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Marvels long-awaited Civil War series hit shelves yesterday, the series deals with legal and moral issues adding a whole new layer of realism to the Marvel Universe.
In the series one group led by Iron Man, is set to embrace the government's demand to register themselves as living weapons of mass destruction and reveal their secret identities. On the opposite side, Captain America and other heroes refuse. The series adresses issues like civil liberties, national security, public safety and private freedom.



Here's some facts stated in a recent panel with Joe Quesada, Jim McCann, Brian Bendis, Dan Slott, Tom Brevoort, Ramon Bachs and Steve McNiven.

*The Fantastic Four will be torn "in many ways" as a result of Civil War. Brevoort added something in Civil War #1 will deeply affect the Fantastic Four. By the end of the event, the FF will be set up for a major storyline since, as the editor pointed out, the final issue of Civil War ships the same month as the 45th anniversary issue of the Fantastic Four.

*The villains of the Marvel Universe will be taking advantage of the fact the heroes are fighting, Brevoort said, adding that due to the circumstances the heroes are in, the villains suddenly find themselves planning capers on a whole new level.

*Bendis said The New Avengers will be “seismically altered” as a result of Civil War, "There is a winner, and there is a loser, and things will be shredded." The writer added the storyline in New Avengers will be entitled "New Avengers: Disassembled" - a five-issue arc. Each issue will be a part of the whole and, at the same time, focus on a single character.

*Brevoort said the larger Civil War storyline will see more obscure characters coming back to light, some that have been long forgotten, and some, according to Brevoort, who may be right under reader's noses.

*In regards to the blood seen on Captain America's shield in Mike Turner’s cover to Civil War #1, Brevoort said that the storyline is about a war, and in a war, you get to a point where the gloves are thrown down, and battles have to be fought - sometimes to the end.

*Brevoort said that while there will be no series cancellations as a result of Civil War, there will be a couple of new series launched. Likewise, the editor revealed, a handful of books will be completely shaken in regards to their status quo.

*Asked how much a fan would have to spend on Civil War to get the entire series, Quesada reiterated the entire Civil War story will be in the mini-series. The other series (X-Men: Civil War, Runaways/Young Avengers, Front Line) while important, will have stories set in the larger "Civil War" world, and the main storyline from the miniseries won't spill out into other series.

Who's side are you on?

Purchase Civil War issue #1 here.

Listen to Joe Quesada, Marvel Comics' editor in chief, and comic book writer Paul Jenkins talk with NPR's Talk of the Nation here



...and don't forget this saturday (May 6th) is Free Comic Book Day!

In other comic related news:



Last week Daniel Knauf, the creator of HBO's Emmy-award winning series Carnivale and his son Charlie Knauf began their six issue Iron Man stint.

The Knaufs recorded a podcast for Marvel.com (listen here), sheding some light into where they'd like to take Iron Man. Here's some exerpts: "What I love about Iron Man is that he's the one super hero who doesn't eclipse his alter-ego," says Daniel Knauf. "Tony Stark is a very complex, messed-up dude. This is a guy who desperately wants to help the human race, but his creative energy is almost exclusively dedicated to weapons design. What's wrong with that picture?"

This series marks Daniel Knauf's first foray into writing for comic book. "This arc will put Iron Man through the wringer," says Knauf. "I really want to dial in with big, monumental fights and action sequences, while taking Tony to some very dark places, forcing himself to face some hard truths as to what it really means to be a hero and that, sometimes, 'meaning well' is simply not enough. Knauf picks up the series where writer Warren Ellis left off.

Purchase Iron Man: Execute Program here.



Also, if you haven't already done so, checkout Ultimate Hulk Vs. Wolverine...Marvel Comics six-issue miniseries written by Lost co-creator Damon Lindelof, and illustrated by Leinil Francis Yu and Dave McCaig. The title characters square off after Wolverine is contracted by Nick Fury to assassinate the Hulk, who is known to be residing in Tibet. Fans of Lost will appreciate the flashback-style storytelling.

Purchase Ultimate Hulk Vs. Wolverine here.

If all this super hero stuff isn't your cup 'o tea, hold on, I'll compile a list of some non-super hero comics for you to enjoy.