The Book Depository Secret War by Gabriele Dell'Otto
269 ratings
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Price: £20.99
Brand: The Book Depository
Description: Secret War : Paperback : Marvel Comics : 9780785142287 : 0785142282 : 30 Sep 2009 : Contains Secret War #1-5 and From the Files of Nick Fury.
Category: Books
Merchant: The Book Depository
Product ID: 9780785142287
MPN: 785142282
GTIN: 9780785142287
Author: Ghostgrey51
Rating: 5
Review: Sometimes I think, no point in doing a review; everyone one before you has said all that has to be said, then other times the subject is of such a high standard that you just have to join in the acclamation. I bought my copy of Secret Wars on the strength of the previous reviews and must tip my figurative hat to the previous reviewers for introducing me to what must rank as one of the top of Marvel's work; no mean feat. Bendis has written a storyline which compares with some of the classic spy novels of the recent years. There are no straight dividing lines between Good and Bad in this story, not Latveria, The White House or S.H.E.I.L.D; at the end of it I was still not sure if Latveria was the innocent party and Lucia Von Bardas was just originally acting on her country's behalf and in the end simply taking massive revenge. Or was Fury right? Heck, the only ones who were straight forward were the foot soldiers; Spider Man, Wolverine, Capt. America, Daredevil and Luke Cage on one side and the clutch of villains on the other. All pawns. The narrative is a masterful combination of The Present, The Past and, The Recent, flipping from one to the other, keeping the reader on their toes, certainly taught me to pay attention to the left hand corner of a panel for the time reference! Dell'otto artistry is brilliant, I appreciate the production of this sort of work takes a long time, but I wish there were many more of his painted style books out there. The dark and the shadowing sets the mood perfectly for this theme of duplicity and questionable actions as do those black and whites as Fury explains to the `mind wiped' heroes of the actions they have been drugged to forget. Normally I am a bit suspicious of `Computer Screens' in comics, I have this nagging feeling they are a cheap way of getting the job done, but in this one, I have to rescind my view. Fury's notes on the character at the bottom of the `screen' and those of the various `off page' conversations add great depth and texture to the tale. The villains were disposed of a bit quickly in the conclusion, but to be fair there was so much to pack into that tale something had to give and the appearance of the FF at the crisis point made up for it, as well as the despair of some of the villains in the aftermath. Daisy was a bit too cocky for my liking, but there again if your father was Mr Hyde; I guess you would have a certain `attitude', so just me being picky then. In conclusion if anyone sneers at you for `oh still comics are we?' hand them a copy of this brilliant work and tell them to come back in a week's time (because they will need time to consult a Marvel reference site of course), and then dare them to say the same thing. One down side, I now have to divert my comic budget into buying the Secret Warrior series! All my other collection projects go on hold! Oh well never mind, if this is any indication I will not be disappointed. Magnificent.
Author: The Great and Terrible Oz
Rating: 3
Review: Bendis is well known for stretching out a story, but this is a note story that really doesn't satisfy. Everything you want to see happens off panel and what you're left with feels like a low budget TV drama trying to be a big budget movie. The art is really great, and every star I'm giving this story is on art alone.
