Avengers: Under Siege [Paperback]

Roger Stern (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback: 160 pages
• Publisher: Marvel Comics (December 29, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0785107029
• ISBN-13: 978-0785107026
• Product Dimensions: 10.1 x 6.6 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.9 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #604,237 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars GOOD AVENGERS STORYLINE, January 27, 2005

By 

Tim Janson (Michigan) - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Avengers: Under Siege (Paperback)

This Trade paperback collects Avengers issues (gasp) 270 - 277 (minus 272) of the original Avengers run, volume 1 from the mid-1980's. Scripted by Roger Stern and with art by the ever reliable John Buscema and Tom Palmer, the Masters of Evil led by Baron Zemo actually manage to defeat the Avengers and take over the Avengers mansion itself. The Team at that time was a relatively weaker group that included Captain America, the Wasp, the Black Knight, Hercules, and Captain Marvel II (the black female version) with Thor as an occasional guest star.

The Masters of Evil were always a fun group of villians. Really a throwback to 1960's silver-age era baddies. Bad but not exactly evil per se. They hust always seemed to have a jones-on for the Avengers. A fun storyline with out having the endless plot threads that infect so many modern day comics. Good read and solid if unspectacular art.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars If comics were still like this, I'd still buy them, August 1, 2000

By 

Christopher Hayes "Safety-Man" (Hartford, CT United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Avengers: Under Siege (Paperback)

I remember reading this story when it first came out. After several incarnations of the Masters of Evil, long time Avengers villian Baron Zemo raises an army to attack Avengers Mansion. The series offered a lot a super folks in tights battles, but also showed the weakness of the main characters: Hercules alcoholism, Captain America's feeling of isolation from his pre-frozen in the Artic days, etc. Comic stories rarely evoke the sense of loss that this one did, which made the Avengers ultimate victory (at high cost) that much more rewarding for the reader. A great read.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the most memorable episode in the Avengers' past!, February 17, 2004

By 

Edmund Lau Kok Ming (Malaysia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Avengers: Under Siege (Paperback)

"Avengers: Under Siege" is arguably one of the most memorable storylines in the Avengers' long history. Granted, it does not have the scope of the classic cosmic tales like "Kree-Skrull War" and "Celestial Madonna". In fact, the whole work feels a little too "earthy" and the action is mainly limited to one place - Avengers Mansion. But what ACTION it is! The Masters of Evil, in their most powerful incarnation EVER, invades Avengers Mansion and takes over it!

Roger Stern is a solid Marvel writer in the 1980s under the editorship of Jim Shooter. We rarely see such dependable work-horse comic-writers today. "Under Siege" remains one of Sterns greatest writings (along with his work on Dr. Strange). There is an almost effortless feel to the way Stern seems to nail down the characterization of all the characters (most notably on the second-stringers like Black Knight, Hercules, Wasp, etc.) John Buscema and Tom Palmer provides the art. The art really shines in the last chapter when the heavyweights like Thor and Captain America join the fray to reclaim Avengers Mansion. We see the restrain and control in Buscema's powerful art - Thor vs. Goliath, Cap vs. Wrecker and finally Cap vs. Baron Zemo. A lesser artist, thinking he's the next-Kirby, would have drawn the whole thing in a loose, in-your-face, full page splash, zero storytelling style. But not Buscema and Palmer. See their art here and you'll know why Buscema was THE Marvel artist of the 1970s and 80s.