New York Times on Marvel's Civil War

The New York Times has a story up today on Marvel's Civil War event, where they break the news that it will have a companion mini-series written by Paul Jenkins:

America's current real-world political issues will wind themselves into the lives of the heroes of Marvel Comics in "Civil War," a seven-issue limited monthly series set to begin in May. In the series, the beliefs of many well-known Marvel characters, including Captain America, the Fantastic Four, Iron Man and Spider-Man, will be challenged.

Marvel will also publish a related series, beginning in June, that is to appear biweekly. Plans for that series, "Civil War: Front Line," are to be announced by the company on Saturday at the first New York Comic-Con, a consumer and business trade show.

Jenkins gave a few more details about his companion book, which sounds similar to his work on Generation M:

Mr. Jenkins will be telling some of his stories through the viewpoint of two embedded reporters. One works for a left-leaning newspaper, The Alternative. The other works for The Daily Bugle, whose fictional publisher, J. Jonah Jameson, Mr. Jenkins likened to Rupert Murdoch. Jameson has an agenda and pushes his embedded reporter to meet it.

Mr. Jenkins will be doing some embedding of his own, using, in part, actual war letters and diaries, including "The Diary of Anne Frank" to tell the parallel story of a frightened young mutant girl in Manhattan, and the World War I poem, "Futility," by Wilfred Owen, to chronicle the last moments of a hero's life.

Check it out (registration required).