Post by goldenfist on May 1, 2008 9:51:25 GMT -5
Here's a review of Ultimate Human #4 from Ign.com
I'm still amazed at how deftly Ultimate Human has sidestepped accusations of being a pointless cash-in book. It certainly seemed at first like the series existed for no other reason than to make us all forget about the unfinished Ultimate Hulk vs. Wolverine. Instead, it's managed to become one of the best things to come out of the Ultimate Universe in several years. Granted, it doesn't have a particularly huge amount of competition these days, but it's still an achievement worth noting.
While somewhat disappointing after the relative high point of issue #3, the finale issue is still a fun read by any standard. Pete Wisdom, otherwise known as the Ultimate incarnation of The Leader, is ready to bleed Tony Stark and Bruce Banner dry in hopes of completing his transformation. You wouldn't expect two of the smartest minds in the Ultimate Universe to take that lying down, and they most certainly don't. On some levels the climax plays out exactly as expected, and the status quo does make some semblance of a return by issue's end. On the other hand, Warren Ellis' writing is never traditional even when he treads familiar paths, so the journey is still a good deal of fun. My real problem with this issue is that Wisdom simply doesn't play a large enough role. Issue #3 might have lacked action and excitement, but it succeeded solely on the fact that Wisdom hogged the spotlight. He's a really great character, after all, potentially even moreso in his Ultimate incarnation.
I was pleased to see that artist Cary Nord seems to have fallen into his job more comfortably with this issue. I loved every panel of his work on Conan, but the artist has seemed to struggle a bit in toning down his otherworldly style for the more realistic setting of Ultimate Human. Maybe it's the simple fact that Ellis throws several Hulk-filled splash panels at Nord. Whatever the case, issue #4 is definitely a looker.
I really hope the other Ultimate writers take a long, hard look at what made this mini-series succeed. Ultimate Human could have easily been a simple four-issue smash-fest. Instead, thanks to the skillful writing of Ellis it exceeded those limitations and became something greater. It pains me to see that such talent isn't being utilized on the Ultimate books that "matter." Readers complain constantly that the line isn't what it used to be. Well, Ultimate Human proves it isn't that hard to recall the glory of the good old days.
Review Score: 8.4 Impressive
I'm still amazed at how deftly Ultimate Human has sidestepped accusations of being a pointless cash-in book. It certainly seemed at first like the series existed for no other reason than to make us all forget about the unfinished Ultimate Hulk vs. Wolverine. Instead, it's managed to become one of the best things to come out of the Ultimate Universe in several years. Granted, it doesn't have a particularly huge amount of competition these days, but it's still an achievement worth noting.
While somewhat disappointing after the relative high point of issue #3, the finale issue is still a fun read by any standard. Pete Wisdom, otherwise known as the Ultimate incarnation of The Leader, is ready to bleed Tony Stark and Bruce Banner dry in hopes of completing his transformation. You wouldn't expect two of the smartest minds in the Ultimate Universe to take that lying down, and they most certainly don't. On some levels the climax plays out exactly as expected, and the status quo does make some semblance of a return by issue's end. On the other hand, Warren Ellis' writing is never traditional even when he treads familiar paths, so the journey is still a good deal of fun. My real problem with this issue is that Wisdom simply doesn't play a large enough role. Issue #3 might have lacked action and excitement, but it succeeded solely on the fact that Wisdom hogged the spotlight. He's a really great character, after all, potentially even moreso in his Ultimate incarnation.
I was pleased to see that artist Cary Nord seems to have fallen into his job more comfortably with this issue. I loved every panel of his work on Conan, but the artist has seemed to struggle a bit in toning down his otherworldly style for the more realistic setting of Ultimate Human. Maybe it's the simple fact that Ellis throws several Hulk-filled splash panels at Nord. Whatever the case, issue #4 is definitely a looker.
I really hope the other Ultimate writers take a long, hard look at what made this mini-series succeed. Ultimate Human could have easily been a simple four-issue smash-fest. Instead, thanks to the skillful writing of Ellis it exceeded those limitations and became something greater. It pains me to see that such talent isn't being utilized on the Ultimate books that "matter." Readers complain constantly that the line isn't what it used to be. Well, Ultimate Human proves it isn't that hard to recall the glory of the good old days.
Review Score: 8.4 Impressive