Ultimate Spider-Man #61

June 18, 2004

Quick Rating: Very Good
Title: Carnage Part Two

Curt Conners finds a startling discovery… and makes Spider-Man a tantalizing offer.

Writer: Brian Michael Bendis
Pencils: Mark Bagley
Inks: Scott Hanna
Colors: J.D. Smith
Letters: Chris Eliopoulos
Editor: Ralph Macchio
Cover Art: Mark Bagley & Richard Isanove
Publisher: Marvel Comics

After a “Hollywood” story arc that, save for a great final issue, was fairly lackluster, Brian Michael Bendis is back in form with this newest Ultimate Spider-Man storyline. I’m not particularly a fan of Carnage to begin with, but like he did with Venom, Bendis has found a way to revamp and reintroduce the character, keeping the creepy spirit without dragging in the heavy continuity.

Last issue a wounded Peter Parker turned to Curt Conners for help. This issue Conners, examining a sample of blood left behind, makes a discovery that, if cultivated properly, could change the world. This is mostly a talking heads book, but it’s never slow or boring and not a single panel feels like filler.

It’s not entirely talking heads, however – the book ends with a fairly good action sequence that brings back an “Ultimized” character that (to my knowledge) hasn’t been seen since Marvel Team-Up and “Ultimizes” an old Marvel villain. The redesign of the goofy villain doesn’t make him any less goofy but it looks a bit better, and I very much like Bagley’s interpretation of the other character.

The book isn’t flawless – as has been widely reported all over the internet Bendis gives a wink to the audience by borrowing a name from a character that should have stayed in limbo, and while this Ultimate version (hopefully) has no connection to the original version, dropping the name really adds nothing to the story and just serves to jolt the reader out of the book.

Mark Bagley – what does one say about Mark Bagley’s artwork that hasn’t already been said? It’s painful that John Romita Jr. is leaving Amazing Spider-Man, but I take solace in the fact that the other great Spider-Man artist of the modern era is staying put. Whether he’s drawing Spider-Man or Peter Parker, Gwen Stacy or Aunt May, Bagley’s pencils are almost flawless. A comic book penciller has to be actor, director and cinematographer all in one, and few do it as well as he does.

Bendis has succeeded in getting me excited again in a book that, for the last few months, had started to grow stale. For the first time in quite a while, I’m really excited to find out what happens in the next issue of Ultimate Spider-Man.

Rating: 8/10

Mighty Avengers #3

May 15, 2007

Quick Rating: Good
Rating: A

The Sentry tries to match his mettle against Ultron.

Writer: Brian Michael Bendis
Art: Frank Cho
Colors: Jason Keith
Letters: Dave Lanphear
Editor: Tom Brevoort
Cover Art: Frank Cho
Publisher: Marvel Comics

As the Avengers’ most powerful member takes aim at the new Ultron, a couple of old members are called up to the front lines. As much as I liked the first issue of this series – for the first time since Geoff Johns left the book, it felt like I was actually reading The Avengers again – the story is starting to wear thin. Here we are, three issues in, and we’re still on the same fight scene as issue one. What’s more, I can’t really recall what happened in issue two – the first page of this issue could just as easily have followed the end of issue one.

The big selling point here is the Sentry’s fight with Ultron, which isn’t a bad fight. It still has that sense that the writer is trying to sell us on the Sentry being the big gun he (until now) has never actually proven himself to be, no matter how much the characters claim he is. The trick with the thought bubbles was fun at first, but it’s starting to wear thin too – it’s the same joke over and over again, and it’s not particularly enlightening.

Those of you who have been upset about Frank Cho’s cheesecake art… um… don’t get this issue. Ultron, the Wasp, Ms. Marvel and the Black Widow all get displayed this issue, and the addition of Tigra to the cast just elevates the situation. Still, if you’ve enjoyed the artwork, it’s as good as ever.

This book, for me, is really coasting on good artwork and what is definitely an interesting cliffhanger (although nobody will actually believe the announcement). It has promise, but it’s falling into some old traps.

Rating: 7/10

New Avengers: Illuminati #1

December 19, 2006

Quick Rating: Fair
Rating: T+

The Illuminati intervene in the Kree-Skrull War.

