Written by: Brian Michael Bendis
Art by: David Marquez
Publisher: Marvel
I’ve found it really hard to begin writing this review as I don’t know how to express how good this book is in a manner that is both fun, informative and doesn’t just seem like gushing. After struggling with this I decided to just leave professionalism aside for a moment and express how I really feel. This series is not only the best Spider-Man book on the stands but one of Marvel’s best books overall right now, if you have even a passing interest in superhero comics and are not reading this book you’re doing yourself a massive disservice and should fix that immediately. While I would love to just walk away right now and let you all read the book I feel somehow that wouldn’t satisfy everyone, so read on for some more in depth thoughts (then immediately go and purchase the book).
Whenever it comes to this book Bendis always seems to be in top form, he manages to perfectly balance the humour required in a Spider-Man comic with the serious drama of Miles’ life without either feeling forced or cheesy. It feels Bendis has managed to carve a great voice for Miles that manages to remain different enough from Peter yet is just as likeable. Seeing Miles quickly switch between thought of danger after being shot to essentially “I fought Green Goblin and survived!” certainly got a few audible laughs from me and sounds exactly how a young hero breaking into the big leagues should. As well as being great on his own Miles works well alongside the newly resurrected/cloned/whatever Peter Parker, the dialogue between the two is genuinely hilarious as they bounce off one another and it’s great to see Miles verbally spar with his inspirational figure. While there were concerns that bringing Peter back into the picture would take the focus of Miles this is thankfully not the case, his journey and struggles are still the focus of the book despite the growing supporting cast.
Speaking of the supporting cast, Bendis writes them just as excellently as he does Miles, ensuring that each plot thread has some strong characters at the centre helping you feel attached to each one. The different plot threads feel like a great television show, each event feels just as exciting as the main story making every issue feel excellently paced and ensures that there’s never a dull moment. While Katie Bishop skips this week and Miles’ dad is still nowhere to be seen the other characters do a fine job of carrying on the story, Maria Hill finally gets a larger role and J Jonah Jameson’s confrontation with an unexpected guest provides some of the comic’s best and most tense moments. The only weak link so far seems to be the new twin Spider-Men villains, so far their motivation seems pretty ill-defined and their design seems a bit bland. Hopefully Bendis manages to inject something interesting into their story soon, as I have a feeling he has bigger plans for them in the long run.
It would be a criminal offensive to praise this comic without mentioning the absolute gorgeous art of David Marquez. His style is a lot more realistic than many other artists out there given the grounded tone of the Ultimate universe and manages to make both the superhero action and quieter dramatic moments look incredible. His attentional to detail with elements such as the emotion in the characters’ faces and flow of movement is truly outstanding and this story could easily be read and understood without any text. Marquez truly is a master of sequential storytelling and deserves just as much credit as Bendis for making this book such a compelling read.
So yeah, as you can tell I really liked this comic, if you are not reading this series I encourage you to rectify that immediately. We’re only five issues into this relaunched series so there’s still time to catch up, and if you are reading this series? Then you already know why I like it so much and you know this isn’t a comic you want to miss.
