And now, This Week In Things We Didn't Ask For, DC has seen fit to bless us with another Aquaman title with questionable results. It's appropriate that this book is titled "Aquaman and The Others" because that's precisely how treated Arthur Curry's supporting cast. His comrades, despite some a couple of enjoyable action here and there, feel terribly vanilla, uninteresting and their introductions do almost nothing to deviate from conventional "assemble the team" opening cliches. By the way, Prisoner of War might be the WORST codename of all time. I understand that this title picks up where Geoff Johns' second arc left off, so some degree of a refresher course is, of course, necessary, but the fact that we KNOW these "Others" know Aquaman as well as the events of past stories make his explanation feel awkward and shoehorned. It's sort of farfetched that there's a part of America that's so "middle of nowhere" that someone wouldn't know Atlanteans tried to flood the country. Meanwhile, the book comes across with a nasty case of multiple personality disorder. It meanders, not knowing whether it wants to be a superhero team-up or some globetrotting Johnny Quest-esque action/adventure. There's potential here, but first there must be an identity.
Lan Medina pencils certainly work in the book's favor, however. The action is engaging and fun thanks to his unique sense of perspective and moments of urgency. During the fights, you can easily tell when some attacks are loosed more fiercely than others and at no point are you confused about where characters are in the fight.
Bottom Line: It'll be an interesting book to read once it figures out what type of book it's going to be. Kinda like Kanye West. Until then...meh. 6.5 out of 10
Ultimate Spider-Man #200: The Ultimate Universe has carried on for just about 15 years now. There have been some particularly high points, many of which have greatly influenced the Marvel Cineverse. There have also been a substantial number of low points (I'm mainly looking at you, Ultimates 3) from a black, drug lord version of the Hulk to Ultimate Mister Sinister basically being a pokemon that levels up to Ultimate Apocalypse. The line has manage to go through several overhaul, limping on while one book in particular has consistently stood out and maintained a pretty high standard sometimes outdoing it's 616 continuity counterpart: Ultimate Spider Man.
Three years later, Bendis writes a fitting goodbye to Peter Parker, who sacrificed himself valiantly defending his family against a last ditch effort from Norman Osborn. This issue sees Aunt May inviting Peter's closest friends over to celebrate their fallen friend. This brings about a hefty cast of characters in a single book which would usually end up being problematic, but Bendis handles it as well as could possibly be expected. This, after all, is where he should excel if nowhere else. The man raised this book like a baby so it makes sense that he would have such a masterful handle on these characters. Bobby Drake, Johnny Storm and Kitty Pryde, for example have all been principal characters in other Ultimate books, but it's alongside Spider-Man as his amazing friends (see what I did there?) where they've truly shined with some of their best moments in this universe. There have been superhero books where he would have a lot to exposition, conversation and character development without much action which, admittedly, is not always what someone reading a superhero book expects when they pick up an issue of the Avengers or something of that nature. However, this book pulled off being a meaningful page turner full of superheroes without a single fight....and with a hilarious Tony Stark moment. With such a Who's Who of artists as Mark Bagley, Sara Pichelli, David Lafluente, Mark Brooks and Andrew Hennessey working on this book, it almost goes without saying that the visuals were stunning.
Bottom Line: A gorgeous, heartwarming remembrance of Ultimate Marvel's flagship character. 9 out of 10
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