Writers: Brian Michael Bendis & Brian Reed
Pencils: Jim Cheung
Inks: Mark Morales
Colors: Justin Ponsor
Letters: Cory Petit
Editor: Tom Brevoort
Cover Art: Jim Cheung
Publisher: Marvel Comics

So apparently, as we learned in the New Avengers: Illuminati one-shot, a group of Marvel’s top brains (plus Namor) have been working behind-the-scenes for many years, trying to keep things from spiraling out of control. This issue begins the massive continuity inserts that tell us what they were up to all those years.

Both Marvel and DC are guilty of this sort of continuity shoehorn from time to time, so it’s forgivable. The real question is how well the writers manage to wedge it into existing continuity. This story seems to take place immediately after the classic Kree-Skrull war storyline. The Kree, stinging from their humiliation at the hands of the Avengers, are plotting an invasion of Earth, until the braintrust called the Illuminati show up to make sure they stay away from our planet for good. The story is okay, although it feels like a hodgepodge of elements from the comics of the day. The strongest idea is really the different ways the Kree find to deal with the different members of the team.

The artwork, on the other hand, is very strong. Jim Cheung is one of the best in Marvel’s stable at the moment, and it’s a real kick seeing him draw 70s-era Avengers costumes and Iron Man in his classic armor. Really, though, seeing this just makes me long even more for the return of Young Avengers.

The book is okay, but it’s hard to judge how successful it will be until we know exactly how these continuity implants will affect things in the long run, which there’s no way to gauge until the miniseries is complete.

Rating: 6/10

Ultimate Spider-Man #60

June 5, 2005

Quick Rating: Good
Title: Carnage Part One

Spider-Man encounters a new foe, and Curt Conners makes a discovery…

Writer: Brian Michael Bendis
Pencils: Mark Bagley
Inks: Scott Hanna
Colors: J.D. Smith
Letters: Chris Eliopoulos
Editor: Ralph Macchio
Cover Art: Mark Bagley & Richard Isanove
Publisher: Marvel Comics

Maybe I haven’t recovered from the brilliant conclusion of the “Hollywood” story arc, or maybe it’s just my general lack of enthusiasm for an Ultimate version of Carnage, but this issue was just okay for me. We open up with an extended sequence with Curt Conners, back in his Lizard form, throwing down with Spider-Man. Spidey then gets into a fight with a new bad guy characterized by spikes and blades before turning to Conners for help.

Although my biggest complaint about this title is usually the extremely slow pacing, this issue has an awful lot of action in it, much more than usual. The spike-covered villain is pretty forgettable, though, but that’s not really a problem. He’s not so much a character as a plot device, a means to an end. I’m merely underwhelmed by the idea of a new version of Carnage, the poster child for overwritten 90s villains. Bendis is going to have to tackle the character from a very different angle to make him interesting to me, and while we get a glimpse of how he may come about in this issue, we have no idea who will be in the costume just yet, and that will be paramount to determining how interesting the idea is.

Bagley does his usual fantastic job with the artwork. The new villain’s design may be as stereotypical as his place in the story, but the fight scene is choreographed wonderfully and the pages are charged with action. I also really like his rendition of the Lizard, which is just different enough from the mainstream Marvel version to be interesting. I’ve also got to give credit to Bagley and Isanove for a beautiful cover. It’s simply a wonderful piece of artwork, and while it may not relate directly to the story within, it does relate to the story arc that begins this issue, and therefore I won’t decry it as falling victim to pointless pin-up cover syndrome.

This is a good issue, but not a great one. There’s room to play around with this character and tell some new stories. Time will tell how well that is done.

Rating: 7/10

Ultimate Spider-Man #59

May 22, 2004

Quick Rating: Great
Title: Hollywood Part Six

Gwen knows Peter’s secret… and she’s not the forgiving sort…

Writer: Brian Michael Bendis
Pencils: Mark Bagley
Inks: Scott Hanna
Colors: J.D. Smith
Letters: Chris Eliopoulos
Editor: Ralph Macchio
Cover Art: Mark Bagley and Richard Isanove
Publisher: Marvel Comics

Finally. After a few issues that felt stretched, elongated and ultimately superfluous, Brian Michael Bendis wraps up this storyline with the best issue yet. There isn’t an unnecessary panel in this book, it’s tight, entertaining and adds a very interesting dimension to the future of this Spider-Man.

