Post by goldenfist on Jan 24, 2008 16:55:58 GMT -5
Here's a review of Ultimates 3 #2 from ign.com
My criticisms of Jeph Loeb and Joe Madureira's initial issue of Ultimates 3 were harsh, I'll admit. Like many Ultimates fans, the staggering drop in quality (in every sense of the word) was like a slap in the face. It's been nearly two months since that issue dropped, and now that the sting has faded and my expectations have been significantly lowered, I'm ready to see what Loeb has to bring to the Ultimates fold.
The answer? Not a whole lot.
This issue picks up immediately where the last left off, with the Ultimates facing the all-new star-studded Brotherhood in what amounts to an extended fight scene. The good news is that Joe Madureira's artwork is decidedly improved, thanks in no small part to the coloring. In a stroke of genius, someone advised Christian Lichtner to vary the color palette and as a result, the muddy yellow and brown filter that permeated the first issue is gone. The panels now have infinitely more pop and the Ultimates certainly look the part of a superhero team. Their bodies are still grossly deformed with biceps, shoulders, and breasts roughly the size of (or larger than) the owners' heads, but it's a Joe Mad comic. You know what you're getting into when you throw down your three bucks.
Another bright spot is that we actually get some interesting characterization on a character or two. Last issue I complained that each and every character had turned into a caricature of themselves, with one defining characteristic ruling their entire being. Captain America was an 88-year-old man in a thirty-something body, Iron Man was a sloppy drunk, Valkyrie was a walking pair of breasts, Wanda and Pietro were just icky, etc. Most of that is still unfortunately true, but Quicksilver springs forth unexpectedly this issue and actually develops a personality thanks to the cliffhanger from last issue and his father's inclusion in the new Brotherhood. I had a strange feeling reading his parts of this issue, and I finally figured out what that was: I actually gave a d**n.
If it sounds like I enjoyed this issue, that's because I haven't gotten to the train wreck that is the rest of it. One of the largest problems here is the heinous dialogue. Considering the issue is one giant fight scene, it's a given that there's going to be as many superheroic one-liners thrown around as there are punches. But Loeb's linguistic choices are devoid of humor or wit. This is most apparent in the Spider-Man sequence, and based solely on this issue there should be a moratorium on Loeb ever handling the character in any universe ever again. But really, that problem is everywhere in this issue and the result is Ultimates 3 #2 reading like bad fan fiction. Not to mention the plot is as bare bones as they come. The Brotherhood attacks. The teams fight. Continued next issue. The high concept storylines of the previous Ultimates volumes are long gone. I mentioned the horrible characterization already, so I won't revisit it again except to add that Loeb has succeeded in making me actively hate these versions of Hawkeye, Captain America, and Valkyrie on a fundamental level. Truthfully, most of the cast isn't far behind.
Ultimates 3 would be an okay story arc in Exiles or What If... ("What if the Avengers were all on crystal meth?!?"), but as the bearer of the Ultimates torch it doesn't stack up. The worst part is, Jeph Loeb has somehow make the central tenant of comics -- costumed superheroes beating each other up -- lifeless and irritating. It's going to be a long five issues, folks.
Review Score:4.1 Poor
Here's another review by a reviewer who read Ultimates 3# 2.
Bryan pretty much hit the nail on the head here. There isn't a whole lot more to add. (That means read his review in addition to mine.)
I feel like I should say that I don't consider Ultimates to be some sort of Holy Grail. For some reason everyone fell in love with Mark Millar and Bryan Hitch for their ultra-masculine, action-heavy, gritty take on Marvel's Avengers. It was a novel treatment, but I never felt like the characterization was there to back it up. We had heroes acting like dicks in order to be sensational, but inevitably the punching would start and not stop for several issues. This happened in both volumes.
I guess the biggest difference between this and that is that Millar has managed to refine his punch-fests while Loeb has not. Millar crafted a very clever plot involving Loki for the second volume, and even though we basically saw a whole lot of fighting, it worked incredibly well (far better than the first volume). Loeb just throws characters together like action figures and mashes them around a bit. He has the good fortune of having Joe Mads and Christian Lichtner to provide stunning art - which is really the only saving grace here.
I'll let you in on a little secret: Don't read the dialogue. With very little effort you can figure out exactly what is happening in this issue (it's not like the plot is complicated), and it's far more enjoyable as a result. I don't know what it is these days, but Loeb is just unable to make his characters speak well. It's a bit of a shock to recall books like Spider-Man: Blue and then try to read this. Almost every line made me want to cringe.
But like Bryan said, the art here is pretty - and far better than the first issue. Being a bit of a fan of Madureira, and of art in general, I found quite a bit of enjoyment from that aspect of the book - but I dare not actually read it again. This definitely builds the case against "silent" comics.
