Story by Brian Michael Bendis
Art by Olivier Coipel and Mark Morales
Lettered by Chris Eliopoulos
Coloured by Laura Martin
Okay.. if you’re not familiar with the last ….ugh, seven years of Marvel history: you might want to read this primer by our good friends at Newsarama. It’s not really necessary to know everything that happened. (In fact – to be honest – it’s best to forget Secret Invasion, as that series basically ended with Barack Obama exclaiming in disbelief that it even happened.)
Siege #1 is a first issue. It’s a lot of set up.. which is okay, but there aren’t any BIG moments, no big reveals, no F$@& Yeah moments… the ending is literally just someone realizing that they need to move to action. I’ll give it this though – I never thought Bendis could tell ANY story in four issues.. and the fact that he’s actually managed to compress enough into twenty pages to make it seemed compressed for Bendis.
Of course, the book is $3.99 – so there’s more to the book: a Hulk preview, a guide to the last few years in marvel continuity by Joey Quesada and a info-dump wherein Bendis writes out the minutes of a Dark Avengers meeting – Yes, they’re all about as interesting as you’d think.
So what does happen in this book? Let me give it to you point form:
- Loki and Osborne plan a ‘incident’
- the incident involves Volstagg basically frying everyone in Wrigley Field.
- Norman Osborne goes to war with Asgard without President Obama’s permission.
- Thor shows up.
- Sentry Beats up Thor
- Captain America – chilling out, wearing trackpants and his Captain America shirt, watching the tv… is moved to action.
It’s a good issue.. but it’s a first issue. There’s no surprises, we don’t learn who Osborne’s secret weapon is, there’s no twists, no nothing.. You can’t judge the event by it’s first issue, They’re a thankless task… but Bendis does it admirably.. however saying that.. at 22 pages of actual story, I’d have much rather paid less than $3.99.
