Has anyone else been reading this book? I’m not usually an Avengers fan, but Mark Millar (The Authority, Ultimate X-Men) has really made this book a treat.
It’s very smooth and real dialogue, and I enjoy the art of the book as well. The only critique I’ve heard of the book so far is that it is a little slow moving. IMHO, that doesn’t matter because it takes some time to get characters flushed out before you can toss them into combat.
You can check it out for free online at www.marvel.com and click on the dot.comics link.
I’m reading the entire Ultimates line: Spiderman, X-men. I was an Avengers fan when I was a kid, and I have to say I really like this new book. The issue that focused on Hank Pym and his wife (how could I forget her name?) was intense.
Neat interpretation of the Hulk and Captain America too.
I’m not enjoying it at all, but it’s so damned well done that I keep picking it up to see how Millar will butcher the characters next.
I’m sending a mixed message here, so let me rephrase: I appreciate Millar’s craft and he’s telling the story well but it’s not a story that I’m enjoying.
That’s probably why I like it. I never really liked the Avengers characters, Cap, Thor, IM, but his butchering/retooling of them has just struck the right chord with me.
The Spin on Thor and Hank and Jan are cool, and the characterisation of Cap just seems more “true” to what I’d think his character would do.
I agree with Res: I really, REALLY don’t like his take on Hank/Jan. Thor is odd, but not horrible ('though if you want to talk sanctimonious…) and after a reread, the Freddie Prinz Jr. thing was just dumb.
As far as Freddie Prinze jr. goes, I think using real celebrities instead of creating them works better. (Lila Cheney, Sugar Kane). They’ve used real politicians in comics before, why not real Hollywood actors?
I like the ULtimates. One of the advantages to starting old storylines over is that for one thing they can update them and stave off the time dilation. Furthermore, they create an opening for new fans to jump in without a huge foggy history to worry about. They consolidate some story lines, and emphasize others in a different order than they actually played out, which may bug some old school fans, but it’s better done and with more depth than you tend to see in movie or T.V. adaptations.
I do think the decision to make Sgt. Fury black (clearly modeled after Samuel L. Jackson) tends to smack of desperate revisionism. Well, if they want to bring in more minorities as per our modern sensibilities, how else would they do it, since there are relatively few in Marvel history? But Sgt. Fury was part of the super soldier program in WWII, and somehow I just don’t see the program being that liberal in the 40’s.
I like the series. I’ve never been a big fan of the Avengers, but I find this book rather interesting. Part of what I like is that it’s a Superhero book with no Supervillains. That’s just a cool idea in my mind. sure, all that will change in time, but it really helps set up good characterization and lets them go and flush out the world a bit for everyone without getting too hokey. It’s something fresh and inventive, and of course, the artwork is amazing.
I don’t know too much about many of the characters (the Wasp and Giant/Ant-Man), but I do like the take they put on the Hulk. Banner is just such a loser, and all the other team members are just shits to him, the whole set up with him, essentially trying to sacrifice himself by becoming the Hulk was an interesting twist. All of the characters are unstable, and I’m really looking forward to seeing what happens when they do have to start fighting “as a team.”
I only collect about three books now, and this is one of them, so it gets a thumbs up from me. We’ll see what happens when the artwork goes to shit, though.