Rating: 
Summary: Both Stan Lee and Avi Arad reject this story....
Review: It was something of a surprise I guess, when Lee and Arad said that they did not like nor approve of Miller's work. That was good. This is not Marvel books or stories here, just an Image writer whose work is clearly anti-american.
Rating: 
Summary: The original Avengers reassemble as the Ultimates
Review: "The Avengers" was the one Marvel Comic from the Golden Age that never really clicked for me. Since I liked the "X-Men" and "The Fantastic Four" I know it was not an inherent aversion to superhero groups. But the roster of the Avengers seemed to go to extremes. They started out power heavy with Thor and Iron Man and then went ultra light with Hawkeye and the Scarlet Witch. Coming up with villains was always a problem because you needed opponents that justified all those heavyweights. Remember, when the Avengers were first created they accounted for half of Marvel's titles. That being said, on balance I liked "The Ultimates," the new and improved 21st century version of the Avengers written by Mark Millar ("Ultimate X-Men") and penciled by Bryan Hitch ("Justice League of America") more than the original, although certainly there are things you have to take with a grain of salt. Part of the way these Ultimate titles work is that they are aware of the characters and stories that existed in the "real" Marvel Universe and try to play off of them in new and interesting ways (admittedly, with mixed results). There is also a concerted effort to take the time to tell the tales, so that an encounter with a specific villain has a multi-issue arch, which works well with these trade paperbacks. Volume 1, "Super-Human" has to do with the formation of the group and their first collective effort to bring down the Hulk, collecting the first five issues of the series. The idea is that Bruce Banner's days as the Hulk are behind him and he is in charge of the government's effort to update the super-solider formula that created Captain America way back when. In charge of the proceedings is Nick Fury, who I believe first popped up looking like Avery Brooks with an eye-patch in the pages of "The Ultimate Spider-Man." The story begins with the final mission of Captain America during World War II, but after that point is told in media res, with all of the superheroes who make up the Ultimates already recognized as superheroes, albeit with one large exception. The Captain America thread is the best of the bunch, with Steve Rogers getting caught up on his life 57-years later and free from that annoying guilt over the death of Bucky Barnes. It is too early to tell about Iron Man and the Tony Stark who is living the highlife and seeking adventure for very personal reasons. When the Hulk finally makes his appearance I had problems reconciling his beer-guzzling sex-driven rampage with the idea he was killing dozens of people and leveling Manhattan to get at Freddie Prinze Junior; putting a comic twist on the Hulk does not work for me (but the fear of Betty leaving Bruce Banner alone was good). Then there is Thor, "a New Age guru who may either be the living son of a Norse god...or a lunatic with a big hammer." How they are going to make this one work will be interesting. Then there is the case of Henry and Janet Pym, a volatile relationship that is heading towards the dark side and offers the Ultimates their key soap opera elements (Janet makes the big mistake of making Hank look small). The result is good but not great, but then the entire Ultimate line point out by Marvel has proven itself to be worth at least a look by the faithful, whether you were around when the Marvel "Pop Art" books hit the stands in the early 1960s or have come to them in the age of comic book shops. Hitch's artwork sets a nice tone for the stories, especially when Thor starts going into his Thunder God routine and the opening World War II sequence. Whatever you think of Millar's innovations, you have to admit the end product comes together and is totally in the spirit of the Ultimates approach to retelling the great adventures of the original core group of Marvel characters.
Rating: 
Summary: Spectacular!
Review: Comics have been called movies on paper; that has never been more true than in this book. From WWII battles to NYC streets, this book is a beautiful, stunning masterpiece. I haven't seen a graphic novel more clear in vivid detail. The story of the Ultimate Captain America is dramatic and poignant. This is the type of story you would get if they made a really good Avengers movie.
