The Four Color Media Monitor

Stamford, Connecticut, gets one of its suburbs turned into rubble in a new Marvel miniseries called Civil War, and to make matters worse, it's politically charged. From the Hartford Courant:

The flaming "Welcome To" sign lying in the rubble next to Spiderman and Iron Man made it clear he wasn't looking at the smoldering ruins and bombed-out buildings of a generic comic book metropolis or a section of New York City, the traditional stomping ground of Marvel's characters.

It was Stamford.

The cataclysmic destruction of a portion of the City That Works and the repercussions for Marvel Comics' superheroes is the subject of a seven-part comic book series titled "Civil War" debuting this spring.

"People are just shocked," said Salerno, owner of A Timeless Journey comic book store in Stamford, who has been telling customers about the event. "Everybody's trying to figure out 'Why Stamford?' It's just really cool."

The politically charged story, according to Joe Quesada, Marvel's editor-in-chief, was inspired by post-Sept. 11, 2001, America and debates over the Patriot Act and presidential wiretapping. Though the details remain under wraps, a preview of May's first issue -- which Marvel labels as appropriate for readers 13 and older -- hints that the tragedy occurs when a battle between superheroes and villains causes a mammoth explosion outside of the fictional "Stamford Elementary School."

There you have it. Quesada, as the EIC of Marvel, is still not letting go of his moonbat biases. And the use of an elementary school in the plot smells of exploitation of children as a propaganda tool. And who might the writer of this upcoming miniseries happen to be?

The mini-series was conceived and is being written by Mark Millar, who lives in Scotland.

"He's not American (so) it gives him the ability to stand outside the hurricane and not be in the eye," Quesada said.

Let me get this straight. That Millar wasn't born in the US enables him to get away with a potentially biased viewpoint that could attack America's right to defend itself from terrorists? Keep on babbling, Quesada.

And even Jeph Loeb may have gone overboard:

It was comic book writer Jeph Loeb, who grew up near Riverbank Road, who recommended during a Marvel editorial conference that the civil war kick off in his hometown.

Why? Doesn't he like his hometown? This doesn't tell everything, but I do wonder if Loeb agrees with Millar's viewpoints - and Quesada's.

Quesada said Marvel, whose heroes have since their introduction in the 1960s flown, swung and smashed through real world metropolises such as New York City, wanted to make the tragedy more effective by using a less prominent locale.

With a writer like Millar helming this, I'm afraid I find it doubtful.

Although his name is not in "Civil War's" credits, Loeb said he is one of Marvel's current writers "who stick our noses into any project of this size."

"My job is to make sure they blow up the right cities," Loeb joked. "Look out, Boston! You're next!"

Loeb jokes about exploding cities? I'm sorry, but in this day and age, that's not funny anymore. I think I've found another in a long line of entertainment reps whom I'm losing faith in.

Salerno is uncertain whether Stamford's inclusion in the story line will draw more customers to his comic book store, but as a Marvel fan he is excited about the "Civil War" miniseries and its impact on future Marvel story lines.

But not me. Because if it's politically charged, and meant to be an attack on policies which are meant to provide safety and defense for American citizens, as this is quite likely to be, then what's the use of wasting time upon it? And that's exactly why this comes as another Marvel "project" I can pass on.

Labels: bad editors, marvel comics