Civil War II: Choosing Sides

Civil War II: Choosing Sides #1-6

by Declan Shalvey, Brandon Easton, Chad Bowers

WHERE DO THEY STAND? The heroes of the Marvel Universe face a fundamental question about fate and destiny that will cause them to re-evaluate their beliefs and test their resolve! From across the Marvel Universe come stories of heroism, sacrifice, failure, death and heartbreak!

CIVIL WAR CHOOSING SIDES 1-6

Genres: Comics, Marvel, Graphic Novels, Superheroes, Comic Book, Graphic Novels Comics, Ebooks

144 pages, Paperback

First published November 22, 2016

About the author

Declan Shalvey is an Irish comics artist and writer.

Reviews

[Paul · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is an anthology book featuring a bunch of vignettes that are connected to Civil War II to a greater or lesser degree. As with most collections of this nature, the quality really varies from tale to tale, averaging out to 'pretty much OK' overall.

Definitely NOT essential reading for the Civil War II storyline as a whole.

[David · Rating 3 out of 5]

I generally like these quick take slice-of-life collections. But it's a mixed bag as one might expect.

[Chad · Rating 3 out of 5]

The main serialized story featuring Nick Fury Jr. is quite good. The rest is a mixed bag that felt like Marvel comic tryouts for new writers and artists.

[Sesana · Rating 3 out of 5]

Basically a collection of short stories happening on the outskirts of the Civil War 2 event. It's a mixed bag, but nothing is terrible, and a few of the stories are actually really good. The story that surrounds the high profile funeral of the event is the best of the lot, and would make the whole collection worth reading even if every other story sucked. I was surprised at how much I liked the White Fox story, because I know absolutely nothing about the character. But it's beautiful to look at, and thoughtfully written. On balance, it's a worthwhile collection, but there are (of course) major, major spoilers for the main book.

[Quentin Wallace · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 Stars

This was a series of short stories that show the reactions of different heroes to the Civil War II event. The problem being, some of the stories were just too loosely related. I still liked the stories on their own, but there were only a few that really seemed to tie into the core story. The others just seemed thrown out there, which was too bad as there was a lot of ground left uncovered.

Overall enjoyable, but honestly not at all necessary to read in order to enjoy the Civil War II event.

[Amélie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Very uneven, as is to be expected given how many stories and characters are involved - mainly secondary characters, but that doesn't mean it can't be interesting.

I wasn't really impressed with the art, except for a few issues (White Fox and War Machine in perticular). War Machine was my favourite story overall, actually, as I was a bit underwhelmed by Kate Bishop (actually I'd misunderstood and thought Derek Landy was writing her, which was my main reason for buying this, but I did like her story in the end, it just wasn't what I expected). Most of the others were pretty forgettable, unfortunately.

[Jorge Lopez · Rating 1 out of 5]

Awful. Complete turd. This is an unnecessary tie-in of an unnecessary event that does not add anything to the main story and just keeps telling short stories with different authors and different levels of quality.

Complete waste of time and money. Avoid at all cost

[Starlight Kid · Rating 2 out of 5]

Collection of mini stories that do nothing and go nowhere

[Annye Driscoll · Rating 2 out of 5]

Civil War II: Choosing Sides is a collection of one-shots (actually, most of them are half-shots, since each issue had two stories) featuring miscellaneous Marvel characters and how they relate to the Civil War II.

Most of these stories are really, really bad. I read a lot of comics and am fairly caught up on modern Marvel stories and characters, and still more than half of these stories were completely nonsensical. How in the world did Marvel expect to sell these for $4 a pop?!

Half of issue #2 a *construction company*. You may be thinking, "that sounds like a cool concept, if they do it right". Well they didn't do it right. The writing is bad. The artwork is embarrassing. The ending is so stupid. If I had spent $4 on this issue to find out that half of it is about some random construction dudes being sexist I would have been upset with Marvel. I'm upset with Marvel and I got this story from the library.

And 2/3 of the stories were like this!

BUT. Then there were two gems - comics I actually want floppies of just so I can own them without them having to be associated with the rest of this crap.

So - mini reviews of all of the stories in this book:

Issue #1: "Post Prologue" (Nick Fury)
I have no idea what happened in this issue. Nick Fury pretends to be dead for a stupid reason, gets a suit upgrade (from somewhere??) which gives him some superpowers. Whole lot of monologue, not a lot of story, absolutely nothing interesting.

Issue #2: Night Thrasher
Night Thrasher is new to me, and he seems like a cool dude. The artwork is pretty and dramatic. Night Thrasher is conscious of how ridiculous this whole situation is, which is refreshing. I'd like to read more of his story.

