SECRET WAR: BOOK THREE REVIEW

[Brian Wilkinson]

Reviewer: Brian Wilkinson, bewilkinson@comixfan.cjb.net
Quick Rating: Good
Story Title: Secret War, Book 3

There was a plan to make the war secret, give them secret costumes and have them fight a secret enemy. Instead, they are given variations on their costumes and had their memories erased. Is this a practical joke on our heroes, or is there something deeper going on? Readers need to know...

Writer: Brian Michael Bendis
Painter: Gabriele Dell'Otto
Letterer: Virtual Calligraphy's Cory Petit
Assistant Editor: Nicole Wiley
Consulting Editor: Tom Brevoort
Editor in Chief: Joe Quesada
Publisher: Dan Buckley

I'll admit that I'm a huge fan of Brian Michael Bendis. I think his work on Ultimate Spider-Man is some of the finest writing in the comics business today and it's still one of the few books that I heartily recommend to all readers wether they're into comics or not.

This is not that book.

Secret War is by no means bad, however, and I wouldn't want to give you the impression that I think it is. Paired with the incredible art of Gabriele Dell'Otto, Bendis' writing is elevated to a level I don't think it would have achieved on its own for this book. As an example, the final pages of this book show a similarly drawn page from Secret War #1 for the upcoming issue of The Pulse. The action and effect is conveyed, sure, but it becomes clear that Secret War is more and more being given into the hands of a talented artist to showcase his incredible talent than it is to really tell a tale.

We have a few things going on in this issue, and more than one aspect of the Secret War becomes clear. There was a team assembled to go and attack Latveria, but for whatever reason most, if not all, of the team have had their memories of the event erased. For what purpose, I'm not sure. Maybe they couldn't be trusted to keep a secret (and yet have done very well with their real identities over the many years, but hey, I'm just the reviewer).

In short, I don't get what the big deal is. I'm assuming we'll get to that in the next two issues, but when this issue was solicited it was said that it would rock the foundation of the Marvel universe. If it was intended to describe the art style used, then yes, I'd have to agree. Otherwise, there's not much special about this story and nothing is really coming out that is making me crave more.

It could be the ridiculous schedule that it's on. I know that the artist needs a lot of time to get each issue done, but when you have three months between chapters and the hype has died off and the story isn't, say, Origin then you aren't going to have a lot of loyal fans chomping at the bit for more. Instead, you're going to have a lot of jaded readers who want a lot more for their money than is being offered (and yes, I'm aware of the nice little bit of extras we get at the end) but overall, this is one of the few projects that I would have released as a first run trade due to the quality and let it stand on its own this way.

Again, I'm not saying I don't like the book, I just don't like the way its being handled and released. It's sucking the effect out of the book, leaving us with empty hype and yet another three months to wait for more. The conclusion to this book isn't due for another half year yet. If Bendis and Marvel have something huge up their sleeves then it's time to play that card, otherwise no one will remember to pick up the next two issues.

There are a few nice moments between Spider-Man and Daredevil, two characters Bendis writes regularly, which make this issue nice. The rest is Captain America freaking out with no sign of Wolverine, Black Widow, or that other chick they went to Latveria with. Come on Bendis, don't let me down now...

ART:


STORY:


OVERALL:



Buy this issue online now from X-World Comics and save!

[Dirty Harry]

This issue was sub-par, and to be honest I expect more out of the writing when I wait 3 months for it. I'd rather wait the 15 months for a trade.

[DntWryBoutMyNme]

I actually enjoyed this book alot. So what was the problem?

...I had forgot that this book even existed. Having a book come out every three months is absolutely ridiculous (although the art almost made it worth it). I dont see why they couldn't have waited until the book was completely finished before releasing the issues monthly.

...Blah...I'll just wait for the (obviously going to be very expensive) trade.

[bufuthedragon]

Of all the books out there written by BMB, the only one you see as "some of the finest writing in the comics business today" is Ultimate Spider-man? I completley disagree. What about Powers? Alias? DAREDEVIL?? US-M is usually a good book, but I found its latest arcs (from black cat forward) to be very weak, except only the last two issues (65-66).

About the topic's title, I look forward to this issue if only for he amazing del'otto art. it worth every single minute of waiting, even if the idea suggested by "The One Whose Name Doesn't Worry Me" sounds awesome.

