Secret War
Author: Brian Michael Bendis | Illustrator: Gabriele Dell'Otto
"[L]et the last thing they see on this earth be the culmination of all your lies and betrayals!"
"[L]et the last thing they see on this earth be the culmination of all your lies and betrayals!"
Not to be confused with the Marvel Secret Wars (plural) miniseries of the mid-1980s, Bendis' Secret War is very different. Firstly, and without a doubt the greatest thing about the book, there's fully painted art by Gabriele Dell'Otto. His use of colours reflects both the nighttime setting and the seriousness of the situation. It's a story that shook one of the pillars of the Marvel universe: S.H.I.E.L.D.
Colonel Nick Fury handpicks a small group of costumed heroes from different walks of life and throws them together on a covert mission of great importance. We're told that each one was chosen because of their unique attributes or abilites, but the reasons for each aren't explored in a satisfactory way. Perhaps Bendis assumed we'd be able to discern for ourselves based on our knowledge of their past adventures? I don't know, but I personally knew one of them by name only, having never read a single issue of his solo title.
The story itself would sound great when told to someone, abridged, but actually reading it isn't a very exciting process. It's confusing for a while, but it's supposed to be, so at the end of the day that isn't a problem. However, it's also contrived, with not enough distinction between characters' dialogue, and the nature of the work means that 90% of the exposition is clumped together in a single issue.
Between each issue are text entries that give background (or extraneous) information on people or events prior to the story's main event, in the form of transcribed interviews and S.H.I.E.L.D. operation database entries; the interviews are the most useful.
Colonel Nick Fury handpicks a small group of costumed heroes from different walks of life and throws them together on a covert mission of great importance. We're told that each one was chosen because of their unique attributes or abilites, but the reasons for each aren't explored in a satisfactory way. Perhaps Bendis assumed we'd be able to discern for ourselves based on our knowledge of their past adventures? I don't know, but I personally knew one of them by name only, having never read a single issue of his solo title.
The story itself would sound great when told to someone, abridged, but actually reading it isn't a very exciting process. It's confusing for a while, but it's supposed to be, so at the end of the day that isn't a problem. However, it's also contrived, with not enough distinction between characters' dialogue, and the nature of the work means that 90% of the exposition is clumped together in a single issue.
Between each issue are text entries that give background (or extraneous) information on people or events prior to the story's main event, in the form of transcribed interviews and S.H.I.E.L.D. operation database entries; the interviews are the most useful.
The book collects together Secret War #1-5.
Verdict:
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