Issue #2: Damage Control
The aforementioned construction company story. Why is it here. Why is the artwork in 70s style. Why is the story so stupid.

Issue #3: War Machine
THIS IS THE GEM. I LOVE this little story and it is the sole reason why I gave this book 2 stars instead of 1. It is actually split into 4 very mini stories - one each for America Chavez, Monica Rambeau, Misty Knight, and Storm - which examine how each of them are dealing with Rhodey's death. What struck me in these 8 pages is just how real the stories are. Each of the women reaches out with her grief differently, but realistically. The artwork is stylish, and highly emotive in a way that adds to the story's themes of grief and hope.

It's silly, but the panel that struck me most in this story is one where Misty Knight is standing in a locker room changing her clothes. She has her shirt off but is wearing a bra and is tying a pair of karate pants on. This panel shocked me, and I spent a good 30 seconds admiring it. Misty is wearing a cute bra that looks like it fits well and is practical. She's not spilling out of it. She's not leaning forward so we can see down it. Misty is changing her clothes as part of the story, and neither her undies nor her body are sexualized in this panel at all. IT IS SO GOOD.

Anyway, I love this story and I'll be following both the author and the artist. I highly recommend checking it out.

Issue #3: The Goliath
I skimmed this one. It's pretty, but absolutely impossible to understand. Who is this for?!

Issue #4: Kate Bishop
I am a huge fan of both Clint and Kate, so I know I'm biased going into this one - but it's really the second shining star of this book. The artwork is reminiscent of Fraction's run but has its own style. The colors in particular are really striking.

The story is light, but is a nice characterization of Kate and her relationships. Her situation with Clint has never been easy, and it's nice to see her struggling to deal with what he's done and how it's affecting her.

So the story is good, but the artwork (and in particular the colors) are really the standout here.

Issue #4: J. Jonah Jameson
I actually really like the artwork in this one. The "story", though, was just J. Jonah ranting about "what makes a hero" and talking down to Silk. LAME.

Issue #5: The Punisher
The art style is different, but ugly. I'm sure other people like it. The story was stupid and only had 4 panels of Punisher. Wut.

Issue #5: Power Pack
Who is this comic for?! The story and artwork and both YA style, and the heroes seem like YA heroes, but the team hasn't existed since 2000 (SEVENTEEN YEARS AGO) and there is zero backstory provided to explain who these people are. Marvel's decisions just baffle me sometimes.

Issue #6: Alpha Flight
The Trudeau cameo (more than a cameo, by the way - he's in this issue way more than Alpha Flight is) is way cringy. I was embarrassed reading it. Again - who was this story for.

Issue #6: Colleen Wing
This book was fine I guess. Generic artwork, boring story.

Issue #7: Jessica Jones
This was another one with nice artwork and beautiful colors. The story was pretty much a throwaway, but at least we got some nice backstory about Ulysses. I enjoyed learning why he named himself that, and meeting his parents and seeing his room was fun.

Issue #7: White Fox
Gorgeous, moody artwork really is the only thing going for it. The story makes no sense. Again - random background hero who has only shown up in 1 comic in the past 20 years - why didn't we get a short blurb about who she is?! That would have made the whole comic so much better.

----------

After writing all of these mini reviews, my overall thought is just - what the heck, Marvel. Whom did you create this book for. Who knows all of these characters off the top of their head and is excited to pay $4 for a half issue story about them.

I feel like if these stories had been about more popular characters or if they had been an issue long instead of half an issue...maybe that would have saved it. Maybe if each story had had a small blurb at the beginning explaining the context it would have worked better.

As it is, this book is bad.

tl;dr: This book has a lot of shit, but two shining stars and one with some potential. Pick this one up for "War Machine", "Kate Bishop", and possibly "Night Thrasher" and "Jessica Jones", but the rest are unequivocally bad.

[John Adkins · Rating 2 out of 5]

Art is a three at best. Not really up to Marvel standards. The story is a two. The writing in this book in no way makes me want to grab the rest of the series. Nowhere near as good as Civil War.

[Cassie · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's a collection of six tie in issues to Civil War II, and each issue is further subdivided into two more stories. So it's (I) Night Thrasher/Damage Control, (II) War Machine/Goliath, (III) Kate Bishop/J. Johan Jameson, (IV) The Punisher/Power Pack, (V) Alpha Flight/Colleen Wing, and (VI) Jessica Jones/White Fox. Plus a full issue entitled "Post Prologue" about Nick Fury.

