jaydeebee
10-08-2006, 05:06 PM
Know this before reading this review; I do not read or collect the Marvel Ultimate Universe titles on a regular basis. The last Ultimate series I purchased on a regular basis was Ultimate Fantastic Four, and I was buying that one for the stunning Greg Land artwork. Now on with the review.
I like to collect "milestone" comics, no not the short-lived ethically charged titles from DC, I mean milestone issues, or anniversary issues if you will. Like first issues, 50th issues, 500th issues, you know what I mean. Which is why I purchased the hugely overpriced (at $3.99) Ultimate Spider-Man #100.
Not to beat a dead horse, or even a "dark horse" for that matter, but tell me again, why does the Ultimate Universe exist?
Some claim that it exists to give new readers (yeah right) a clean, uncluttered version of a classic Marvel character, in this case Spider-Man, free of the decades of anchor-like continuity which would confuse poor young Mr. or Ms. New Reader.
Yeah.
Ultimate Spider-Man 100 begins as many comics these days, with a "Previously in" opening page to remind or inform readers what has occurred up to this point. But the real telling words on this page are the words in the title "CLONE SAGA PART 4". Those four little words, or three words and a number, told me about all I needed to know about Ultimate Spider-Man #100, and confirmed what I had thought for long time, about the Ultimate line of comics in general.
The fallacy of the Ultimate line is that it pretends to be something it is not; original! Characters with 40 years of history are being introduced as "new" with minor changes, such as race or sexual orientation or age being altered to fit with the new continuity. Nothing really original is happening, the writers, in this case one of my favorite targets, B.M. Bendis, is simply rehashing work done by Stan Lee and other Marvel pioneers and calling it Ultimate. How about ALTERNATE SPIDER-MAN instead, or better how about plagiarized Spider-Man?
Inside the issue you should duck as the plot threads, sharp as piano wires, start to unravel and fly across the room. Dead Gwen Stacy is alive, Peter Parker's father shows up alive, Aunt May knows Peter's secret identity, Mary Jane is being threatened by a Parker clone, whilst another Parker clone is trying to save her. All of these things have happened at one time or another in the regular universe Spider-Man titles, albeit not all at the same time and never in such a glossy pre-packaged way.
Bendis, true to form, presents lots of choppy dialogue which goes nowhere fast. There are also plenty of panels with no dialogue at all, which virtually insures that the ULTIMATE CLONE-SAGA will rival the original in length. Alternate version characters are a plenty in this issue, and not just the cloned ones! Government stooge Henry Gyrich shows up, but as a blonde instead of a red-head...because he's ULTIMATE! Nick Fury also makes an appearance as Samuel L. Jackson, again...ULTIMATE! Aunt May is depicted as a shrill chirping hell-beast throughout the issue rather than the warm gentle caring soul from the bad old regular universe. One of the worst villains from the 1990's, Carnage, shows up with a change so Ultimate, that not even I will spoil the shocking ULTIMATE surprise.
Mark Bagley's artwork throughout is adequate, though it has an annoying 1990's big-eyed aftertaste, which I dislike. Following the story, there's a few pages of Bagley's Ultimate sketchbook, which demonstrates why no one really misses Bagley's work on the regular Spider-Man titles. Then follows another recap of Ultimate Spider-man's entire history from issue one on, which pretty well demonstrates that Ultimate Spider-Man has now his own anchor-like continuity and that Marvel Comics editors have clearly lost their minds, or perhaps think that we have.
Holding the issue "Ultimate Spider-Man #100" in your hands is like holding a compellation of all of Marvel's 1990 eXcesses in your hand. With the Ultimate Clone Saga Part 4, it's as if Marvel has decided to revisit all of their classic blunders all in one giant sized issue. The only thing missing is the Foil-Enhanced Die-Cut cover in polybag including Scratch 'n Sniff Aunt May's Apple Pie Trading Card and Blow-Up Betty Brant Action Figure.
Ultimate Spider-Man 100? Not hardly. More like Ultimate Marketing Scheme 101. Alternate Spiderman perhaps, but not Ultimate, nor Amazing, nor Spectacular...not even Sensational.
