Ultimate Spider-Man #73

March 4, 2005

Quick Rating: Fair
Title: Hobgoblin Part 2

What has Harry been up to?

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

When this book is on, it’s one of the best comic books on the market. Unfortunately, it isn’t on this issue. Ultimate Spider-Man #73 is a perfect example of how this title sometimes misfires. There’s nothing wrong with it, there’s nothing in here that’s bad, it’s just that the events in these 22 pages in no way were deserving of an entire issue to tell.

This issue, we flashback to where Harry Osborn has been since leaving the cast of this title many moons ago. That’s it. The entire issue is a Harry flashback that shows where he’s been, what he’s been up to, how he’s been on the sidelines of some of the other events we’ve seen, and how much he may or may not remember. This is all good information. This is all important information for the story. But by the end of this issue, absolutely nothing has changed in the status quo, the story hasn’t progressed one iota. This information would have been far better served worked into another issue with actual plot progression.

Mark Bagley, as always, does a great job on the artwork. We get to see his rendition of Nick Fury and a return of the Green Goblin, plus some recreations of earlier scenes in this series and in the lackluster Ultimate Six. He does a lot with very little story.

Brian Michael Bendis is a good writer, and it’s a relief to hear that this title will be slacking back on the ridiculous number of issues that were put out last year, but since it will finally be on a sane release schedule, it’s even more important that each issue move the plot forward. This one just doesn’t measure up.

Rating: 6/10

Ultimate Spider-Man #72

February 5, 2005

Quick Rating: Good
Title: Hobgoblin Part One

Harry Osborn is back… this can’t be good for Peter Parker

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’ve been spoiled by the three two-issue stories that just wrapped up, but this issue of Ultimate Spider-Man felt really, really slow to me. Fresh from his horrifying encounter with Doctor Strange, a new horror enters Spider-Man’s life… the return of his former best friend, Harry Osborn, son of the Green Goblin.

The book starts by recapping the events from the very first issue of the title, where Peter Parker got his powers in the first place, then goes on to reveal some other events that went on that day that neither Pete nor the reader were aware of – events that are coming back to bite us now. Peter is still jittery, pushing away his girlfriend after having the fear of losing her instilled last issue, and having the son of his worst enemy, who also happens to know his secret identity, return to his life at just this moment makes for a devastating blow.

Brian Michael Bendis’s characterization and dialogue are as good as ever, and the added scenes don’t feel like a cop-out, wedged in to create tension now, like a lot of sudden reveal flashbacks do. It’s also nice to see that the quick stories that just wrapped up did not happen in a vacuum – although the Dr. Strange story isn’t specifically referenced, anyone who read the last two issues knows exactly where Pete’s sudden attitude shift comes from, and sympathizes even as you want to yell at his to wise up.

The problem, like I said, is the pacing. Quite often, the six-issue arcs of this title feel padded, and it’s a bad sign when I get that sensation from the first issue in the arc. This felt like half an issue, not a full one, and that disturbs me quite a bit.

Mark Bagley remains the king of Spider-Man artwork. Although there’s not a lot of action in this issue, the brief fight scene is handled well, and it’s interesting to note how much the characters have evolved visually since the beginning of the series, even if it’s just as simple as removing a pair of glasses and changing a character’s posture.

A good issue, as Ultimate Spider-Man always serves up. But one that felt like there should have been more here, a problem this title suffers from far too frequently.

Rating: 7/10

Ultimate Spider-Man #71

January 21, 2005

Quick Rating: Great
Title: Strange Part Two

With Spider-Man trapped in his own nightmares, only Dr. Strange can save him.

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

Last issue, Peter took Mary Jane on their long-planned fancy date… or so he thought. It turned out that he was trapped in a nightmare state created by a demon luring in the young Dr. Strange. Now, trapped in his own worst fears, Spider-Man is out of the picture, and Strange has to save him, in order to save the world.

It was a good move of Bendis to take time out for three two-issue “guest star” arcs, and this is easily the strongest of the three. Peter himself doesn’t really do much in this issue, but the tour of his nightmares casts a lot of light on the character. Strange, meanwhile, is a revelation. We’re so used to seeing the mainstream Marvel Dr. Strange, the cool, experienced sorcerer ready for any situation. This is totally different – it’s that experienced sorcerer’s son, and he’s still learning the ropes. When’s the last time you had to watch Dr. Strange look up a spell?