Issues 0, II, and VI are the best of the bunch. The Nick Fury story shows off his neat new costume, which gives him super speed and strength, but only for a few minutes before it overloads his body and shuts down automatically. It's a neat conceit that gives him a bit of an edge but doesn't change the fact that he's basically just a dude.

The first half of Issue II, the War Machine section, features four black superheroes attending the Funeral of James Rhodes. I don't know the context, but it's a really good homage. Storm's two pages were particularly great, and tell a ton of story in a limited space. (Compare it to the SIX pages in the Nick Fury story without any dialogue. All that happens is a fight between Fury and Black Widow, and it's not even a good fight.)

Issue VI is Jessica Jones being snarky, and an interesting South Korean hero named White Fox that I'm not familiar with. She's a nine tailed fox, and can talk to animals? It's fun.

But yeah, the rest of the stories are misses. The Colleen Wing story was completely unintelligible to me, the Punisher story was ugly, and Alpha Flight is mostly cameos from Justin Trudeau.

[Alex E · Rating 2 out of 5]

A collection of short stories featuring various heroes from the Marvel Universe, and how they are dealing with the Civil War II situation occurring at the time.

There is a wide variety of characters and storylines that occur in this book, but there is one story involving the new Nick Fury trying to outrun one of Ulysses predictions. That story was pretty interesting and a nice take on the spy thriller that the character Nick Fury is known for. Other than that, just a series of montages that go from "that was pretty good" to " omg that was not good".

The art is also a mix bag. I found myself enjoying most of it, but some does seem like maybe Marvel used the series to try out some new talent. But then again, you had some amazing artists on it as well, so again, a mixed bag.

I'd give this book a 2 star "OK" rating simply because it was such a mix that I was left with a "meh" impression of it by the end of the volume. It's not at all essential to the main series, so there's that as well.

[Brandon · Rating 3 out of 5]

It seems like every big crossover Marvel event has one of these anthology series. Usually there's one larger story (in this case, Declan Shalvey's Nick Fury Jr. story) and then a bunch of creators being set loose with random characters in the Marvel Universe. These stories range from bland and unforgettable, to actually pretty good, and are overall okay. Still I loved seeing the stories about the Ultimates, and the Kate Bishop Hawkeye story, as well as seeing Sana Takeda do a White Fox story! That was neat!

My favourite story was the Chip Zdarsky and Ramon K Perez story about Alpha Flight. Alpha Flight has recently been taken as a space-bound S.W.O.R.D. thing headed by Captain Marvel, one of the leads in Civil War II. But it started out as a Canadian team! So here comes the Alpha Flight crew to talk with the Canadian Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau. And then Justin Trudeau fights the other lead of Civil War II, Iron Man, in a boxing match! It fits perfectly in a weird way and it's silly enough that I couldn't help but love it.

I wouldn't call any story in here an 'essential' story for Civil War II, but given how bad Civil War II is most of these stories end up being better and if you're going to dig through all of the main event you might as well give this one a go.

[Don · Rating 3 out of 5]

A bunch of short, unrelated stories about characters who for the most part are on the outer fringes of Civil War II. The Nick Fury story was OK, the rest were up and down. Some good, some not so good. In all I'm glad I read it, wouldn't really say it's required reading. Seemed like Marvel had a short story contest among its writers and these were the winning entries. Kind of strange in that way.

[Geonessary · Rating 2 out of 5]

This started out great! Took a quick turn though. I don't know why I was hoping for better. These tie in books are almost always disappointing and yet I fall for it every time!

[Courts · Rating 3 out of 5]

Civil War II was shallow, trite garbage and Brian Michael Bendis is a hugely overrated comics writer, but Marvel events basically force you to follow them if you want to follow my faves. This featured authors and artists I liked, as well as a few characters I adore.

Most of the stories are pointless, some connected to Civil War II, some really not. As cute as it is to see the Power Pack, what exactly was the point of their story???

Also Alpha Flight meeting Justin Trudeau? Tony Stark sparring with him and wanting a hug? Simmer down on the cringe factor, Marvel.

The War Machine short with America, Misty, Storm, and Monica reflecting on what Rhodey meant to them and how they want to continue forward in his name. Marguerite Sauvage's art is gorgeous and evocative. I'm a big fan of her work and I think that this story is the stand out of the collection.