Rating: 
Summary: Not Millar's best work
Review: Creating an adult superhero comic offers a writer a great challenge, one that Millar generally rose to in his work in Authority. However, reimagining superhero icons into an adult paradigm remains one of the hardest things for any creator. More than just upping the sex and violence, the writer must extend the characters in an organic fashion, deepening their relationships and personalities while at the same time remaining true to the hero's basic historic nature. Simply recreating the character anew without tying it back into the old core does not work, because one might just as well create a new character. Millar succeeded admirably in such an effort with his much acclaimed Red Son. While in some cases he takes his characters into interesting and deep new territory firmly rooted in the universe, in others his flights of fancy render the characters basically unrecognizable beyond some icon. The best example of this failure is Millar's turning Thor into an environmentalist hippy. What does this character have to do with the Asgardian who has graced Marvel for so long? A Hammer? Thor's nature is far deeper and more complex than the phallic symbol he swings. Creating an adult Thor while remaining true to the original no doubt is a challenge, but one that could have offered readers a fascinating view into a complex character. The same is true of Millar's Nick Fury. Fury is not an eye patch. Other recent work explored the character in interesting ways, but here he is simply a brand new character sporting a totem of the old. To my mind that fails in what makes adult remaining interesting. Other parts of the book do hold up. Exploring the tension between Dr. Pym and Wasp as well as the formers many faceted personality is well executed here. That their relationship might have violent components is not too much of a stretch from their old passions. Captain America is also well done. As for Iron Man, the review is mixed, because while the character is interesting, it gives me a whole new character rather than a new view on the complex old one. As a book for a new young comic reader, this is pretty good. However, do not expect to be blown away by new depth added to old marvel favorites. While a good read, it is not in the leagues with Morrison's X-Men or Ross's Marvel's and Kingdom Come.
Rating:
Summary: Re-imagining the Avengers? Or humanizing them?
Review: First of all, this book is a good read. Good art and good story. In itself. But when you consider it in the whole wide Marvel picture ... it seems very weird and sometimes ... bad. My first and biggest complaint: what the f*ck did they do to the Hulk? And Dr Bruce Banner? And why? When did he turn into a horny, expletive hurling, not-using-his-brains and killing-hundred-people loser? This characterization of the Hulk and Dr Banner completely ruins the wonderful history we have built from past issues of Hulk and other comics. And why is Betty Ross so stupid? She is supposed to be a doctor dammit! This book conflicts a lot, in bad as well as good way, with the existing Marvel universe. The good parts like humanizing the heroes and detailing them are fine ... but destroying their characters and histories is not. Next: the book is too much about media and show-sha and Hollywood. Every other page, the characters _have_ to talk about who will be playing them in movies or Stark dating Cameroon Diaz or Betty having dinner with Freddy Prinze Jr or a media-event for Ultimates launch or something similar. If this is how you are supposed to "humanize" your super-heroes ... then may be Millar and party should go and read Watchmen or Kingdom Come first. Third: I was never a big fan of the Avengers. I had hardly read a few of their comics. Even though I thought this book was good in itself ... it wasn't good enough to make me a fan of the Ultimates (or Avengers). So I am not placing a pre-order for Ultimates 2. Neither am I going to buy it I guess.
Rating:
Summary: A Graphic Novel for a new age...
Review: Growing up in the 1980's, I was a huge fan of the Uncanny X-men and was blessed to be able to pick up a new copy of the Claremont/Byrne classics as they rolled hot off the presses. Another fond memory is the fantastic yarn constructed by comic-book masterpiece maker Walt Simonson with his "Surtur Saga" in Thor #337- 353. I think those two runs as well as the original "The Dark Knight Returns" Miller classic were the most impressive, most jaw-dropping and heart-pulsingly emotional comic books I had ever read. Truly impressive stuff still to this day. Nowadays, I don't really pick up any comics anymore mainly due to the costs - but "The Ultimates" is something very special. Reading these comics, I feel as glued to the pages as I did while reading those Thor issues and old X-men classics. It is the Avengers retold for a new era. It is characters reborn for a new century. And it is crisis and terror in a new world, a world that even these characters must grow up and change to fit our new times. The characters all have their own demons, but they do have purpose as well which drives them on. Like the original Avengers, the Ultimates unite to battle a common threat, yet this time it is the dark curtain of terror casting over our times they they do battle with. I'll admit it- I love this comic. The stories are intelligent- the characters are definitely solid and not merely walking super-powers - the sequences grab you and keep you turning the pages till the very end- and the art... I gotta tell you- the art is EXTRAORDINARY!!! Very stunning work throughout- not one panel is weak- the layout, the finish, the lettering and the colors make these quite memorable stories. Also, without a doubt, this has got to be my favorite rendition of Captain America- tough, gritty and a true patriot- this truly is the "super-soldier" from the lines of the battlefields of Europe in WWII- the full page splash of Cap in the first chapter is probably the greatest shot of him I've ever seen put to print- the artwork, the colors and most especially- what he's saying all make it a classic moment instantly. I think the WWII version of Cap is pretty ingenious writing. Don't expect all happy go lucky from this comic though- it gets very dark at times with the pages of this book. But then again, we've seen dark times in our world as well. The Ultimates reflects that, but it never forgets the most important thing a comic-book needs to be- a fun read- that it is and I look forward the ongoing series.
