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Ultimate Comics Spider-Man, Vol.1 (2012)

by Brian Michael Bendis(Favorite Author)

4.19 of 5 Votes: 4

ISBN

0785157123 (ISBN13: 9780785157120)

languge

English

genre

Fantasy

publisher

Marvel

series

Ultimate Comics: Spider-Man, Volume II

review 1: Finally... After reading through all the rest of the Ultimate Spider-Man series, seeing some of the buzz here and there, and anticipating his debut, MILES MORALES is here, in the role of the Ultimate Spider-Man! This volume brings a brand new kid into the role of Spider-Man. Just like (Ultimate) Peter, he was bitten by a spider crafted by Norman Osborne, but unlike Peter, he's gotten a couple of extra powers to go along with. This origin story brings every bit as much fun, anticipation, and those rooting-for-the-good-guy feelings as Bendis brought when writing the beginning of Ultimate Spider-Man all those years ago. Miles is a great character and Bendis continues to write him and all his supporting cast with heartfelt and humorous flair. The interior art was nice and soli... mored. I'm still not too familiar with the work of Sara Pichelli (who provided pencils), but the art went right along with the excellence of this story. Kaare Andrews' covers were great, as well. Whether you're the skeptic who didn't know about a new Spider-Man or the long time reader of the series waiting to jump into this new chapter, I'd give this one my personal thumbs-up.
review 2: I gave this graphic novel to our six-year-old as a birthday present, then read it to her aloud. It's a new experience for me, reading a comic book aloud. What to do with with the asterisked bits? (Insert swear words as appropriate, I guess.) What to do with all the onomatopoeia? Some of it is ridiculously hard to pronounce. A comicbook readaloud ends up being a dramatic performance.For an emergent and slightly reluctant reader, though, a graphic novel is a wonderful thing. This is the first book that the six year old has genuinely loved to the point of it being a page-turner, with groans when I had to stop. I was requested to read the entire thing again in one sitting after we had finished. I was able to leave her with the pictures, which provide enough reference for her to re-read the story on her own (visually).As we read, there is also much scope for discussing facial expressions. I was surprised how much she was able to pick up from the pictures. She noticed the significance of the number 42. In a book without pictures, she's not quite at the point where she can understand when important plot points are telegraphed for young readers.The visuals in this graphic novel are stunning. This is an alternative and engaging New York.It's nice to see that the successor to Peter Parker is an Hispanic boy. There are enough white boys in fiction. I do have my usual problems, though. There's nothing (else?) that's especially groundbreaking, transgressive or subversive about this run-of-the-mill superhero story: Although a female Spider Women turns up at the end of this book, she's the big-boobed kind. We've got the less attractive sidekick of Miles -- a dynamic seen over-and-over again in stories such as Monster House and Harry Potter -- the sidekick is bowled over by the fact that the young hero is interacting with a girl(!) and so Spider Woman's femaleness becomes the most important thing about her.I'd like to see a different kind of story -- a superhero story in which boys rescue boys from burning buildings, and not just screaming, hysterical women. I'd like to see girls treated as people first. I'd like to see all this, but will the next Marvel comic series offer it? Hmmm.In short, the six-year-old loved the pants off this book. I think graphic novels may be the way to bridge the gap between picture books and chapter books. Will those be more purchased from Marvel? Not so sure about that. less

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