Over the last few issues, Gwen Stacy discovered the truth about Peter Parker – that her friend is really Spider-Man, the costumed character she blames for the death of her father. After a particularly nasty battle with Doctor Octopus and a side trip to Brazil, Peter got home to find a nasty little surprise… Gwen and a gun.

To tell you any more would ruin one of the best issues of Ultimate Spider-Man since the series launched. Suffice it to say that Peter and Gwen confront their differences, and the resolution is something that I didn’t really expect, but that makes perfect sense in context with the characters. Bendis knows these teenagers, knows how to make them behave, and has created a dynamic on an ages-old relationship unlike anything the mainstream Spider-Man has ever had. It should be very interesting to see how this new angle twists things in the future.

We also get a resolution for Doctor Octopus (that Nick Fury is rather sadistic) and a return to the “Spider-Man movie” storyline that started this arc but sort of vanished a few issues ago. It all wraps up rather nicely.

Mark Bagley continues to be one of the best Spider-Man artists ever. As much as the Ultimate version of the character looks small and gangly – and basically, like a teenager – in comparison to his elder counterpart, that difference is really pronounced in the scenes where Pete appears in costume without his mask. Art-wise, the only complaint one can have about the issue is the cover – it’s a fine Spider-Man pin-up, but it’s another generic pin-up that has nothing to do with the issue at hand. Marvel is getting worse and worse about actually having relevant covers, and since it’s happening on nearly every title, I’ve got to believe it’s an editorial mandate rather than any choice of the artists themselves.

I was a little underwhelmed by the middle issues in “Hollywood,” but the conclusion is a knockout. One of Bendis’s best issues yet.

Rating: 9/10

Ultimate Spider-Man #58

May 8, 2004

Quick Rating: Fair
Title: Hollywood Part Five

Spidey escapes and throws down with Doctor Octopus!

Writer: Brian Michael Bendis
Pencils: Mark Bagley
Inks: Scott Hanna
Colors: J.D. Smith
Letters: Chris Eliopoulos
Editor: Ralph Macchio
Cover Art: Mark Bagley & Richard Isanove
Publisher: Marvel Comics

After landing in Brazil, Doctor Octopus goes out to find the escaped Spider-Man. What follows is a really good, but surprisingly short fight scene, after which it’s hard to talk about the issue without spoiling everything. The events that take place after the fight are pretty funny most of the time, I must admit, but feel kind of stretched out. Considering how little actually happened in the last issue, I really feel like that one and this one could easily have been combined were it not for the urge to make comic book stories come in at the magic number of six issues.

The good points about this issue are easy to point to – a great fight scene, lots of well-placed and well-used humor, and a last sequence that promises this storyline will have a powerhouse ending that will change Spider-Man’s life forever. Unfortunately, the bad points are easy to find as well – the story is stretched way too thin. It’s funny, that with Marvel shipping this book on an almost biweekly basis, you’re still getting three months of story in three months, but it’s taking six issues to do it.

Also, the “Hollywood” idea, about the Spider-Man movie, has been completely forgotten in this issue. The concept that launched this storyline is nowhere to be found, and it’s hard to imagine how Bendis is going to get back around to it at the end and make the title of the inevitable trade paperback work.

Bagley and Hanna, as always, do impeccable artwork. The fight scene is great and well-paced and the funny stuff mostly hinges on their ability to convey a sight gag. (Not to give anything away here, but think of Spider-Man wearing fuzzy earmuffs.) Bagley has also mastered the art of conveying a range of facial expressions on Spidey’s faceless mask just through altering the size and shape of his eyepieces. Keep your Todd McFarlanes – as far as I’m concerned. Bagley is the definitive Spider-Man artist of the last 15 years or so.

As usual, the biggest complaint about any Ultimate Spider-Man story is how long it takes to get there.

Rating: 6/10

Ultimate Spider-Man #57

April 23, 2004

Quick Rating: Fair
Title: Hollywood Part Four

Spider-Man is caught in the clutches of Doctor Octopus.

