciller: Marc Silvestri

Inker: Joe Weems with Marco Galli & Rick Basaldua

Colorist: Frank D’Armata

Letterer: Troy Peteri

When did we start paying for commercials? Actually, Civil War: The Initiative is quite an inventive approach to advertising. Instead of wasting time with print ads, word of mouth, and viral marketing, why not charge people $6 for a comic book that’s nothing more than a collection of half-formed stories and two-page ad for upcoming Marvel titles? While you’re at it, he’s twenty bucks. Now tell me why I should drink Coke Zero.

As you may imagine, I’m less than impressed with Civil War: The Initiative. While I think the overall Civil War storyline is the most interesting comic event of the decade, that’s still now excuse for exploiting the idea by slipping readers product placement under the Civil War banner like a roofie in a Shirley Temple. This one shot starts out innocently enough, with a Brian Bendis penned story that deals with the aftermath of Alpha Flight’s destruction at the hands of The Collective. Bendis’ story has The Collective, or rather, Michael, the host The Collective inhabited, imprisoned in Canada while awaiting trial for the deaths of the team. This is the most fully realised story in the book, with crisp dialogue and Bendis’ trademark blend of naturalism and sharp humor. Still, as all the story essentially boils down to is an ad for Michael Avon Oeming’s Omega Flight miniseries, it deflates at the end, reducing itself to nothing more than an extended version of those Hulk Underoos ads with a less interesting product. Mark Silvestri’s pencils are razor sharp, and the layouts, especially a splash page of Sasquatch, are exciting and well thought out, but I’ve always found Silvestri’s work cold and distant, and there’s nothing in this issue to change my mind. Still, the talent and dynamism that has made Silvestri a fan favorite is obvious.  

 
What follows is a short Thunderbolts story, written by regular scribe Warren Ellis. Ellis is among the best writers in the industry, but he’s given 8 pages to deal with 8 characters, as the Thunderbolts team hunts down Hurricane. The fact that he still manages to make Penance and Bullseye shine in such a limited space is a testament to his abilities, but the story does nothing but give another example of what happens in the regular Thunderbolts series every month, with more cramping. This section contains my favorite artwork in the book, as Silvestri makes Bullseye look truly horrifying, almost feral, a barely contained vortex of insanity. And Penance looks like a broken S&M marionette, codpiece and all.

 
Next comes another Bendis story, in which Warbird argues with Spiderwoman for a few pages, then Tony Stark essentially turns to the reader and politely asks them to buy The Mighty Avengers. It’s a lot of dialogue that’s well written but goes nowhere other than providing the set up to The Mighty Avengers #1. I already bought that comic, so I feel like my time has been somewhat wasted. And on that down note, Civil War: The Initiative degenerates into a series of 2 or 4 page previews of Captain America, Iron Man, The Mighty Avengers, and The Avengers: The Initiative, filler in a book that already feels empty.

Rating: 5 on 10

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