Score three out of ten smileys.
:shock: :eek: :-(
I like to collect "milestone" comics, no not the short-lived ethically charged titles from DC, I mean milestone issues, or anniversary issues if you will. Like first issues, 50th issues, 500th issues, you know what I mean. Which is why I purchased the hugely overpriced (at $3.99) Ultimate Spider-Man #100.
Not to beat a dead horse, or even a "dark horse" for that matter, but tell me again, why does the Ultimate Universe exist?
Some claim that it exists to give new readers (yeah right) a clean, uncluttered version of a classic Marvel character, in this case Spider-Man, free of the decades of anchor-like continuity which would confuse poor young Mr. or Ms. New Reader.
Yeah.
Ultimate Spider-Man 100 begins as many comics these days, with a "Previously in" opening page to remind or inform readers what has occurred up to this point. But the real telling words on this page are the words in the title "CLONE SAGA PART 4". Those four little words, or three words and a number, told me about all I needed to know about Ultimate Spider-Man #100, and confirmed what I had thought for long time, about the Ultimate line of comics in general.
The fallacy of the Ultimate line is that it pretends to be something it is not; original! Characters with 40 years of history are being introduced as "new" with minor changes, such as race or sexual orientation or age being altered to fit with the new continuity. Nothing really original is happening, the writers, in this case one of my favorite targets, B.M. Bendis, is simply rehashing work done by Stan Lee and other Marvel pioneers and calling it Ultimate. How about ALTERNATE SPIDER-MAN instead, or better how about plagiarized Spider-Man?
Inside the issue you should duck as the plot threads, sharp as piano wires, start to unravel and fly across the room. Dead Gwen Stacy is alive, Peter Parker's father shows up alive, Aunt May knows Peter's secret identity, Mary Jane is being threatened by a Parker clone, whilst another Parker clone is trying to save her. All of these things have happened at one time or another in the regular universe Spider-Man titles, albeit not all at the same time and never in such a glossy pre-packaged way.
Bendis, true to form, presents lots of choppy dialogue which goes nowhere fast. There are also plenty of panels with no dialogue at all, which virtually insures that the ULTIMATE CLONE-SAGA will rival the original in length. Alternate version characters are a plenty in this issue, and not just the cloned ones! Government stooge Henry Gyrich shows up, but as a blonde instead of a red-head...because he's ULTIMATE! Nick Fury also makes an appearance as Samuel L. Jackson, again...ULTIMATE! Aunt May is depicted as a shrill chirping hell-beast throughout the issue rather than the warm gentle caring soul from the bad old regular universe. One of the worst villains from the 1990's, Carnage, shows up with a change so Ultimate, that not even I will spoil the shocking ULTIMATE surprise.
Mark Bagley's artwork throughout is adequate, though it has an annoying 1990's big-eyed aftertaste, which I dislike. Following the story, there's a few pages of Bagley's Ultimate sketchbook, which demonstrates why no one really misses Bagley's work on the regular Spider-Man titles. Then follows another recap of Ultimate Spider-man's entire history from issue one on, which pretty well demonstrates that Ultimate Spider-Man has now his own anchor-like continuity and that Marvel Comics editors have clearly lost their minds, or perhaps think that we have.
Holding the issue "Ultimate Spider-Man #100" in your hands is like holding a compellation of all of Marvel's 1990 eXcesses in your hand. With the Ultimate Clone Saga Part 4, it's as if Marvel has decided to revisit all of their classic blunders all in one giant sized issue. The only thing missing is the Foil-Enhanced Die-Cut cover in polybag including Scratch 'n Sniff Aunt May's Apple Pie Trading Card and Blow-Up Betty Brant Action Figure.
Ultimate Spider-Man 100? Not hardly. More like Ultimate Marketing Scheme 101. Alternate Spiderman perhaps, but not Ultimate, nor Amazing, nor Spectacular...not even Sensational.
Score three out of ten smileys.
:shock: :eek: :-(