Miles Morales: The Ultimate Spider-Man #1 – Review

by Brian Michael Bendis (Writer), David Marquez (Artist), Justin Ponsor (Color).

Spoiler Alert!

The Story: In the wake of Cataclysm Miles attempts to find his way as more than one familiar face returns.

The Review: Damn! after 200 issues this series continues to just run like clockwork, it’s rarely if ever less than good and the most recent volume of Ultimate Spider-man continues to deliver. In the aftermath of Galactus destroying New Jersey and attempting to consume the earth, Miles Morales is attempting to make sense of his life now that his father has abandoned him.

While his new status as an orphan is at the forefront of his mind so too is his ongoing romance with Katie Bishop, this marks an enjoyable distinction from the previous volume where the relationship was relatively underdeveloped. While it’s nice to see more of a renewed focus on the romance of this book, Katie is such an unknown factor compared to MJ, Gwen and Kitty in the Peter Parker days that it’s hard to buy that Miles is considering coming clean with her. Hopefully readers will get to learn more about Katie and who she is as a character in upcoming issues.

Miles dealing with his father’s abandonment of him is pretty interesting now that Miles has no parental figure in his life, it further separates and distinguishes Miles from Peter Parker. It can be rough for a teenager to not have the adult guidance that a parent can provide and so it’ll prove interesting to see how the character deals with this absence moving forward. As of right now Miles has a support group that consists of Ganke, Katie, MJ and Gwen but the lack of an adult presence in the book does make it feel like a critical element is missing, Spider-man is about youth but it’s hard to make that point without contrast.

C2E2 Report: Marvel – The Next Big Thing

 

 

Not to be outdone, Marvel had me scrambling out of the Batman panel to secure a spot in Marvel: The Next Big Thing. While the X-Men, Spider-Man, and Batman still rule the roost, Marvel’s made huge strides with some of their less famous characters lately and this was the place to hear about it.

Nick Lowe, our moderator and editor of Spider-Man and Moon Knight, took a moment to thank the Chicago fans before introducing the panelists. The first was Mike Marts, an Executive Editor, newly returned from DC’s Batman office. Lowe asked him what it was like to be back. Marts replied that it felt like slipping on an old shoe. Lowe was not entirely thrilled with the analogy, leading Marts to amend his statement, “A shoe that makes a lot of great movies.” Next up was Joshua Hale Fialkov, the writer of Ultimate FF. After him came Charles Soule, the writer of Thunderbolts, Inhuman, and She-Hulk, the last of which received particular applause. Then came James Robinson, writer of Fantastic Four and All-New Invaders. A trio of artists rounded out the panel; Mahmud Asrar, Wolverine and the X-Men; Ryan Stegman, Wolverine; and Skottie Young, both writer and artist on Rocket Racoon.

Ultimate Comics Spider-Man #24 – Review

By: Brian Michael Bendis (Writer), Dave Marquez (Art), Justin Ponsor (Colors), VC’s Cory Petit (Lettering)

Review: Miles Morales fans beware: there ain’t much of him to be seen this month. As you can tell from the cover (and last month’s last-page reveal), this issue is more an introduction to the Ultimate universe’s Cloak and Dagger, a fan-favourite team whose appearance has been loosely teased in the 1610 for years.

I have to admit, I’ve no great reverence for the characters personally. The last time I remember seeing them star in any comic of note was Civil War and that was in…whoa, 2006!? Color me old. Still, if there’s one thing the Ultimate universe could do with right now it’s new blood, and what better place to introduce it than the line’s flagship title.

Age of Ultron #10 – Review

By: Alex Maleev, Bryan Hitch & Paul Neary, Butch Guice, Brandon Peterson, Carlos Pacheco & Roger Benet w/ Tom Palmer, David Marquez, Joe Quesada (Artists), Paul Mounts & Richard Isanove (Color Artists), VC’s Cory Petit (Letterer)

Review: I finished Naughty Dog’s PS3 magnum opus The Last of Us last night. It was terrific. I won’t spoil anything for my fellow gamers out there but suffice it to say that it’s got a pretty unexpected ending, far more ambiguous and open to interpretation than many of the potential finales fans suggested. Crowning the entertaining and tension-fueled hours that led up to that point, the ending managed to tie everything off neatly; it faithfully resolved its protagonists’ journeys and was bold enough to make like there won’t ever be a sequel – like it counted – even though such a thing is inevitable because money. That, my friends, is how it’s done. You do not do it like Age of Ultron #10.

 And why not? Because this issue winds up feeling more like a slap in the face than a fulfilling denouement. Even viewed on its own merits this is a troubled comic.