Also, unlike those other two arcs, this is one that looks like it’s going to have a lasting impact on the title. Peter is hurt this issue, scarred deeply in his soul, and it’s not a wound that will quickly heal.

Bagley, Hanna and Smith really outdo themselves with the artwork on this issue. I’m not sure exactly how they do it, but at one point the artwork in the nightmare sequences does a total shift to a bizarre, dreamlike state unlike anything else we’ve ever seen this title. It sets the darkness apart, and it works perfectly.

The short arcs were a welcome respite from the long – sometimes overly-long – series that usually dominate this title, but now that we’re charged up, I think we can handle a longer story again. Next issue: the Hobgoblin.

This should be interesting.

Rating: 9/10

The Dark Tower: The Gunslinger-The Battle of Tull #5

October 17, 2011

Creative Director: Stephen King
Plot: Robin Furth
Script: Peter David
Pencils: Michael Lark
Inks: Stefano Gaudiano with Brian Thies
Colorist: Richard Isanove
Letterer: Joe Sabino
Cover Artist: Michael Lark, Richard Isanove
Editor: Ralph Macchio
Publisher: Marvel Comics

Roland Deschain was ready to leave the town of Tull, but Tull isn’t done with him. Silvia Pittston, the wild preacher-woman who communed with the Man in Black, leads the entire town in a frenzied attack on Roland, and the Gunslinger is forced to draw. The action is fierce, brutal, and swift, but the outcome can never be in doubt. It’s been some time since we saw the last Gunslinger really cut loose, and Lark and company do a fantastic job of showing the battle not just as a gunfight, but as a real tale of horror. Roland’s adversaries are crazed, wild, and the way he is forced to systematically gun them down isn’t really to watch. (Entertaining, but not fun. If that makes sense.) At any rate, this is the best installment of Roland’s story in quite some time. I don’t often mention the supplementary material when I review this issues, but this is an issue where it’s worth making an exception. Robin Furth, who was Stephen King’s research assistant for years before launching her own writing career, gives us something I find interesting not so much as a comic fan, but as a longtime follower of King’s work. The Gunslinger was originally published in 1982. In 2003, when the finale of the series was finally being prepared, King revised and re-released the first installment to bring it more in-line with the end of the series. In her supplementary article, Furth picks apart the differences between the two versions of the novel, particularly as relates to this section, the Battle of Tull. Although I’ve read both versions of the novel, I read them years apart and never attempted to compare the two, so the article is fascinating to me. A fan of King’s will find this well worth the read regardless of anything else.

Rating: 8/10

The Dark Tower: The Gunslinger-The Battle of Tull #4

October 8, 2011

Creative Director: Stephen King
Plot and Consultation: Robin Furth
Script: Peter David
Pencils: Michael Lark
Inks: Stefano Gaudiano & Brian Thies
Colorist: Richard Isanove
Letterer: Joe Sabino
Cover Artist: Michael Lark & Richard Isanove
Editor: Ralph Macchio
Publisher: Marvel Comics

In this issue, Roland meets Silvia Pittston, the mammoth woman that Walter O’Dim (the Man in Black) took into his… confidence… when passing through Tull. Pittston, convinced that she is an instrument of God’s wrath and that Roland is an agent of “The Interloper,” has prepared for this moment, and it leads Roland into a confrontation even more horrible than he’s grown accustomed to.

This sequence, the story of Tull, is one of my favorite bits of The Gunslinger. There’s something about Pittston, something incredibly dark and powerful about the character, that makes her seem like a perfect foil for Roland despite her relatively small part in the grand mythos of the Dark Tower. Furth and David do a very good job of painting her as this sort of mad, fanatical type of woman, the sort that nobody wants to associate with if they can help it, whose very insanity is what makes her so dangerous.

The artwork, by Michael Lark and Richard Isanove, is still very good. The blend of horror elements with western has never been so effective as in this series, although I still feel like their Sylvia is a bit too attractive. Again, though, it’s been some time since I read the original novel, and I may simply be misremembering her description. In my head, though, she was always a more hideous sort.

