Skyward 2-3
This is a really fun series, and I’m really happy that I picked it up. It’s got that Y the Last Man alternative future vibe, but I hope it holds my attention for a longer stretch. The art continues to sell the world, and while Lee Garbett’s interiors are strong, it’s his covers that really shine.
Ultimate Daredevil & Elektra 1-4
Ultimate Elektra 1-5
In my mind, there’s fake violence and there’s real violence. The former is the sort that makes for an enjoyable media experience - The Terminator inexorably working his way through a police station. The throne room lightsaber duel in The Last Jedi. Anything in Garth Ennis’ Preacher. Billy’s Balloon.
It’s easy for me to separate that kind of pain from anything in reality. It’s clearly fake, and I’m able to appreciate it from an entertainment standpoint. It’s not that they lack an emotional component or verisimilitude, but it’s generally the “this is awesome!” part of my brain that’s being tickled.
Scenes like the storming of Normandy beach in Saving Private Ryan edge a lot closer towards the “this is making me uncomfortable” line. Knowing that it’s depicting actual suffering has a lot to do with it. But at the end of the day, the artistry and noble sacrifice on display puts it firmly in the “I like this” camp.
Then there’s the stuff that crosses over into material that I generally hate reading or watching: Bullying and sexual assault. The combination of physical and emotional helplessness elicits a primal revulsion that I can not easily dismiss.
Which is my long winded way of saying Ultimate Daredevil & Elektra has both, and I really don’t like it. A rich college boy rapes Elektra’s friend and gets away with it. Elektra wants to kill him when the police drop the charges. Matt Murdock insists there’s a better way (without offering one). Elektra breaks up with him.
Greg Rucka goes through all the unimaginative cliches with this reimagining of Daredevil and Elektra. Mike Carey does only a little better with the follow up arc. While it’s a little more original, a story about a money laundering scheme involving Elektra’s father, the Kingpin, and Bullseye isn’t any more interesting. These are all easy cuts.
(Though I do like this cover by Salvador Larroca.)
Regret buying? Yes
Would buy again? No
Would read again? No
Rating: Hated (DD/Elektra), Stupid (Elektra) Cutting everything.
Ultimate Iron Man 1-5
Ultimate Iron Man II 1-5
Orson Scott Card was an intriguing choice to write this title. Ender’s Game is one of my favorite books ever, and while I really don’t think elementary schoolers talk or behave like those Battle School kids, I’m willing to grant the premise that Card’s got a knack for writing hyper-intelligent children.
He does a decent job here with teenaged Tony Stark and Jim Rhodes, but he was too successful with Obadiah Stane. Card really knows how to write infuriating little pricks. With Peter Wiggin, he balanced his smug superiority with other redeeming qualities. Obadiah’s got nothing positive going for him, so I just want to smack the shit out of him. Sometimes that can be done well (though nothing springs to mind right now). Not here. I’m cutting the second series purely on his annoying presence throughout the entire story. (Also because the labyrinthine plot about arms dealers and Howard Stark’s first wife is stupid.)
The first series is worth keeping around just for the batshit crazy ideas that Card throws around. Tony’s brain is distributed through his entire body? He can regenerate? He needs to be coated in a protective lotion so that he isn’t in constant pain? Even Marvel thought it was too kooky, choosing to retcon the entire run. Even so, Card gets points for audacity in my book.
Regret buying? No (Yes for the second series)
Would buy again? No
Would read again? Yes (No for the second series)
Rating: Fine (Stupid for the second series. Cutting it.)
All-New Ultimates 1-2
I gave this a shot because it’s an absolutely killer lineup of Ultimate characters - Miles Morales, Bombshell, Cloak and Dagger, Jessica Drew, and Kitty Pryde. Also, the covers by David Nakayama are absolutely gorgeous. (They’re almost enough to make me keep these issues.)
It’s too bad that the writing by Michel Fiffe and the interior art by Amilcar Pinna drove me to ditch it after two issues. I actively hate Pinna’s style (It’s a worse version of Mike McKone, who isn’t that good to begin with), and Fiffe chooses to obscure the awesomeness of the heroes at his disposal behind a stultifyingly boring drug war.
But those covers!
Regret buying? Yes
Would buy again? No
Would read again? No
Rating: Disliked (Cutting)
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