Writer: Brian Michael Bendis
Pencils: Mark Bagley
Inks: Scott Hanna
Colors: J.D. Smith
Letters: Chris Eliopoulos
Editor: Ralph Macchio
Cover Art: Mark Bagley
Publisher: Marvel Comics

Let’s look at that teaser for a second: “Spider-Man is caught in the clutches of Doctor Octopus.” It may sound to you, reading this, that it is a statement of being as opposed to description of action. There is a reason for this. It is because, until the last five pages of this issue, nothing happens.

Brian Michael Bendis is usually one of the best writers in comics, and he has one of the freshest takes on Spider-Man in decades. In fact, the only criticism that ever seems to stick to him is the snail’s pace his books sometimes crawl at. This issue is perhaps the greatest example of that problem I’ve ever seen. At the end of last issue Ock had beaten Spidey into submission and, at the end of the issue, the webslinger woke up to find himself bound and on a plane to who-knows-where. This issue we are treated to what amounts to 17 pages of Dr. Octopus making ominous-sounding statements, descending even further into insanity and giving us a wholly unnecessary flashback to what happened between the time Spider-Man was knocked out and he woke up last issue. (Not to spoil too much, but Dr. Octopus acted like a loony and hijacked a plane.) There’s a little exposition with Ock talking about links between the respective pasts of our two characters, but nothing that progresses the plot and couldn’t have been included elsewhere.

What saves this issue are, in fact, the last few pages. The good doctor gets a nice surprise before we steer into a three-page sequence picking up on a subplot that started over the last few issues and which, after last month, is not at all surprising, but nonetheless is one of the best twists Bendis has put in this book since day one and promises that the future of this Spider-Man will be very different from his mainstream Marvel Universe counterpart.

Artwise, this issue delivers as always. Mark Bagley and Scott Hanna do a nice job in the flashback sequence showing our villain hurling cars around like they were Hot Wheels, and the talking heads scenes in the plane are very tight and claustrophobic, perfect for the sequence. The only misstep in the art is that many pages in the middle, for no apparent reason, switch to double-page spreads. I don’t have any problem with this in theory, but when you do too many of them in an issue it gets a little repetitive. Furthermore, those double-page spreads are almost always difficult to read in the inevitable trade paperback edition, as was proven repeatedly in several CrossGen trade paperbacks like Ruse or The Path.

Beautiful artwork and a great twist at the end rescue this issue from oblivion, but none of that changes the fact that if you cut all but the last five pages of this issue from the collected edition, chances are no one would be able to tell the difference.

Rating: 6/10

Ultimate Spider-Man #56

April 11, 2004

Quick Rating: Good
Title: Hollywood Part Three

Peter Parker faces off with Dr. Octopus on the set of Spider-Man: The Movie!

Writer: Brian Michael Bendis
Pencils: Mark Bagley
Inks: Art Thibert
Colors: J.D. Smith
Letters: Chris Eliopoulos
Editor: Ralph Macchio
Cover Art: Mark Bagley
Publisher: Marvel Comics

Last issue, as Spider-Man was staking out the set of the movie that carries his name, albeit without his permission, Dr. Octopus arrived and threw things into chaos. This issue is mostly an extended fight scene between the two classic enemies. As with any issue-long fight scene, the book runs the risk of getting kind of repetitive, although Brian Michael Bendis manages to break up the monotony with gags about the crew of the movie, including a very funny scene where one of the stunt men steps up and joins in the fight.

The fight really goes on a bit longer than it should, however, making the real gem of this issue a four-page sequence where we get to see some rare interaction between Gwen Stacy and Mary Jane Watson. The two most important women in Spider-Man’s life (except for Aunt May, of course), don’t get enough of a chance to play off each other, and this issue marks a high point for the two of them. We also get not one, but two cliffhangers, one involving Spider-Man and the fight with Doc Ock, and a much more subtle one with a supporting character and what may be a pretty big change, depending on which way Bendis goes with it.

Mark Bagley, as always, does a fantastic job with the artwork. He picks up a fight scene that gets tedious with great, dynamic visual storytelling. It’s been said before but it bears repeating – I’m always amazed at how Bagley can produce such consistently quality work at the frequency he does. He should be giving lessons to all the so-called “superstars” who can’t bother to put out one issue every three months.