At any rate, the book is very strong, very effective, and very entertaining.

Rating: 8/10

Ultimate Spider-Man #70

December 16, 2004

Quick Rating: Very Good
Title: Strange

Peter gets a night out with Mary Jane after a hard day on the job.

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

This issue starts out simply enough, with Peter Parker sitting down for a well-deserved dinner with Mary Jane, but the dinner quickly takes a back seat to his story of a long day in the webs. He helped out the Ultimates only to get nothing to show for it, then wound up stumbling into a confrontation with Dr. Strange that wound up being a lot weirder than it seemed.

This is the first appearance (to my knowledge) of Dr. Strange outside of Ultimate Marvel Team-Up, and unlike some of the characters who appeared in that series, this issue seems to harken back to it, although not to such a degree that people who didn’t read it will be lost. In fact, the issue gives us a perfect recap of Strange’s origin, which fans of the main Marvel Universe will find familiar, but with a clever twist.

The ending of this book is a clever twist too. Just as we’re getting to the end of what seems like a relatively quiet done-in-one issue, we get blown out of the water by a last-second surprise. With these three guest-star story arcs, Bendis has finally gotten away from drawn-out, overly padded stories and is telling quick arcs with either a lot of action, a lot of character development, or both.

Bagley has gotten to branch out with this arc, doing as good a job with the Ultimates as he does regularly with Spidey, and pulling out some nice mystical visuals for the scenes with Dr. Strange. Some of the early pages are a little awkward, as the flashback begins with Bendis’s semi-regular trick of having wordless panels with a running commentary down the side of the page, then he switches to more conventional storytelling a few pages in, and the flow is disrupted.

Overall, a good issue. I’ve really enjoyed the last couple of months of Ultimate Spider-Man. I just hope the creators can keep up the momentum once the book goes back to longer story arcs.

Rating: 8/10

Ultimate Spider-Man #69

November 19, 2004

Quick Rating: Great
Title: Meet Me

Spider-Man’s got a new mission – help the Human Torch.

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

The conclusion of Spider-Man’s first encounter with the Human Torch may stand to go down as one of the best issues of this title ever. Brian Michael Bendis pulls a very clever reversal on one of the earliest meetings between the characters in the regular Marvel universe. (Anyone else remember how the Torch helped an unwitting Peter Parker bounce back from getting his butt handed to him by Dr. Octopus? Remember that.)

Last issue, Johnny Storm tried his hand at being a normal high school student, even joining Pete and MJ on a double date with Liz Allen. But things fell apart when he accidentally caught a flame from their beach bonfire. This issue picks up a few seconds later. Liz is panicking, Peter is confused and Johnny is crestfallen.

The Spider-Man/Torch dynamic is one of the all-time great friendships in the Marvel universe, and this issue goes a long way towards establishing that here as well. The book is basically a very strong character study, mostly of the Torch, but also of Peter in that he finds a way to make a difference that doesn’t involve putting his life on the line for a change. Bendis, as always, succeeds with strong characters, snappy dialogue and funny moments that help to lighten up the more serious bits.

Mark Bagley, as always, is in great form with the artwork. He and the colorists, Smith and Sotomayor, give a really strong look to the Torch. The character has come a long way, visually, from the days where he would flame on into a form with no face, no detail and bizarre pinstripes that appeared out of nowhere. There’s a little action in this issue, but it’s mostly talking heads, and Bagley still manages to keep the book strong and keep the story flowing.

Next up, Pete meets Dr. Strange – hopefully, though, this friendship will come back around again, because it’s one that always has a lot of storytelling potential.