Ultimate Comics Spider-Man #23 – Review

By: Brian Michael Bendis (Writer), Dave Marquez (Art), Justin Ponsor (Colors), VC’s Cory Petit (Lettering)

Review: Ultimate Comics Spider-Man is enjoying some well-deserved attention at the moment. And about time. It’s surely been one of Marvel’s best ongoing titles since…well, since #1 pretty much…and yet it’s hardly been given the same levels of praise and publicity as the company’s other top tier books – your Hawkeye’s and Daredevil’s. This is probably down to a combination of two things: 1) it has ‘Ultimate’ in the title, and 2) this Spider-Man ain’t Peter Parker. A shame, as it’s a consistently beautiful-looking book that draws the best from Bendis each and every month. With the last issue seeing an end to the Venom War storyline and, with it, the death of Miles’ mother, there’s been a surge of interest in the series that’s seen it hesitantly take centre stage. But it’s what it does under the spotlight that matters…and luckily this issue puts on a pretty good show.

All-New X-Men #8 – Review

By: Brian Michael Bendis (Writer), David Marquez (Penciler), Marte Gracia (Colorist), VC’s Cory Petit (Letterer)

The Review: They should re-name All-New  X-Men the X-Postman – it always delivers (*cue comedic groans*). Every issue features something new and exciting to sling your way; not in some glib show-off manner that seeks to hold your attention with illogical, grandstanding curveballs but in packaging its characters’ motivations and developments in a series of brilliantly executed flourishes. The latest installment is no exception.

Bendis has often made the great decision to begin each issue by focusing on one character at a time, then expanding the book to a crescendo with a winning performance from an ensemble cast. He moves seamlessly from the personal to the public; sound reasoning indeed considering that the X-Men are comprised of such a strong cast that you can’t move for bumping into interesting individuals and the richly detailed relationships that connect them. That format is continued here, though in this issue he chucks in the proverbial kitchen sink too; as you can see from the cover, now the Avengers are getting in on the action as well.

All New X-Men #6 – Review

By: Brian Michael Bendis (Writer), David Marquez (Artist), Marte Gracia (Colorist), Cory Petit (Letterer)

The Review: There’s something about this issue that feels just right. I think it’s a sense of everything starting to feel a bit more comfortable, of everything and everyone slotting into place. If we use a ‘Moving House’ analogy, the first 5 issues were the difficult bit; hefting the sofa, fridge and countless long boxes onto the delivery van and unloading them into your new digs. Now everything’s unpacked, the beds are made and (despite your girl’s best efforts) the Hot Toys have set up shop on the mantelpiece once again. Now it’s time to start living here. Of course, it’s also the time you start finding out that the heating is on the fritz and your next door neighbour has just started learning to play the drums…

Now the initial confrontation with Scott’s brotherhood is out of the way and the decision’s been made to stay and sort out the future, the original X-Men are settling into the 21^st century, taking their first tentative steps towards building relationships with their modern counterparts. So far Hank’s situation has been fairly well documented and Iceman’s has been relegated to the (admittedly funny) joke of perpetually annoying his older self. As such, this issue largely focuses on Jean and Scott, with Angel getting a bit of time in the spotlight near the end.

For Jean this represents an internal struggle. As in, right inside her head. With her telepathic powers still blooming and causing nothing but torment, Kitty Pryde steps in to help mentor her in how to assert some control. They’re affecting scenes as they’re played out with a good deal of empathy between the former/future team mates; Kitty’s become a kind of elder statesman for the X-Men at this point and Bendis imbues her position with a pitch-perfect sense of humility. Rounding things off is a diplomatic (though slightly stiff) Storm who gently announces Jean as the de facto leader of her displaced team. It’s a winning display of Girl Power from some of Marvel’s most powerful ladies and it’s nice to see this side of things play out so maturely…

….because really, the guys were never going to play that nice. Still, Cyclops, what did you expect? Stealing Wolverine’s bike, cash and jacket was never going to end well. Bendis has given little tastes of the continued friction between the two leading X-Men but the relationship plays out on a bigger stage here. Having taken his leave of the school and its hostile, alien environs, Scott decides to take a trip into town with the aforementioned appropriated goods. It’s not long before Wolverine tracks him down and, following some terse words and faltering attempts at talking about feelings, the optic blasts and Adamantium claws soon get to popping. The hostility between Cyclops and Wolverine is one of the most enduring and entertainingly antagonistic relationships in comics and it is no less so under Bendis’ control. It’s also heartening to see that even when Summers is a snot-nosed, gangly, pre-pubescent kiddy-wink, Wolverine still wants to open him up like a tin of beans. Awwwwww.

Ultimate Comics Spider-Man #16.1 Review

By: Brian Michael Bendis (Writer), David Marquez (Artist), Justin Ponsor (Colorist), Cory Petit (Letterer)

The Review: At first glance this is kind of a strange move from Ultimate Comics Spider-Man. The book’s technically still in the midst of the Divided We Fall/United We Stand storylinebut has taken the decision to drop a Point.One issue just before the crossover draws to a close. This is most likely down to editorial requirements so that Spider-Man and the Ultimates ship their conclusions to the event in the same month, but no matter; even when this creative team are dealt a logistical curveball they still manage to smash it out of the park.

