As I said I’ve been in and out of comics and recently I haven’t been getting to the shop as regularly as I’d like.  So, aside from the major storylines (i.e. Dark Reign), I really have little idea what’s going on.  I also admitted to being a clone saga mark.  Well, as fate would have it, just a few weeks ago a “new” clone saga mini-series began.  It’s the first of a six issue storyline in which original CS writers Tom DeFalco and Howard Mackie attempt to retell the story of Peter Parker’s clone, Ben Reilly, as they initially intended it to play out.  Sounds like a no-brainer for my first review.

Now, I’m not going to review each individual issue because frankly I don’t have the time needed to justly do so.  I will review the mini-series as a whole upon its completion.  I will say this about the first issue though, it was good to see my boy Ben back.  The writing wasn’t fantastic and there was nothing markedly different as compared to the original continuity.  There were some cheesy moments (very reminiscent of the 90′s writing that I admittedly loved as a kid).  The art was kind of disappointing as I was really looking forward to Todd Nauck’s work (that’s the dude who drew Obama).  It just didn’t seem as refined as I’d imagined it would be, especially in light of the beautiful cover by Pasqual Ferry.  Oh, and I don’t care what anyone says… the Scarlet Spider’s costume is sweeeet!

The other series I’m reading is Ultimate Avengers, the next chapter for Earth’s Mightiest Heroes in Marvel’s Ultimate Universe.  Ultimates, the book’s predecessor, was one of the titles that really got me back into comics after my hiatus.  I completely bought into the cinematic feel that Mark Millar and Bryan Hitch created.  As the book went on, there were disappointments but you could always count on the fanboy moments and stellar art (even if it took months to produce it).  With Vol. 3 we saw Jeph Loeb and Joe Madurieria take over on writing and art respectively (I’m a huge fan of both).  The excitement for this quickly abaded for me though with the strange incestuous angle introduced between Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver.   That, combined with the need to save up for my wedding, was enough for me to drop the book.  It always left me with a bitter taste as I really wanted to love that book.

So now Millar is back, this time with Carlos Pacheco (yes!) on pencil duties, and so am I.  Again, I’ll wait until this whole first story arc plays out before I review, but the first issue contained many elements that drew me into the Ultimates originally.  Of course it contained a few head scratchers, but it is after all the Ultimate universe and not regular continuity.  Needless to say, I’m stoked for this.

Finally, because of my wish to review Ultimate Avengers sincerely I have just completed reading Ultimatum, the “earth-shattering, universe-altering” ultimate crossover that takes place just before Ultimate Avengers.  It seems that there are very few kind words to be said by fans about this story.  I don’t hink I will be so harsh.  But I’ve got some things to say.  My review of that will be up soon, I promise. Thanks for reading.

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