Review of "Siege Avengers: The Initiative," by Christos N. Gage

 Review of

Siege Avengers: The Initiative, by Christos N. Gage et. al. ISBN 9780785148173

Five out of five stars

Norman Osborn has been appointed the authority over every aspect of the American security apparatus. Determined to expand and assert his power, he establishes “the Initiative,” an organization of superhumans that are present in all 50 states and personally loyal to him. Led by the Taskmaster, the decision has been made to invade and conquer Asgard. The forces of the Initiative are so powerful they are able to emerge victorious in their fight against the Asgardians.

 The Avengers Resistance then comes together to join the fight against the Initiative. They have a chance to defeat the Initiative if they can manage to keep their internal divisions and relationships under control. The battle is depicted in the manner commonly used in the modern comics, hard blows to the face with blood and sweat flying off the face of the one that was hit. Furthermore, in keeping with the modern trend, some of the captions overflow with action. As many as twenty antagonists are packed into full-page scenes. Reminders of which character is which are also included on many occasions.

 The superhero comic books have changed along with society, with diversity in gender and race part of the fundamentals. The facial expressions of both heroes and villains are extreme and the females are depicted as just as tough and hard as the males. With lots of action from all players, this is a graphic novel where you often stop and take significant time to mentally absorb everything that is on the page.