While still a basically solid story, this issue is running the risk that Ultimate Spider-Man usually does – namely, of stretching out the storyline past the point of viability. With three issues left, there will have to be some drastic actions in the next couple of issues to keep this story from running out of steam before the end.

Rating: 7

Ultimate Spider-Man Annual #1

August 20, 2005

Quick Rating: Great

There’s a new girl in Spider-Man life… one wearing a great big “X.”

Writer: Brian Michael Bendis
Pencils: Mark Brooks
Inks: Jamie Mendoza & Scott Hanna
Colors: Dave Stewart
Letters: Chris Eliopoulos
Editor: Ralph Macchio
Cover Art: Mark Bagley & Richard Isanove
Publisher: Marvel Comics

If every issue of Ultimate Spider-Man was as good as the first annual, you’d never hear me say another harsh word about it – this is the best this character has been in an extraordinarily long time. When Kitty Pryde of the X-Men starts feeling lonely since her infatuation with Iceman thawed out (rimshot), she starts to think about one of the few really nice guy’s she’s met outside of Xavier’s school – the teenage superhero called Spider-Man. Just off his own breakup with Mary Jane, she gives him a call and the two embark upon one of the most dangerous adventures of all – a first date.

There’s a bit of action in this issue – an early confrontation with the Rhino and some fisticuffs later on. That’s not what sells the issue, though – it’s the characterization that sells it. Although Spider-Man and Kitty Pryde isn’t a match that would ever work in the mainstream Marvel Universe (for a variety of reasons), somehow their “Ultimate” versions seem like quite a good match – the two characters really do have a lot more in common than is readily apparent, and even though I fully expect him to wind up back together with Mary Jane before too long (if for no other reason than because the comic won’t stray too far from the movies), I wouldn’t mind seeing this teenage romance developed a bit further.

The ending is somewhat open, leaving room for further development of this situation but not necessarily demanding it. I don’t know if this is something that will carry over into the regular Ultimate Spider-Man title (or Ultimate X-Men, for that matter), but I kind of hope it does.

It’s unusual to see someone other than Mark Bagley drawing Ultimate Spider-Man, I must admit, but Mark Brooks does a really good job in his own right. The characters look good and pretty age-appropriate (too many artists make their teenagers look like short adults, forgetting that everything from facial structure to body language plays a part in that sort of thing as well).

I never thought I’d say this, but Spider-Man and Kitty Pryde. Yeah, I could see that. I don’t think it’s that odd a match at all.

Rating: 9/10

New Avengers (2010 Series) #3

September 6, 2010

Writer: Brian Michael Bendis
Pencils: Stuart Immonen
Inks: Wade Von Grawbadger
Colorist: Laura Martin
Letterer: Chris Eliopoulos
Cover: Stuart Immonen
Editor: Tom Brevoort
Publisher: Marvel Comics

As Doctor Strange, Doctor Voodoo and Hellstrom try to seal the rift between our world and the chaos dimensions, the Avengers are dealing with the monsters spilling through that rift and wreaking havoc on New York (which, let’s face it, if you live in the New York of the Marvel Universe is probably not that unusual an occurrence). This has quickly become a much stronger and more entertaining title than the core Avengers series, and for a few reasons. First of all, the lineup. Spider-Man and Wolverine fit in with this title much better than the other book, and the back-and-forth between Spidey and the Thing is funny and entertaining. Jessica Jones playing mom works with this story too. (There aren’t that many superheroes who are also parents, but it seems like half the time there’s an event like this they forget about their children entirely while the go about with the fisticuffs.) There’s even a very good cliffhanger as the villain of the piece is revealed, and it’s genuinely somebody I never would have suspected.

Also not hurting things at all: Stuart Immonen. His artwork has always been magnificent, and he does a fantastic job with these characters. His Spider-Man and Ben Grimm are top-notch, and the scenes of Iron Fist trapped in that other dimension are stark and weird, all in a good way. His faces are fantastically expressive, full of life and energy, and the same thing goes for his over-the-top fight scenes.

This isn’t a great comic book, but it’s a good one, and for now, I’ll take it.

Rating: 7/10