an icepick through the keyhole

This is interesting, because your reactions are almost diametrically opposed to mine. I have no use for Civil War or Seven Soldiers while I've greatly enjoyed Infinite Crisis.

I'm wondering at this point what you enjoy about Infinite Crisis. The wholesale slaughter? The continuity references that no one gets or cares about anymore? The continuing moral erosion of Superman, Wonder Woman and Batman? Okay, not fair rhetoric here, but I look at it, and like the Fourth Doctor in The Pirate Planet, look at the intricace machinery of it all and wail, "But what's it for?"

I've discussed Morrison before -- I've had enough of his writing because it just seems to me that he hates the older comics that he's "reimagining". There's a lack of respect for the material and the readers that I've tired of.

Which is why, to truly enjoy the DCU these days, you have to forget that these are characters you used to care about and focus on the story instead. Which is why 7 Soldiers is more palatable, since it doesn't pretend to have any real connection to the originals. So the question of respect doesn't quite arise. Unlike Infinite Crisis, which I really fail to see how any of it shows any respect for the older comics at all. And is a crappy story.

Civil War looks to me to be like it's going to be fertile ground for conservative bashing. Thanks, I've had enough of that. And I already dropped Bendis' New Avengers. I rode out his Daredevil run to the end, but I'm really at the point of not reading anything that he's writing in the future.

The problem with Bendis is that he's bought into his own hype and is now listening to the voices in his head. I hated Avengers Disassembled. I dislike New Avengers. I find Daredevil like looking at a room with the lights out and you keep bumping into furniture and stubbing your toe. Repeatedly.

However, why Civil War as an idea appeals is not because of the potential for conservative bashing... and I'm really not sure there's going to be that much of it. What is actually good about Civil War is that the polarization makes sense in the context of the characters. For once, Bendis, by design or sheer coincidence (probably the latter) has understood how these characters would plausibly react to the idea of a Superhero Registration Act. That's what's missing from the DCU; nobody acts in character anymore. Nobody acts as if they even have a history that stretches across decades. Tony's acts make sense in the context of his MU history in a way that the various blockheads in tights that populate the DCU don't anymore.

Just because there's radical change doesn't mean that the change is necessary, or even plausible. Identity Crisis wrought changes in the heroes' characters that was just plain incomprehensible because it was so out of character. The train wreck that was the "Gwen Stacy slept with Norman Osborne and had twins" storyline was horrid, not because of change, but because it made no freaking sense. As I said - you either want continuity, or you don't. Don't mess with mister in-between.

It's not even that Marvel is better than DC. Or the other way around. Both are in very dire straits as far as I'm concerned in terms of quality. But Civil War seems a logical development, so I'm interested to see where it goes. 7 Soldiers is enjoyable as a romp, no more, no less, so that's where I'm coming from with that. It's a pragmatic approach, because I'm trying to draw out as much enjoyment as I can from what is an almost creatively bankrupt mainstream comic industry. I have to do this because more and more, I find myself looking at the newsstand shelves and go, "I don't give a shit anymore."

I take it where I can. Your mileage may vary.