Ultimates 2 Annual #1 Poll

[Hobgoblin]

I was all excited for the return of Annuals this month, yet I laid down in bed last night to read the Ultimates annual, and it was the worst issue of the Ultimates I have ever read. I'm lucky I read it just before I fell asleep, cause it really helped. It was so incredibly boring, unlike the Ultimates 2 series.

 

What about you all?

[Norrin_Radd]

Er. You forgot the 4th category "What Ultimates 2 Annual #1?".

[drice6900]

From Newsarama:

 

The Ultimates 2 Annual

From: Marvel

Writer: Mark Millar

Art: Steve Dillon and Paul Mounts

Review by Troy Brownfield

 

Since its inception, The Ultimates has been an intensely entertaining book. The writing is sharp, with good approaches and witty dialogue. The art has looked top-to-bottom incredible in every outing. Rare is the issue where Millar and company fail to elicit at least one laugh and one “Holy sh--!” moment.

 

For the annual, the regular art team catches a break and Steve Dillon and Mark Farmer step on. I love Dillon’s art; he’s a master of expressions. Those only familiar with his Vertigo work should seek out his artistic contributions to the stunningly hilarious How To Be A Super-Hero. He might not be the most obvious choice for this assignment, but he does a great job.

 

One thing that I appreciate in particular about this special is the number of humorous moments. Millar has found a way in this series to juxtapose political conspiracy, huge action, and character-driven laughs. The Ultimate Defenders absolutely slay me; the “wheel-fellow” bit was wonderfully deranged.

 

As for the more serious moments, we get a glimpse of the various machinations that have been hinted at in the core book. The Ultimates program lurches more toward army status as new “characters” emerge from development. Couple that with the notion that the government is prepping “replacements”, and you have a ripe staging ground for paranoia. Millar’s done a great job of keeping Nick Fury likable even as he does [embarrasing lack of self control] things.

 

This Annual is a rare beast. Many, many annuals and one-offs don’t carry much weight with the regular title. While no big characters die and no sudden status quo changes occur, it’s a great break that sets the stage for crucial action. Fans of the Ultimates should definitely not miss this book.

[awe4one]

I wouldn't bank too much on any Newsarama Marvel review. They are clearly a hype machine for Marvel these days on a level equal too only Wizard. Any valid claim of an independent thought coming from the website was lost years ago...

 

Jim

[drice6900]

While I agree Newsarama can hype with the best of them, I happen to agree with this assessment of Ultimates Annual #1. I found it an enjoyable read that goes a bit deeper into the machinations of Nick Fury's arsenal than the regular title does.

 

[ericc123]

I thought it was awesome. Good character development without tieing into the current story running in issues 1-12.

[Paladin]

Passed on it.

[Chi Bamm]

I thought it was good. It got more in depth with the available material that was there. Getting more in-depth into the humans of mass destructions in the Ultimate Universe was damn good. Very excellent, but probably not worth the hefty cover price, but this book probably won't be in your bargain bins

[jel-migration]

hello to all, as this is my first post!

 

i thought it could have been a self contained issue of the ongoing series. also thought that dillon's artwork, although completely different to hitch's, was more than appropiate, where the human characters where more important than the superheroes. i'll certainly pick up the others as this was on a par with the ongoing, which is great.