Essentially this issue follows The Daily Bugle’s Betty Brant, hot on the trail of Spider-Man’s secret identity for an article which she hopes will propel her to stardom. She starts with a close inspection of the footage of Miles’ climactic fight with his Uncle Aaron when she stumbles across five important little words: “You are…just…like me.” Betty recognizes this as one of the most decisive moments in this new Spidey’s mythology and sets out to discover the truth behind the character’s origin. Betty first digs into Uncle Aaron’s history as costumed thief The Prowler, and then uncovers a major find while scouring his abandoned apartment for clues – this in turn leads to some minor revelations regarding Oscorp’s role in how our hero received his powers. Some final snooping on Miles and his family seems to fill in the remaining blanks. At its heart this story is a procedural drama about one journalist’s quest to land the biggest scoop of her career, and even with Spider-Man himself barely making an appearance it’s still a thoroughly engrossing read.

I’m not quite sure how Bendis does it. He’s been writing this title for well over 10 years but still seems to approach each issue like it’s his first, always brimming with energy and enthusiasm. While he’s been known to make a habit of composing his scripts a little on the talk-heavy side, Ultimate Comics Spider-Man benefits the most from this practice with a series of convincing back-and-forth exchanges between Brant and her often-reticent cast of contacts. With the Police she’s sweet and charming while with her source at Roxxon she’s a hard-nosed manipulator who’s quick to resort to blackmail to get the information she needs. The book’s best moments see her butt heads with J Jonah Jameson over the veracity and/or need for this story. Here’s where that decade-plus history on the book really comes into play. Bendis has crafted the Bugle’s Editor-in-Chief into a character whose history with Spider-Man is deep and rich, a man who’s learned the hard way what it means to put the story before the person it affects. In my mind he almost steals the show from Brant, but both are wonderfully handled here.

Fantastic Four: Season One – Review

By: Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa (story), David Marquez (art), Guru E-FX (colors)

The Story: Marvel sees the success of Superman: Earth One and says “how can we do this bigger, faster, and better? Release 4 times as many! That will make them special!

The (Real) Story: After getting cosmic powers from some space phenomenon…thing, the “Fantastic Four” try to redefine their lives. This all takes place in the early 1960s–wait, what’s that? Oops. It all takes place in the second decade of the 21st century…

The Writing: Here’s something annoying–for a story that is supposed to update the origins of characters, DON’T WRITE HALF OF IT AS A THROWBACK TO THE STYLE THEY FIRST APPEARED! AAAAAHHHHH!!!!!!! This isn’t a poorly-written story at all, it just doesn’t feel like Aguirre-Sacasa had much interest in giving us a real update. There might be some changes here and there, but overall, it’s pretty much the same. Every so often we get a “hey look, this is present day!” in the form of iPhones and whatnot, but then there’s a Stan Lee throwback that brings in back to 1960. There’s a difference between a timeless story and a story without a time. It’s like Sacasa was attempting nuance…but the nuance failed.

Secret Warriors #24 – Review

by Jonathan Hickman (writer), David Marquez & Alessandro Vitti (art), IFS (colors), and Dave Lanphear (letters)

The Story: We learn the unfortunate fate of Mikel Fury’s team.

The Review: This month, we meet the other team that Nick’s gathered, that led by his son Mikel.  Amazingly, in the little space we have to meet each member of the team, Hickman gives us cool characters with equally concepts and personalities.  Despite these being brand-spanking new characters with a mere two-page scene a-piece, each feels and looks unique.  That’s no small feat.  Either way, it’s hard not to read this issue and think that this team could’ve made for one heck of a fun series in their own right.  They’re a lot of fun and the histories, banter, and dynamics feel far from throw away.

But really, why the hell are we meeting these characters for the first time this close to the series conclusion?

It’s a really strange choice for Jonathan Hickman and he’s ultimately fighting a losing battle, especially how he ends this issue.  As we already knew, this team would eventually meet their demise but the fact that Hickman decides to show their introduction and their end in 22 pages is an impossible endeavor.  I’m not even quite sure why he attempted it.  While each of the characters is cool, we have nowhere near the attachment or understanding of any of them to really give much of a crap about their ultimate fate.  To introduce them and end them in one issue and expect us to care, or get anything out of it, is kind of ludicrous.

And frankly, these characters, new as they are, deserved better.  Thought and work clearly went into them and it sucks to see them dealt with like this, as no more than disposable narrative furniture.  Quite frankly, the story Hickman has on his hands for this issue is a good one, but it’s one that should’ve been spread over a full story-arc at the very least, not a single issue.  I mean, we don’t even meet two of the team’s members.  Hickman ran out of space to even get through all the introductions, so the last two characters are just quickly mentioned in a couple lines of dialogue.  That should’ve sent alarm bells off.