Exciting and gruesome!
I've been collecting comic on and off for about 20 years and i jsut came back earlier this year after about 7 or 8 years off (i stopped right after Jean Grey died). So i wasnt actively collecting during Disassembled, House of M, Decimation, Civil War, or Secret Invasion but i decided to pick everything back up and see where we were. Siege is the first Marvel U (as opposed to X-universe which i picked up again with Utopia) crossover i have picked up brand new from the shelves and i am NOT disappointed.
The lead-in's were vague but engaging (suspense and build up? thats just crazy talk) and the first issue big stuff at the beginning and at the end with a lot of talking in the middle (not a complaint, it was all neccesary IMHO) and then BAM! Issue #2! Almost non stop action with beautifully drawn fight scenes and just enough between scenes low key talking to get us set up for whats gonna happen next when Cap's "Avengers" get mixed up in there.
The art was great, the story is moving perfectly and smoothly (everyone is complaining about too much action OR too much plotting and they are missing the fact that these issues have had a perfect blend of action, political intrigue, back story, build up, with even a respectable pay off). They promised us an Avengers would die and they delivered...now i have to say that their choice of Avengers to kill, i felt, was a little too easy and a bit of a cop out considering the build up and anticipation of "an avenger will die" but it was still an amazing scene! The fight was raging, the panels were dynamic and exciting, and while i dont approve with the choice of dead avengers the death shot itself was something else. It was brief and sudden but effective and striking.
All in all this crossover seems like an amazing tie up to the 7 year storyline started in Disassembled (i mean once the heroes break up, lose credit, get invaded and a super villain maniac starts running everything, whats left to do besides invade Gods). Lastly, i think this cross over has been an excellent place to start back up for readers who have taken time away (especially since it leads into an Avengers reboot).