The reason I borrowed from the library was for the Kate Bishop short, written by Ming Doyle with art by Stephen Byrne. It reunited Kate with some of her closest friends, the other Young Avengers America, Billy, Teddy, and David as she struggles with the reality of her mentor killing the Hulk. It was sweet and poignant. David Alleyne is hugely underappreciated. A cute, Black, bisexual mutant genius and he's not part of a current team? Give my boy some love! Also I loved the Jamie McKelvie/Matt Wilson alternative cover.

The Jessica Jones short was fun and though I'm not familiar with the White Fox, Sana Takeda's art was gorgeous as per usual. I also liked the little showdown between Misty Knight and Colleen Wing.

Overall, it was probably better than Civil War II solely because characters ignored in the event issues got to have their voices heard.

[Arturo · Rating 3 out of 5]

Short Stories!
I hate short stories, why do I do this to myself?
Alright, I'll make the best of it.
Let's face facts, this is to try out new creators and Marvel checking the fans interest on certain characters.
I'll just go with a pass or fail system.

#1
Nick Fury part one. Story: Pass
Writer/Artist Declan Shalvey

Night Thrasher. Pass. (2.5)
Writer: Brandon Easton:
Artist: Paul Davidson:

Damage Control. Pass. (3.5)
Writers: Chad Bowers & Chris Sims
Artist: Leonardo Romero

#2
War Machine. Funeral Story. Pass (2.5)
W: Jeremy Whitley
A: Marguerite Sauvage

Goliath story. Fail
W: Brandon Thomas
A: Marco Rudy

Nick Fury (with Moon Knight ..kinda). Pass
W/A: Declan Shalvey

#3
Kate Bishop. Pass. (2.5)
W:Ming Doyle
A: Stephan Byrne. 4 stars

J. Jonah Jameson. Fail
W: Derek Landy
A: Filipe Andrade

Nick Fury. Fail

#4
Punisher. Fail
W:Chuck Brown
A: Chris Visions

Power Pack. Fail
W: John Allison
A: Rosi Kampe

Nick Fury. Fail

#5
Alpha Flight. Pass (4)
W: Chip ZDarsky
A: Ramon Perez

Colleen Wing. Pass (3.5)
W:Enrique Carrion
A: Annapaola Martello

Nick Fury. Fail

#6
Jessica Jones Pass (5 stars!)
W:Chelsea Cain
A: Alison Sampson

White Fox. Pass (3.5)
W: Christina Strain
A: Sana Takeda. 5 stars.

Nick Fury. Fail.

[David Farrell · Rating 1 out of 5]

This was the worst collection I've read this year. While I liked the Fury story that came first, each other story was bad. I disliked the extremely light and forgettable nature of these glimpses. Very little propels the stories forward. Worst among this grouping (which is a supremely random and mixed bag) features a regular session of sparring between Tony Stark and Justin Trudeau (awkward and gimmicky). Night Thrasher (no idea who that is) was followed by a possessed piece of construction equipment (wtf?). The War Machine funeral comic was ok, as was contemplative Hawkeye, but for every glimpse of decent art and the hint of a Civil War 2 tie in there are three lazy pointless parts. J Jonah Jameson has a 4 page rant, the Tom Foster segment was hard to follow, Punisher was jarring, I hated the Power Pack insert, Jessica Jones added nothing. I don't know Colleen Wing or White Fox - and the idea that anyone would recognise everyone in this compilation feels laughable. It's like a bunch of samples / short stories that are mostly disposable. Almost None of the heroes on the front appear, which feels like false advertising. Avoid.

[Greymalkin · Rating 4 out of 5]

I didn't like all the issues collected in this edition but there were some really strong, poignant ones.
"War Machine" was excellent, with some really nice thoughts on loss and failure.
"Alpha Flight" was the whole reason I bought this collection and it did not disappoint. Cost of admission for the hug between Trudeau and Stark alone was absolutely worth it.
"White Fox" was absolutely gorgeous but of course it was drawn by Sana Takeda of Monstress. But the story was also really good. I like that it took into account that America forgets that the rest of the world doesn't always agree with how to deal with threats and super villains.

[Jack Stubblefield · Rating 3 out of 5]

I missed some issues of the original run when this was first printed. I thought the premise of Civil War II was timely and relevant to our nation at the time (still do). Unfortunately, I don't read to be immersed in reality. I read to escape reality. Some interesting slice of life stories throughout the run. I really enjoyed the Nick Fury Jr (that's who he is, right?) story. If you can find this a good price (I did) then I recommend this TPB. I don't think it's crucial to your enjoyment of Civil War II or to the Marvel Comic Universe in general. As my son would say, "It wasn't half bad."

