I'm Being Self-Indulgent Here

Open Letter To Disillusioned Marvel Fans In A Post-Civil War World:

How are you doing? Pull up a chair, have a seat. Want something to drink? I've got soda and water. What'd I ask you here for? Right to business, huh? OK, here we go. I've seen you there in the forums, message boards, Newsarama Blog comment threads. You're depressed, frustrated, ready to give up. You say you're done with Marvel, maybe even done with comics entirely.

First, let me say I'm not going to criticize that decision. I'm depressed by Civil War too, and it is your money, which means you can spend it (or not) as you see fit. And I'm not going to say you aren't 'a fan of comics' if that's your final decision. Arguing about what a true fan is doesn't get us anywhere. All I wanted to do was remind you that there's lots of stuff out there that hasn't been touched by Civil War.

You say, "Well I knew that! Do you think I'm stupid?" No sir or madam, I do not. I think you are feeling kind of down, and ready to chuck the whole game console out the window because one of your games doesn't work anymore (I'm tired of that 'baby and bathwater' metaphor, so I've made a new one). Let's take a look at the landscape:

Marvel Adventures: I haven't read much of this, but from what I have, it's done-in-one stories, the good guys and bad guys are pretty clearly delineated, and while things are resolved with violence, there's no "lightning bolt through the chest" stuff. Iron Man's even getting a Marvel Adventures book, which means he would have to be an actual good guy. No more punching Captain America or sending supervillains after Spider-Man. MODOK Avengers, anyone?

OK, maybe you want it a little more gritty than that. Howzabout the Ultimate line? No Civil War there. OK, that's because the government already seems to have a policy regarding superhumans (you join when you're 18, or you go to jail), but it doesn't seem as pushy as it did in Civil War. Plus, once Millar finishes Ultimates 2, he'll be out of this line entirely, so that might be something you'd enjoy.

If you want gritty, non-registration stories, there's the MAX line. I guarantee you won't hear diddly squat about Civil War in The Punisher (watch Garth Ennis make me a liar next month). You'd have to ask Mallet about Son of Satan, but I think it's safe.

But maybe you want less graphic violence, but you still want some sort of continuity. There's the MC2 Universe, home of the Amazing Spider-Girl! That's all there is to it right now, but there could be other mini-series in the future. It's superheroics with a Bronze Age mentality (I think; I'm not really sure what that means). Or there's The Exiles. Everybody likes Chris Claremont! Or maybe not. But it's set outside of any particular universe, so it can just be all sorts of wacky alternate realities! One of those two might even make fun of Civil War. Spider-Girl did it with Disassembled.

And I didn't even mention DC, Image, Top Cow, IDW, Dynamite or any of the other comic publishers out there. Look, this has probably been kind of annoying for you, what with me sitting here, telling you the obvious and all, but I was feeling kind of bummed out that Civil War was ruining comics for people, and so I really wanted to remind you that there has to be something out there you would enjoy, and more than likely it needs your financial support.

Have a nice day,

CalvinPitt