Ultimate Spider-Man Annual #2

WRITTEN BY: BRIAN MICHAEL BENDIS
COVER & ART BY: MARK BROOKS
PUBLISHED BY: MARVEL COMICS

I’m going to try something a little different this week and write up a report on one of last weeks titles that really made good on their promise to deliver.

Last week’s title that I thought delivered the goods was Ultimate Spider-Man Annual #2. Bendis tried to capture lighting in a bottle again, and if all of you read last year’s #1 Annual, you’ll know what I mean. Once again Mark Brooks delivered in spades, his artwork is spectacular, kind of what Mad and J. Scott have been trying to do for years, integrate the whole Manga/U.S. style, referred to as AmeriManga, well Brooks does it with ease, and the same time making it his own style and surpassing these other yahoos! I usually don’t follow artists and I sure as hell am not a fan of Manga, (except for Vampire Hunter D), but Brooks’ art is a nice and visually stimulating hybrid. I wish this guy had a monthly book! Damn! Put him on something monthly already Marvel!!!

Aside from the art, Bendis finally tied up some dangling plot lines that have been hanging in the air that is Ultimate Spidey for awhile. And it only took him 32 pages to complete it!

Bendis has been in kind of a slump as of late with Ultimate Spider-Man, although his version of the notorious “Clone Saga” is shaping up to be something very interesting, the “Gang War” storyline was kind of weak, it seemed he just threw characters at us or rather, Ultimate versions of characters for the sake of “Ultimat-izing” them. Iron Fist and Shang-Chi, along with Moon Knight all kind of fell between the cracks, with the only interesting part of it being the behind the scenes turmoil Peter was having with Mary Jane. At first I was apprehensive that this annual thinking that we were just going to have more characters thrown at us since last years annual dealt with Peter hooking up with Kitty and that rocked out, but I gave it a chance and was pleasantly surprised. Another thing was that it had another appearance of Ultimate Punisher, which is just regular Punisher in the Ultimate universe. Last time Frank appeared in Spidey’s book, he was handed the short end of the stick. This comes from my belief that Bendis dislikes the Punisher character due to some deep psychological horror that stems from his Daredevil fetish, but I digress. For once the Punisher was used like he was always meant to be used. Not as some deranged psychopath that muttered to himself, but as an anti-hero, blurring the line that heroes won’t cross. Punny was used to deliver punishment. Moon Knight also had his time to shine, and the psychological aspect which Moony(?) plays to was explored a little more, though I wanted more. Also, the final fate of police Captain Jean DeWolfe was carried out very well. But if you want the whole dish, then get out there and pick up this issue!

Overall I give Ultimate Spider-Man Annual #2, 4 hits, and here’s hoping that Mark Brooks gets his own book drawing Ultimate Moon Knight!!!

MIRACLEMAN: OLYMPUS

WRITTEN BY: ALAN MOORE
ART BY: JOHN TOTLEBEN
PUBLISHED BY: ECLIPSE

KIMOTA!!!

I know I talk a lot of shit about Alan Moore, but the damn dirty pirate has got some awesome ideas. These are ideas I wish I had thought about. He revolutionized the job of the comic book writer, making it ok for us guys to become more cerebral and not pull punches with our four color fantasies. This is where it started, the MIRACLEMAN series. Originally titled MARVELMAN and published in the U.K., Marvel had problems with the title being too similar to their Captain Marvel, so Moore changed it up a bit and we now have the U.S. version. The story of MIRACLEMAN is very sordid, as to how he came to be and what happened to the rights after Moore left the book, but I’m here to speak on the coolness of the book and how one can learn a lot about the comic book medium and what can be done through solid storytelling.

This arc explores at its most basic point, the wants and needs of Superheroes and the wants and needs of those the hero chooses to serve, like a god who has worshipers and those who worship the god. A cycle of dependence and what can happen when a god decides to become selfish and the needs of the many do not out weigh the desires of the one, being the hero.

What if Superman went rogue? Who would be able to stop him, I mean the guy can fly through the sun, move planets, and go back in time! This is what Moore explores through MIRACLEMAN, showing us what can occur if a hero goes unchecked and left to his own devices. It's full of issues that are ripe with philosophy and ethical/moral implications. What if YOU were a god, or had godlike powers, and let’s say YOU were a little ‘nuts?” The lead in into OLYMPUS shows us exactly this scenario with a member of the MIRACLEMAN family going a little cookoo, in dramatic buildup and cataclysmic violence we see Kid Miracleman decimate civilization as he shows the world what happens when a god goes mad.

He is one of the most sympathetic evil psychopaths I've ever read in comics. Born as MiracleMan's sidekick, Kid Miracleman becomes a victim and puppet of all his worst impulses. He gives in to any and every whim that strikes him, becoming more and more wicked with every twisted act of cruelty and brutality. Kid MIracleman goes through a Dr. Jekyll / Mr. Hyde transformation to become truly, consciously evil. Even when the end is imminent, and the battle with MIRACLEMAN is at its end, we realize that there is only one way out for the former hero. We still feel compassion for how far he’s fallen and hope that there is an alternative to what must be done. The end is truly tragic, and leaves the reader thinking about the moral connotations of what happens when those with the power to control the world go unchecked.

The final part of the book is a brief story about the Miracleman family establishing a Utopia on earth, supported by their ultimate and unlimited power, they become benevolent deities, breaking humanity's selfish vices and reinventing the world as it should be, a virtual Garden of Eden. But of course the tried and true saying states, “Nothing gold can stay” and the end of the book, we are left wondering, how long will this last before the next catastrophe usurps the peace MIRACLEMAN has brought?

It’s a task to find this book in print, and I lucked out by finding a first printing at SDCC for only 6 bucks, it’s a $90 dollar book since it hasn’t been reprinted in many years, we can all thank McFarlane for that one, selfish bastard! But that’s another story. After Moore left the book, Gaiman took over and continued to weave the magic that is MIRACLEMAN. It only lasted a little while because Eclipse which published the series went tits up, and so the last book of the series was written and drawn, but never released

If you like Alan Moore, and wonder what would happen if Superman went crazy, track this book down! By the way KIMOTA is the word that MIRACLEMAN says in order to activate his powers and become MIRACLEMAN. Until next time…KIMOTA!!!

But if you insist on me picking a hit of the week then pick up Agents of Atlas from Marvel, Agent Jimmy Woo returns, now how many of you out there know who the hell Jimmy Woo is?