Ultimate Spider-Man

Ultimate Spider-Man Annual 3

The first appearance of Ultimate Mysterio, Peter and MJ have The Sex Talk, and David Lafuente gives a preview of his upcoming run the renamed Ultimate Comics: Spider-Man.  (Thank god they went with him and not Mark Brooks, the artist for the previous two annuals.)  Lafuente has got a lot of Craig Rousseau in him, but better.  He does a quirky Spider-Man that I like, and I really like his acting:

This totally reminds me of...

Regret buying: No

Would buy again: Yes

Would read again: Yes

Rating: Good

Ultimate Spider-Man 129-133

The Spider-Man portion of Ultimatum.  Brian Michael Bendis and Stuart Immonen do an effective job of conveying the enormity of the disaster that everyone is facing, while grounding the whole thing with very, very human moments.

In a medium full of explosions, this one stood out.  (Justin Ponsor on colors.)

Ultimate Matt Murdock was a dick, but this was still a somber moment.

Gorgeous splash page.  JJJ's moment of realization.

Poor Kitty.  Poor Kenny.

Regret buying: No

Would buy again: Yes

Would read again: Yes

Rating: Really good

Ultimatum: Spider-Man: Requiem 1-2

Bendis pretends that Spider-Man is dead (I’m so glad I already knew he wasn’t).  This is basically an excuse for him to tell two filler Spidey stories drawn by Mark Bagley with an Immonen wrapper. 

I didn't know how much I loved a well-placed "sweet mother" until now.

Regret buying: No

Would buy again: Yes

Would read again: Yes

Rating: Pretty good

That’s it for Ultimates Box 2!

Box Summary

Time spent reading: 25 hours, 37 minutes

Issues read: 217

Issues cut: 0

Highlights (Good or better): Firefighter Daigo; Zot 33; Parker; Ultimate Spider-Man 1-69, 72-78, 86-105, 111-133; Ultimate Spider-Man 1, 3

Project Summary:

Time spent reading: 56 days, 8 hours, 31 minutes

Issues read: 11698

Issues cut: 1159

Ultimate Comics: Spider-Man 1-8

Flash forward six months.  Peter’s now dating Gwen Stacy.  Aunt May takes in homeless Johnny Storm and Bobby Drake.  MJ (who dumped Peter) is still in love with him.  Kitty Pryde is dressing up as The Hood (still doing good guy things).  Rick Jones (the new herald from Ultimate Origins) starts figuring out his powers.  It’s a madhouse at the Parker residence.  On top of that, Mysterio killed Kingpin and is now the new big bad.

The more things change, the more they stay the same.  Bendis is still bringing the heat.

Regret buying: No

Would buy again: Yes

Would read again: Yes

Rating: Good