[Tricia · Rating 4 out of 5]

It is strange that I gave four stars to a book I hated! YES!
But there is method I promise.
So we are looking at what happens after Civil War II, and not surprising, it is devastating!
Is this the reason I hate it? Maybe?!?!?
Is is because I am seeing heroes who I am not familiar with broken? Maybe....
Is it is the overall sense of desperation that the characters are feeling????? Probably!
Do I give it four stars and hate it at the same time because we are seeing these untouchable super-people as human??? YES!
Sigh. It was heart breaking to say the least....but that is reason enough to say I liked it a lot....I will not forget...

[Dimitris Papastergiou · Rating 2 out of 5]

Even though it had some nice moments in it, most of the stuff here, you don't even have to read it to know what's happening on Civil War II or to have a better view of the whole event. If it was good or even worth reading, it'd be nice. But nope.

Boring stories. Most of them. Meh artwork half the time.

The only story worth it here and it was REALLY good throughout, was the Nick Fury story.

It actually made me wanna read Fury stuff after. Real good shit!

But yeah other than the Nick Fury story, everything else was mediocre at best and felt rushed.

[Scratch · Rating 3 out of 5]

More of a 3.5, really.

I am bored by the entire premise of "Civil War II" so no wonder I'm only catching up on this storyline a couple years after the fact. I read this exclusively because it features the 616 version of Power Pack. Here we see 616 Jack Power for the first time in nearly 16 years, and he even used his powers. Do people realize that? Power Pack had a miniseries in 2000 that it feels like I was the only person in the world who actually read. Since then, most Power Pack titles were set in another reality, the "Marvel Adventures" universe. We have seen neither hide nor hair of Jack in all that time. Until, finally, this!

Such as it is.

[Matt · Rating 2 out of 5]

Collects Civil War II: Choosing Sides issues #1-6

There are tons of short stories in this collection, all connecting to the event, "Civil War II." Which side will each of the following characters choose in the hero vs. hero war?:

-Nick Fury Jr.
-Night Thrasher
-Damage Control
-War Machine
-Goliath
-Kate Bishop
-J. Jonah Jameson
-The Punisher
-Power Pack
-Alpha Flight
-Colleen Wing
-Jessica Jones
-White Fox

[Heather D-G · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fun anthology of mostly side-stories connected in some way to the Civil War ll story arc. This was a lot of fun to read, and a great introduction to some characters that were new to me. Not every story was great, and in general the stories became weaker as it went on, but still very enjoyable. I especially loved meeting the Damage Control crew, and I must also give a shout-out to the Alpha Flight issue featuring Canada’s Justin Trudeau—awesome stuff. 4.5 stars

[Villain E · Rating 3 out of 5]

"Choosing Sides" is a misnomer. These are a bunch of short stories taking place during Civil War II. Some are reactions to the deaths in the main series. Some are showing what some heroes who don't have their own books are getting up to. There's a through-story for Nick Fury, Jr where Ulysses says that Nick Fury has to die for SHIELD to live. But only one or two stories actually talk about choosing sides.

[Mr. Stick · Rating 2 out of 5]

"EVERY TIME I TRY TO CONQUER THE WORLD, SOMETHING STOPS ME -- ELEPHANTS. GHOST RIDER. PAVED ROADS. THIS TIME I JUST WANTED... SOMETHING OF MY OWN."
- Trull the unhuman to Damage Control.

A collection of largely pointless tie-ins and side stories. Some high points. Some lows. A bunch of meh! Nick Fury wasn't bad. Power Pack was cute. Jessica Jones was weird (maybe it always is, I don't know).
Mixed bag. Two stars.

[Sean · Rating 3 out of 5]

Civil War II wasn't anything special so I was expecting less here but this was a decent read. The six issue long Nick Fury story by Declan Shalvey was solid and I also enjoyed the America Chavez, Kate Bishop, and J. Jonah Jameson tales. The rest were fine but unspectacular. There were a ton of different creators and it was a nice diverse book. Artwork was mostly very good. Overall, the book was better than expected.

[Adan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well, that was better than it had any right to be. My favorite stories were the ones featuring Nick Fury, Night Thrasher, War Machine's funeral, Kate Bishop, Alpha Flight, the Daughters of the Dragon, and Jessica Jones. The other stories, while not as good maybe, were still pretty enjoyable, which is rare for an major crossover tie-in anthology.

[Nicole · Rating 4 out of 5]

Each issue is a different character or characters' story, and they vary in quality. Kate's was amazing and everything I've been waiting for since Young Avengers ended. The one about various heroes at the funeral was also real good. Seeing Justin Trudeau box Tony Stark was bizarre, and not in a good way.