J. Michael Straczynski

I really enjoyed Starczynski’s updated take on Wonder Woman in the first volume of Odyssey. So, I was somewhat shocked when he blew that volume out of the water with a stunning, brilliant conclusion.

Diana’s journey of self-discovery reaches its culmination when she learns that she has always existed – a personification of justice and mercy that has been reborn countless times throughout history. The more familiar Wonder Woman who met Steve Trevor was only one such iteration. Only now, show more mankind’s endless wars and atrocities have made an enemy unbelievably strong – strong enough to exile all the gods and attempt to wipe Diana from the loom of fate. But, one strand was hidden and still persists. The current, modern Diana must face her destiny and choose to become Wonder Woman again. This story was so fabulously woven that I wanted to cheer as it unfolded (I *may* have whooped out loud at one point). Straczynski has not only given the Warrior Princess a new direction and perspective, but has done so without losing any of what makes the character so iconic. The story has lots of action, but also many surprises. There are even a few cameos that not only delight, but fit within the story seamlessly. And the last few pages may just bring a tear to your eye.

The redesigned Diana looks so new, but is still so quintessentially Wonder Woman. Overall, my only disappointment is that there is no more of Straczynski’s Diana to come. He has set the bar so high, I’m not sure it can ever be surpassed. Highly recommended! show less

Other than Tony Stark and Captain America, Spider-man is probably the character most deeply involved in the Civil War storyline. Therefore, it makes sense that an entire tie-in book is needed to cover his perspective. Before the SHRA is passed, Tony begins cultivating Peter as a protégé and right hand man. Civil War: Spider-Man opens with Tony taking Peter to his private meetings with Congress about superhero registration. Tony is arguing against it, though he knows it is inevitable. When show more the Stamford tragedy occurs, he is proven right and he puts his plans into effect.

The first half of the book goes behind the scenes of the Civil War, in particular Tony’s actions, as viewed by Peter. If Tony looked bad before, he’s revealed as downright ruthless and unethical here. Peter’s life begins to unravel after Tony convinces him to reveal his identity to the public. First, he is terribly conflicted when he has to hunt down his former colleagues, especially Captain America. His conviction begins to waver when he learns that Tony and Reed are making billions of dollars off of government contracts to build a prison and create tech to hunt and contain superheroes. Secondly, he realizes that Tony is using the Spider armor to monitor Peter in addition to “helping” him. When he visits the prison, he is horrified to see that the heroes are being imprisoned without due process, permanently, and in the Negative Zone. Further, Tony emphasizes that the prison is not on American soil, or subject to law, and that all the prisoners are now “non-entities.” It’s no surprise when Spider-Man switches sides!

The second half of the book focuses on confrontations with various villains from Spidey’s rogues gallery – who now know who, and where, he is. Aunt May and MJ are guarded in Avengers tower until Peter takes them on the run and into hiding. Since Spidey ends up switching sides during Civil War, the second half of the book was sometimes difficult to follow as to exactly when the battles were occurring in the timeline. However, it wasn't strictly necessary to know. Peter switches costumes back to his original one once he defects. There are some excellent action sequences in part two, and many familiar faces like Rhino, Mysterio and Black Cat.

Overall, this was an excellent tie-in. I thought it was better than Civil War: Fantastic Four omnibus, and as good as Civil War: Avengers. Highly recommended! show less

The Amazing Spider-Man: Civil War collects Amazing Spider-Man nos. 532-538 written by J. Michael Straczynski with art by Ron Garney. Though the story intersects with the larger Civil War storyline, one need not have read that to understand what's going on here. Spider-Man, with his support of Tony Stark in the wake of the Stamford Incident, followed by his realization that the attempt to prevent another attack had corrupted the values of the country, plays a key role in the Civil War show more crossover and Straczynski brilliantly writes these tie-in issues so that Spidey's moral wrangling drives the story and helps ground it. From a creative standpoint, the decision for Spider-Man to reveal his secret identity was interesting as it opened up a host of new storytelling possibilities. Many characters are more supportive of Peter and his family, while others, like J. Jonah Jameson, feel betrayed. Things build to a head when the Kingpin puts a hit on Spider-Man and his family for revenge, leading to Aunt May's mortal wounding. Unfortunately, in an effort to resolve that, Marvel editor-in-chief Joe Quesada would retcon out Peter and MJ's marriage, one of the strengths of Straczynski's writing and the previous two decades of the comics. Quesada's betrayal comes later, however. This volume also features the oft-quoted "No, you move" speech from Captain America. show less

