Siege Embedded 3

I'm still not sure how I feel about this issue, or this series in general. I think the main problem is that, since this series follows two reporters (ostensibly "real people" rather than superheroes) I have higher expectations of realism and less tolerance for comic book physics and logic. On the other hand, I find these same limitations of the characters make the issues more suspenseful than a typical comic. The book is certainly exciting, and in general I think I've found it more compelling than the main Siege storyline.

As we rejoin our heroes (so to speak) Ben Urich and Will Stern, they are once again (or still, I suppose) on the run from HAMMER at an Air Force base. They're split up, and Ben finds his way onto a plane headed straight to the heart of the battle at Asgard. And not just any plane, either - it happens to be the plane carrying Todd Keller, fictional conservative reporter (essentially an amalgam of all the wackiest Fox News talking heads) and Osborn shill. As they approach Asgard, an in-air collision results in Venom boarding the plane, and he proceeds to eat helpless HAMMER agents as they're stuck in their seats. The plane crash lands on Asgard, flinging Venom away and leaving Ben Urich, Todd Keller and a member of his news crew as the only apparent survivors of the wreck. Keller gets his hands on a gun and uses is to coerce his fellow survivors to get him on the air so he can spout his pro-Osborn propaganda from Asgard proper and show the world Osborn's victory.

Meanwhile, Will Stern has gotten his hands on a new van and made his way back to Oklahoma, as well. He arrives just in time to record the Sentry (or perhaps the Void) bring Asgard crashing down to earth, with Ben Urich still on it...

I think where I have the biggest problem with the book is when we start to bring politics into the mix. While I happen to agree with Ben's politics more than Todd Keller's, we're still entering the country of straw men, where the conservative "villain" is an irrational, violent and blindly nationalistic caricature and the liberal "hero" is honest, righteous and an all-around nice guy. I do enjoy the concept of the traditional "report the truth" newsman that Urich represents going up against the politico-posing-as-newsman that's become popular in American culture, but it's a very hard issue to tackle without taking political sides and potentially alienating readers.

Samnee's art is nothing special, though the stark style seems to work pretty well for the tone of the story. But unfortunately I have to say that the more action oriented scenes (particularly with Venom) do not work well at all. Panels are drawn from odd angles, making them difficult to interpret, and over all the confrontation was very difficult to follow.