[RingoStarr]

After reading this book, I think I have heard Spider-Man use the word dude 2 times more than ever before. "That wolverine dude"? I'm pretty sure Spidy would just say Wolverine.

[D4773T]

If this was written by an unknown writer what would the review get.

[lobofrag]

This was a really boring issue. For a book that only has 5 issues to tell the whole story, and ships supposedly every 3 months (took 5 months for this issue to come out) I was expecting alot more. What happened to these coustumes we were supposed to see? Where is the secret war? All of a sudden it's a year later....what is that!?!

After this, avengers, and USM , my faith in Bendis is declining rapidily. I tried Powers, don't see what the hype is about. The only book I still enjoy him on is Daredevil. The guy needs to take a break, he's burning out.

And I agree with d477et or is it supposed to be dattet? Anyways...like he said, what kind of review would this have gotten from an unknown?

[James Groves]

- and the Bendis backlash begins.

Artwork was absolutely gorgeous, although not quite as good as the prev issues despite the jaw-dropping splash pages. Still gorgeous though.

Story was okay, not quite as good as prev issues, but decent enough.

Have to say i was disapointed in not seeing the costumes more.

Needs to start getting going, but looking forward to next issue.

and if this was a review regarding any other writer - would we have got the same kind of repsonse along the lines of "what kind of review would this have gotten from an unknown?" from posters? :hrm:

Conspiracies & bias work on all levels.

Daredevil & Powers def Bendis's strongest work with Ult Spidey close behind.

Avengers :x

[Eric Travis]

Originally Posted by D4773T

If this was written by an unknown writer what would the review get.

A valid question, but it wasn't written by an unknown writer. What if some unknown writer had pitched Pulp Fiction instead of Tarantino? What if Stephen King's The Shining had been written by someone else? What if Michael Dukakis had been President? We don't know what the review would have been, because we don't know what differences there would have been if it hadn't been Bendis. If, perhaps, this was Bendis' first project at Marvel, perhaps the writing would have gotten a higher score, no? Since the reviewer wouldn't have been as familiar with what Bendis can do with Marvel characters... Or perhaps the score would have been lower because the reviewer might have wanted more from the story than he got.

Anyway, I'd almost completely forgotten this book existed. I was really happy with the first issue, and eager for #2. #3 almost slipped past. It's pretty good, for what it is, but we're at the middle of a five issue series, and I still don't see where any of this is going yet. Hopefully #4 will get me excited about the overall (or underlying?) plots again. Assuming I remember in 3 more months.

[Rain]

Originally Posted by DntWryBoutMyNme

...Blah...I'll just wait for the (obviously going to be very expensive) trade.

Marvels trades are usually pretty cheap, dont see why this one should be any different

[Drax]

1st issue was a little dissappointing. I thought #2 was fantastic, and this was pretty good. The thing I like the most, aside from the art, in this issue though is that this is the first issue where I felt the "bonus" material was actually worth the extra buck.

[EmperorShotzII]

I honestly would rather just buy a book showcasing Gabriele's art...

Aren't we going to be getting stories like this in New Avengers anyway?


I don't see a point... except maybe to compete with Identity Crisis...

[Moonknight]

I understand why some people may not like the stories slow pacing, but I don't understand how people can say nothing is happening. We have just found out SPOILERS: that most of the Marvel U's villains are being funded by Latveria. Just think about that for a second. Some of the most horrible villains in the Marvel world are being sponsored by another country. This is basically state-sponsored terrorism the Marvel way. This should be a pretty huge event. End Spoilers

I just really think that issue deserves some discussion. Maybe I'm making too much out of it, but I think this will mean something in the upcoming months.

[Zach Kinkead]

Originally Posted by D4773T

If this was written by an unknown writer what would the review get.

I doubt we’d be having this conversation. No one would have put up with the ridiculous wait between issues and Marvel would have cancelled it right after the second issue came out. No wait, if Epic Anthology is any indication they would have cancelled it less than a week after the FIRST issue shipped.

[ronaldmcdonald]

Originally Posted by DntWryBoutMyNme

I actually enjoyed this book alot. So what was the problem?

...I had forgot that this book even existed. Having a book come out every three months is absolutely ridiculous (although the art almost made it worth it). I dont see why they couldn't have waited until the book was completely finished before releasing the issues monthly.

...Blah...I'll just wait for the (obviously going to be very expensive) trade.

enjoyed it a lot too.
now i'm thinking if i'm going to buy the tie-ins.