Siege

The culmination of five years of event comics, the mega-event Siege ties up threads introduced in Marvel's World of M, Civil War, and Secret Invasion. All its pieces neatly in place, Siege is 10 percent setup and 90 percent slam-bang action, escalating from one massive spectacle to the next as America's top law enforcer, the nefarious Norman Osborn, launches an attack against the earth-bound Asgard, leading to the death of established characters (one in the goriest money shot in modern mainstream comics), the return of the not-quite-dead-after-all Captain America, and a whole new status quo for Marvel's foreseeable future. Coipel's art is more than up to the task, delivering stylish, dynamic figures in hammering battles. Bendis' Mamet-like dialogue keeps things popping, though in the style of event series, the characters aren't packed with personality, and it's the villains who end up with any degree of psychological depth. Unlike Marvel's previous events, however, Siege is about a community coming together rather than being torn apart, and ends on a pleasing note of hope.--Karp, Jesse Copyright 2010 Booklist