J. Michael Straczynski’s Rising Stars Omnibus collects issues no. 1-24, 0, ½, Prelude, and Initiations of the comic that ran from August 1999 – March 2005, published by Top Cow Comics under its Joe’s Comics imprint. The story focuses on members of the Specials, 116 children who were in-utero when a meteor struck Pederson, Illinois, granting them powers. As the story begins, someone has been killing the Specials and the suspect is one of their own, as with each death the survivors’ show more powers increase. Those responsible for the murders work to convince Congress that some of the Specials plan to overthrow the government in order to further eliminate the competition, though their plans backfire as the redistribution of power reaches critical mass and all Specials’ powers increase due to the Surge. They then fan out, with some continuing to try to live ordinary lives while others wreak havoc and set up their own fiefdoms. One group burns Atlanta, “destroying the corporate headquarters of Ted Turner’s TNT and CNN operations” (pg. 201, this may serve as literary justice since Turner cancelled the spin-off series for Straczynski’s Babylon 5, deciding that sci-fi didn’t fit the channels brand identity), and another conquers Chicago.

This sets the stage for a changed world. While the first third of the story focuses on super-powered beings as a part of our world, in the middle of the narrative, we live in their world. It also shifts time to the then-future of 2012. Poet works to recruit Specials to retake Chicago and, hopefully re-establish the world’s trust in them. Perhaps the most interesting element of Straczynski’s world is its built-in limit, as the Specials cannot pass on their powers to their children, so everything they do is chronologically limited (pg. 206). Knowing this, Poet persuades the Specials to try to improve the world with whatever time they have left. As they begin their work, Jason Miller struggles to choose a project. His wife suggests taking out Saddam Hussein, but Miller correctly predicts, “It’d just lead to more terrorism in the area” (pg. 342). In the end, he decides to disarm the world’s nuclear arsenal like Superman in The Quest for Peace. Others work to rebuild and renovate Flint, Michigan (pg. 366). Ravenshadow convinces the people of the world to begin looking at each other as neighbors. But the world’s governments and militaries fear giving up their power, and plan methods to curtail the Specials.

The only comparisons for Straczynski’s story may be Chris Claremont’s run on Uncanny X-Men, as it focuses on individuals who developed powers as children and the role they will play in society, or Alan Moore’s Watchmen, in that Rising Stars tells a story steeped in politics, mystery, and drama on a global scale with a clear beginning, middle, and end. Those comparisons only scratch the surface, however, as Straczynski’s story is uniquely his own. Like Watchmen or Frank Miller’s The Dark Knight Returns, however, Straczynski engages with the slippage of civil rights amid a resurgence of conservatism. Where Moore used Richard Nixon and Miller used Ronald Reagan as stand-ins for their future Presidents, Straczynski uses George W. Bush, despite the story taking place in the year 2020 (pg. 472; this chronology is somewhat complicated by the montage detailing Randy Fisk’s runs for President on pg. 499). It works particularly well, though, as the third act’s discussion of civil liberties engages with the debate surrounding the PATRIOT Act at the time Top Cow published these issues. While Watchmen and The Dark Knight Returns imagine a gritty, nihilistic future reminiscent of other 1980s pop culture that reflected rising Cold War tensions, Straczynski looks beyond the fear of the early 2000s to offer hope, a candle in the darkness. After the U.S. military figures out how to take down the Specials, Poet summarizes the next step of the plan in which the Specials will go into hiding. He says, “We’ll look like you, like everyone else, but the work will go on and we will restore the myth of the common man and woman elevated to acts of heroism and bravery only to disappear again. So that they will believe. So that they will believe one thing. That we are all heroes. That we all fly. That we are all capable of greatness and mercy and unimagined strength” (pg. 448). In those lines, Straczynski sums up the overall message of both his story and of all comic book superheroes. Best of all, he does this with humor and grace. In a fun nod to Howard Chaykin’s American Flagg comics, Straczynski portrays Ravenshadow saying, “Some guy named Chaykin has the rights to anyone named Flagg” (pg. 60) while, in a reference to Casablanca, Dr. Welles says, “I’m shocked… shocked, I tell you” after being confronted with deleted files (176). Fans of Straczynski’s writing will find everything they love here and those looking for a comic book narrative on a grand scale need look no further. show less