Civil War: Front Line Complete Collection

The paperback edition collects Civil War: Frontline # 1-11Writer: Paul Jenkins"Embedded" Pencils by Ramon Bachs"The Accused" Art by Steve Lieber"Sleeper Cell" Pencils by Lee Weeks"War Correspondence" Art by variousThere are three stories distributed throughout the 11 issues - each issue typically includes two or three of the arcs."The Accused" follows Robert Baldwin, previously known as Speedball, whose mishandling of the villain Nitro was the last straw that prompted the passing of the Superhero Registration Act. We see his experiences in jail, and he eventually becomes a new "hero" who next appears here  Thunderbolts By Warren Ellis & Mike Deodato Ultimate Collection .In "Sleeper Cell," a number of Atlanteans are in New York for some reason. They are killed, and a couple of cops try to figure out why. This will eventually tie into what I consider to be the main story:"Embedded" features Ben Urich of "The Daily Bugle" and Sally Floyd of "The Alternative" - two reporters working on stories related to the Civil War. This was my favorite part of the series, but I think many readers were disappointed in it because they thought Sally Floyd's 2-page post-war "interview" (it's more of a harangue, really) of Captain America was the whole point of the story. I disagree. Consider what Ben says right after - "Well, _that_ was interesting."The first nine issues also include "War Correspondence," (3-5 pages each) illustrating comparisons between the Civil War and various real-world wars. I guess the point of this was to illustrate the human cost of war. (And perhaps help us understand Sally's point of view at the end of the book?)I borrowed this a while ago from a friend. Now that Marvel has been kind enough to reprint it, I bought my own copy. I recommend that you read this after you've read the main Civil War book. The story gives us more reasons to hate Tony Stark. It must be tough to be an Iron Man fan after (the first) Civil War.

Civil War: Front Line (the hardcover edition) collects Civil War: Front Line #1-11 (a multi-story mini-series), Civil War: Choosing Sides, and Civil War: The Return, all originally published in 2006-2007. Production quality is excellent: low-gloss archival paper, white (faux-)leather boards with gray stamps, and bright vibrant colors. Extras are minimal: two pages of variant covers and three pages of pre-colored art. There is no editorial content: no prefaces, no introductions, no background information.Story-wise, the Front Line mini-series, written by Paul Jenkins, is probably the strongest offering of the various Civil War collections. The lead story, Embedded, describes the efforts of two reporters to discover the truth about the Super-powered Registration Act. The second story, Accused, traces the transformation of Robert Baldwin, arrested for his involvement in an accident that killed 612 civilians, from Speedball to Penance. The two remaining stories, The Program and Sleeper Cell, describe the release of Green Goblin from prison and the politics of a U.S. tussle with Atlantis. All four stories are smart and subtle--each effectively situating small, personal events within larger, national events. Unlike the other Civil War books, in which one side is generally cast as the "bad side," Front Line offers up a more skeptical approach to the question of political allegiance. Unfortunately, Front Line's subtlety is slightly undercut by the almost offensively precious "War Correspondence" series that ends each issue. Here Marvel's fictional Civil War is likened to such various real world events as World War II and the Vietnam War. As for Civil War: Choosing Sides and Civil War: The Return, the first is a collection of vignettes featuring less popular characters (such as Howard the Duck); the second introduces a resurrected Captain Marvel in service to the U.S. government. Both are fine, but offer nothing particularly memorable.The art, though various in style, is on the whole quite good. Ramon Bachs (penciler for Embedded) in particular draws excellent city-scenes. Steve Liber's slightly darker work on the Accused is moody and evocative. And Roger Langridge's cartoony contribution to Choosing Sides is an unexpected pleasure. The art for War Correspondence, however, is a patchier affair, though some of it (like Kei Kabayashi and Christina Strain's art for the Japanese internment story) is gorgeous.If you enjoyed Marvel's  Civil War , you'll probably love this collection. If you haven't read the former, however, you may have difficulty following the plot. Despite its lack of contextual notes and its multiple story-lines, however, Front Line is the most self-contained of the recently released Civil War hardcovers (which include:  Civil War: X-Men , Civil War: Avengers , Civil War: The Underside (Civil War (Marvel)) , Civil War: Spider-Man (Civil War (Marvel)) , and  Civil War: Fantastic Four (Fantastic Four (Graphic Novels)) ). If you're only going to buy one, this should be it.

I don't know much about this book. I know there is lot's of them. It's a good read. It goes all though the MARVEL comics. Fan's might like it.

arrived on time in perfect condition, very happy thank you.

Loved this! A fantastic insight to the background and real story behind Civil War!

Good book! Delivered in great condition

Great story that fills in so much in the civil war storyline

Excellent comic, some fantastic writing, thoroughly enjoyed it