Ultimates Vol. 3 #1 Review - IGN (original) (raw)

Round Three with the Ultimate Earth's mightiest.

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Months and months of hype and an impossibly high standard have put Ultimates 3 in an impossible situation. Let's get something settled right now - Mark Millar and Bryan Hitch aren't doing this book. This isn't their Ultimates. Comparisons will be rampant, but I think any reasonable comics fan knew not to expect a similar book once this team was announced. That was the entire point - don't attempt to recreate something that was unique to another team. Like Whedon and Cassaday, there is only one Millar/Hitch team. So, that established, we can then look at the first issue produced by the Loeb/Madureira/Lichtner team. Sadly this issue falters on its own merits, all comparisons tossed out the window.

Every element of this book has some sort of bizarre flaw that really distracts from the overall experience. Deep down there is a core here that has my curiousity. I can't deny that I'll be picking up the second issue of this series, but some serious storytelling problems bothered me to no end.

First up is the writing. The first six to eight pages of this issue are incredibly awkward. Combine that with some bizarre dialogue and found myself justifying and retracing characters' motivations just so I could keep things sorted. Venom in particular rubs me the wrong way. There's a catch here that I'm not revealing, but even with that bit acknowledged, I was still bored with this supposed "action-packed" opening scene. Things smooth out from there, but even then some of the characterization is just shy of overly-simplistic. A scene with Cap is particularly odd since it seems custom-designed to say, "Hey! Look! He's not from our time period!" All of the characters seemed dialed up to 11 but lack a grounded sense that allows me to believe in them. The less I say about the opening page, the better. I have this sneaking suspicion that alone will deter some. The random character introductions, without any sort of plot device to illustrate the gap in time between this volume and last, is also awkward. I don't need lengthy explanations (yet), but something would have been nice. Not all of us are reading IGN interviews to discover these changes (though you all should read our interviews anyway!).

The art side is pretty rough around the edges for me as well. Joe Mad's pencils are stunning as always, but they lack fluidity between panels. Characters are posed more for their dynamic nature rather than the logic of the overall scene and moment. It's as if Mad is tossing out what makes sense for what looks prettier. There's a natural beauty in strong storytelling, and this issue doesn't have that. It doesn't help that Lichtner's coloring is also a bit off for my tastes. There's an odd haze and muted quality to everything. Call me simple but I like brighter tones, particularly with the anime-hybrid style of Joe Mad. The final product here is far too subdued. I think the intent here was to hit a tone similar to what was being done with Bryan Hitch's work, but I don't even see why that was attempted. Hitch's style screams for darker color schemes. Joe Mad's does not.

I've been picking on this book and yet I had a reasonably decent experience. As I mentioned before, the plot is intriguing. I don't want to spoil it just yet, but there are a couple twists here that have my attention. Likewise the art, despite some awkward elements, is still stunning. Take any page, colors and all, and it's incredible. Set that in the context of the story and it frequently trips up, but I could make posters out of every page in this book. You can't say that about too many art teams. All in all, I'd recommend picking up next month's chapter as well. Provided the storytelling and plot smooth out, and provided we get some much-needed explanations regarding character introductions and alterations, I think Ultimates 3 could be a strong read in its own right. But stop comparing it to Ultimates 2 - there's seriously no point in doing so.

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Ultimates Vol. 3 #1 Review