Rating:
Summary: This book is brilliant
Review: I cant see how anybody doesnt like this book, its really a great accomplishment in restructuring the marvel world. Opposed to the squeaky clean, and thus boring Avengers, the Ultimates actually have humanity behind the tights and primary colors. As for the complaint that the book is rushed in its plot, I dont really agree with that either. Most people reading this book already know the standard marvel histories for these characters, and so dont need the full Captain America origin for about the millionth time. Discovering the differences in this world from the Marvel universe I am used to is what keeps me interested in the book, I think the book wouldn't be nearly as interesting if they did a regular "origin story". Ultimate Spiderman I think really suffers from the fact they are just exploring his origin, a story most readers know all too well. Not to say Ultimate-Spidey is a bad book in any way, I am just more intrigued with Ultimates and Ultimate-Xmen because not everything is completely reavealed.
Rating:
Summary: Best of the Ultimate Line
Review: I had lost interest in comics during the 90s as quality fell and prices rose at both DC and Marvel. When Marvel launched their ultimate line I found a reason to return to the comic shop. For my money, Mark Millar is one of the best writers that Marvel is currently using. He takes the familiar ideas for characters that have existed for decades and makes them interesting and identifiable. Characters like Thor and Wasp who I've always laughed off in the Marvel Universe are reinvented here as beings I want to know more about. The first six issues (collected here) introduce the core group of Captain America, Iron Man, Giant Man, Wasp, and eventually Thor with Bruce Banner Hulking out to provide an unstable element. The art is fantastic throughout the entire book, from fantastic battle scenes in WW2 to the intimate moments when team members just sit around chatting, it's all flawless. I loved this book, and make sure I lend it out to all of my friends to show them what super hero comics can be at their best.
Rating: 
Summary: I'm sorry, but...no...
Review: I know I am in the minority for saying this, but I can't stand this series. The plot seems rushed, no one can connect to any of the characters, they don't even bother to tell Thor's origin, and the ending is an unsatisfactory mess. The art is pretty good, but the story is weak. Everyone hails Miller as an excellent writer, but he appears to me to be an over-blown prima donna. (Could the issues have come out at any less of a regular schedual?) Millar's first Ultimate X-Men arc was very good, but nothing he's done since has ever impressed me. If you want to read a really good Ultimate book that's good for all ages, get Ultimate spider-Man. I would fully advise you to skip this over-hyped mess.
Rating:
Summary: Wonderfully Illustrated, but falls short of the mark.
Review: I was intrigued when I heard about the Ultimates, which is in essence a reformation of the original Avengers. Although the illustrations were very well done, the story was so slow and badly put together that by the end of the story, I both wanted more, and much less. The plot was both frantically paced and embarrasingly slow at the same time. Nothing was happening, but the story seemed in such a hurry to get there that I felt like I was missing something (perhaps I was). Millar does a pretty good job giving some background on Captain America, but none of the other characters get more than a passing nod from a standpoint of character development. Perhaps this is just as well, as seeing Thor as a tree-hugging raver (ala Woodstock '99) and seeing Dr. Bruce Banner as a pathetic weakling with more fears than brains struck me as uninventive and even a little lazy. A particularly galling development in this "retelling" is the position of the Ultimates as a branch of the US miliary. Keeping aside the idiocy of having a Norse God in the US military, of all the Avengers, only Captain America has the type of character to follow orders and obey. Iron Man and the two scientists (Giant Man and Banner) would probably be somewhat suspicious of this dubious "honor" to serve one's country. My thought is political correctness in the post 9-11 world won't allow for rogue groups operating outside of the vast government's auspices. Lastly, what's with all the celebrity worship? A full two pages are spent discussing who's going to play whom in the upcoming movie (Nick Fury's character appears to be drawn with Samuel L. Jackson in mind). Dinner with Freddie Prinze Jr.? Marketing meetings and PR sessions? What's with this garbage? All of these efforts serve to elevate the possible saviors of the world to the status of N*Sync or VH-1 Divas. If you're into the Avengers, go back and read your old issues. There's nothing to see here.
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