Review Score:5.2
My criticisms of Jeph Loeb and Joe Madureira's initial issue of Ultimates 3 were harsh, I'll admit. Like many Ultimates fans, the staggering drop in quality (in every sense of the word) was like a slap in the face. It's been nearly two months since that issue dropped, and now that the sting has faded and my expectations have been significantly lowered, I'm ready to see what Loeb has to bring to the Ultimates fold.
The answer? Not a whole lot.
This issue picks up immediately where the last left off, with the Ultimates facing the all-new star-studded Brotherhood in what amounts to an extended fight scene. The good news is that Joe Madureira's artwork is decidedly improved, thanks in no small part to the coloring. In a stroke of genius, someone advised Christian Lichtner to vary the color palette and as a result, the muddy yellow and brown filter that permeated the first issue is gone. The panels now have infinitely more pop and the Ultimates certainly look the part of a superhero team. Their bodies are still grossly deformed with biceps, shoulders, and breasts roughly the size of (or larger than) the owners' heads, but it's a Joe Mad comic. You know what you're getting into when you throw down your three bucks.
Another bright spot is that we actually get some interesting characterization on a character or two. Last issue I complained that each and every character had turned into a caricature of themselves, with one defining characteristic ruling their entire being. Captain America was an 88-year-old man in a thirty-something body, Iron Man was a sloppy drunk, Valkyrie was a walking pair of breasts, Wanda and Pietro were just icky, etc. Most of that is still unfortunately true, but Quicksilver springs forth unexpectedly this issue and actually develops a personality thanks to the cliffhanger from last issue and his father's inclusion in the new Brotherhood. I had a strange feeling reading his parts of this issue, and I finally figured out what that was: I actually gave a d**n.
If it sounds like I enjoyed this issue, that's because I haven't gotten to the train wreck that is the rest of it. One of the largest problems here is the heinous dialogue. Considering the issue is one giant fight scene, it's a given that there's going to be as many superheroic one-liners thrown around as there are punches. But Loeb's linguistic choices are devoid of humor or wit. This is most apparent in the Spider-Man sequence, and based solely on this issue there should be a moratorium on Loeb ever handling the character in any universe ever again. But really, that problem is everywhere in this issue and the result is Ultimates 3 #2 reading like bad fan fiction. Not to mention the plot is as bare bones as they come. The Brotherhood attacks. The teams fight. Continued next issue. The high concept storylines of the previous Ultimates volumes are long gone. I mentioned the horrible characterization already, so I won't revisit it again except to add that Loeb has succeeded in making me actively hate these versions of Hawkeye, Captain America, and Valkyrie on a fundamental level. Truthfully, most of the cast isn't far behind.
Ultimates 3 would be an okay story arc in Exiles or What If... ("What if the Avengers were all on crystal meth?!?"), but as the bearer of the Ultimates torch it doesn't stack up. The worst part is, Jeph Loeb has somehow make the central tenant of comics -- costumed superheroes beating each other up -- lifeless and irritating. It's going to be a long five issues, folks.
Review Score:4.1 Poor
Here's another review by a reviewer who read Ultimates 3# 2.
Bryan pretty much hit the nail on the head here. There isn't a whole lot more to add. (That means read his review in addition to mine.)
I feel like I should say that I don't consider Ultimates to be some sort of Holy Grail. For some reason everyone fell in love with Mark Millar and Bryan Hitch for their ultra-masculine, action-heavy, gritty take on Marvel's Avengers. It was a novel treatment, but I never felt like the characterization was there to back it up. We had heroes acting like dicks in order to be sensational, but inevitably the punching would start and not stop for several issues. This happened in both volumes.
I guess the biggest difference between this and that is that Millar has managed to refine his punch-fests while Loeb has not. Millar crafted a very clever plot involving Loki for the second volume, and even though we basically saw a whole lot of fighting, it worked incredibly well (far better than the first volume). Loeb just throws characters together like action figures and mashes them around a bit. He has the good fortune of having Joe Mads and Christian Lichtner to provide stunning art - which is really the only saving grace here.
I'll let you in on a little secret: Don't read the dialogue. With very little effort you can figure out exactly what is happening in this issue (it's not like the plot is complicated), and it's far more enjoyable as a result. I don't know what it is these days, but Loeb is just unable to make his characters speak well. It's a bit of a shock to recall books like Spider-Man: Blue and then try to read this. Almost every line made me want to cringe.
But like Bryan said, the art here is pretty - and far better than the first issue. Being a bit of a fan of Madureira, and of art in general, I found quite a bit of enjoyment from that aspect of the book - but I dare not actually read it again. This definitely builds the case against "silent" comics.
Review Score:5.2