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briannarengland's review
4.0
I can't find the proper edition of the second volume of Ultimate Spider-Man on here, which is frustrating because I like having everything organized. But I guess if all else fails, go to wiki
trike's review
4.0
I'm sort of torn with this one. I really like it overall, hence the 4-star rating, but there are aspects of it that bugged me.
I wasn't crazy about the fact that Bendis seems to be falling into lazy mode with his dialogue. There are a few points where the characters are indistinguishable. Peter Parker using Jewish slang is fine, but it bleeds over into all the other characters. If some of the exchanges were read aloud, you would find it impossible to tell which characters was speaking because they all share the same idiosyncrasies. But then every once in a while he'd snap back into Good Mode and write some really evocative and effective scenes.
The overarching plot is interesting, with characters weaving in and out of the story. I think Bendis is hard to read a single issue at a time; he's best appreciated in large gulps provided by graphic novels because you can get a sense of the story's real flow.
Without going into spoilers, there is a dark sense of humor underlying a lot of this stuff. The return of The Kingpin and J. Jonah Jameson are prime examples of that. The best part of the Ultimate universe is that the usual rules are in abeyance. The writers don't have to adhere to the static nature of the character, eventually resetting them to square one once they've been run through their paces. Things change, as they should in a dynamic world.
The art is fine. It's not to my taste, being more manga-inspired, but it gets the job done. Most importantly, you can tell the characters apart, something many artists have trouble with. There's also a good flow to the layout. The noses bugged me, but that's a pretty minor quibble.
One of the things I like about Bendis' writing is that he breathes life into otherwise ridiculous characters. In this case, Mysterio. Mysterio is one of those classic Spidey villains I've always hated. But here he doesn't suck. Well, he *does* suck, but it's intentional. He's a petty supervillain with some cool gadgets whose grandiose plans are beyond his abilities. Or are they? The twists and turns of the plot really kept me interested, which is something I've never been able to say about Mysterio before.
I also like how characters from other parts of the UU are woven into this collection. The Human Torch, Iceman, Nova... they all interact well with the basic Peter Parker plot, a real throwback to the early Marvel where you felt these superheroes shared a city.
I wasn't crazy about the fact that Bendis seems to be falling into lazy mode with his dialogue. There are a few points where the characters are indistinguishable. Peter Parker using Jewish slang is fine, but it bleeds over into all the other characters. If some of the exchanges were read aloud, you would find it impossible to tell which characters was speaking because they all share the same idiosyncrasies. But then every once in a while he'd snap back into Good Mode and write some really evocative and effective scenes.
The overarching plot is interesting, with characters weaving in and out of the story. I think Bendis is hard to read a single issue at a time; he's best appreciated in large gulps provided by graphic novels because you can get a sense of the story's real flow.
Without going into spoilers, there is a dark sense of humor underlying a lot of this stuff. The return of The Kingpin and J. Jonah Jameson are prime examples of that. The best part of the Ultimate universe is that the usual rules are in abeyance. The writers don't have to adhere to the static nature of the character, eventually resetting them to square one once they've been run through their paces. Things change, as they should in a dynamic world.
The art is fine. It's not to my taste, being more manga-inspired, but it gets the job done. Most importantly, you can tell the characters apart, something many artists have trouble with. There's also a good flow to the layout. The noses bugged me, but that's a pretty minor quibble.
One of the things I like about Bendis' writing is that he breathes life into otherwise ridiculous characters. In this case, Mysterio. Mysterio is one of those classic Spidey villains I've always hated. But here he doesn't suck. Well, he *does* suck, but it's intentional. He's a petty supervillain with some cool gadgets whose grandiose plans are beyond his abilities. Or are they? The twists and turns of the plot really kept me interested, which is something I've never been able to say about Mysterio before.
I also like how characters from other parts of the UU are woven into this collection. The Human Torch, Iceman, Nova... they all interact well with the basic Peter Parker plot, a real throwback to the early Marvel where you felt these superheroes shared a city.
depreydeprey's review
3.0
If not for an inspired Kitty Pryde subplot smart enough for its own spin off series there isn't anything to write home about in this Ultimate Spider-man reboot and the art seems to toggle between not very good and outright bad throughout the 14 issues.
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