Rating: 9/10

The Dark Tower: The Gunslinger-The Battle of Tull #3

August 28, 2011

Creative Director: Stephen King
Plot and Consultation: Robin Furth
Script: Peter David
Pencils: Michael Lark
Inks: Stefano Gaudiano
Colorist: Richard Isanove
Letterer: Joe Sabino
Cover Artist: Michael Lark & Richard Isanove
Editor: Ralph Macchio
Publisher: Marvel Comics

Allie continues her story this issue, telling Roland of how the Man in black, Walter O’Dim, rose the weed-eating Nort from the dead, and left behind a key that will prove Allie’s undoing. Roland, afterwards, continues his search of the town, and finds the true enemy that Walter left in his wake. We’re really getting into the meat of The Gunslinger now, the first fateful confrontation that left marks on Roland’s soul and further darkened his long road to the Tower. This issue sets up things well, not just for the rest of this storyline, but for the far, far future of Roland’s story. The mystery of 19, Constant Readers know, is something that we will return to time and time again over the years. The cover is particularly strong on this point, showing Allie surrounded by the number, losing her mind with the knowledge that using the number will destroy her, but unable to resist the pull. Michael Lark and Stefano Gaudiano do solid work here, until we get to the threat at the end. At the risk of being just another nit-picking fanboy, the character isn’t at all what I envisioned while reading the book. Frankly, she’s not ugly enough. Oh, she’s thick, she’s angry, but she’s not particularly ugly, and that’s what I always saw when I closed my eyes and read. Still, this issue moves the story along and introduces a vital element in a good way. It works.

Rating: 7/10

Ultimate Spider-Man #68

November 8, 2004

Quick Rating: Very Good
Title: Popular

The Human Torch is going back to high school… with a certain arachnid.

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

When Reed Richards and Sue Storm suggest Johnny goes back to school to get his high school diploma, he’s not wild about the idea. You know he’s going to break down and go, though, because if he didn’t there would be no team-up. Johnny, predictably, winds up attending Peter Parker’s high school and falls in with his group of friends, including a smitten Liz Allen.

You’ve got to remind yourself, as you’re reading this, that the Ultimate Fantastic Four is not yet the world-famous team of adventurers their mainstream counterparts are. The characters are in hiding and the sight of someone bursting into flame is pretty startling, even for a guy with spider-powers. Bendis balances these reactions very well. In addition, this is a surprisingly strong issue for Mary Jane. We get to see several sides of her as she struggles to help her friends with various problems, and even see her slip up a bit with Peter.

After the laugh-out-loud Wolverine team-up and the unrelenting bleak tone of Carnage, this issue is kind of back to normal. There are some amusing, lighthearted moments, but there are heavier moments too. The issue is light on action but heavy on character content, and that makes up for any deficiency.

Mark Bagley gets to play with some characters he doesn’t get to use as much this issue, doing a solid job on the FF, particularly the Thing. It’s still weird to see a young Reed Richards, but you learn to get used to it. The issue is extremely heavy on dialogue and Bagley has to carry the weight of a lot of talking heads scenes – something, as luck would have it – he does very well.

As usual, Ultimate Spider-Man is a solid title, the strongest of Marvel’s Ultimate line. This issue works for people who read the title for the emotion and character interaction. If you’re looking for fisticuffs, you’ll have to wait.

Rating: 8/10

Ultimate Spider-Man #67

November 8, 2004

Quick Rating: Very Good
Title: Jump the Shark

Trapped in each other’s bodies, Spider-Man and Wolverine have to find a way to get things back to normal.

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

Last issue (that was all of two weeks ago, looks like things are back to normal there) Peter Parker and Wolverine woke up to find they had woken up in each other’s bodies. Peter, in Logan’s body, winds up facing off against a group of police trying to put down the “mutant menace.” Wolverine, as Peter, is exasperated at the mess he’s gotten into.

As both characters are totally unused to each other’s powers, we get a lot of funny bits here as the two of them attempt to get by with unfamiliar means. (The scene with Wolverine trying to swing on a web is particularly good). The resolution, on the other hand, seems to come up a little quick. On the other hand, in a title where the resolutions usually seem to happen two to three issues after it should, it is something of a refreshing change of pace.

Mark Bagley really gets a chance to show off here. A lot of the characterization is handled by assigning our two leads facial expressions or postures that belong to the other. It’s remarkable to see Wolverine doing Peter’s slumped over, depressed posture, or to see Peter with an irritated snarl. Someone familiar with these two characters could easily figure out what happened just by looking at the pages with no dialogue at all.

After a couple of seriously bleak months for Ultimate Spider-Man, this two-issue arc was a much-needed change of pace. Bendis and Bagley gave us what we needed – a lighthearted, amusing, but ultimately inconsequential storyline.

Rating: 8/10