Brandon Yates
Feb 23, 2002, 04:18 pm
<a href="http://x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/covers/umtu-11.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/covers/umtu-11t.jpg" align=left alt="Ultimate Marvel Team-Up #11"></a>Reviewer: Brandon Yates, brandonyates@zentertainment.com
Quick Rating: Excellent!
Story Title: Peter Parker’s Day Off
The Ultimate meeting of Spider-Man and the X-Men happens not at the lair of a some unscrupulous villain-of-the-month but at... the mall!
Writer: Brian Michael Bendis
Art: Chynna Clugston-Major
Lettered by: Sharpefont
Colored by: Transparency Digital
Associate Editor: Brian Smith
Editor: Ralph Macchio
Editor In Chief: Joe Quesada
President: Bill Jemas
Well, if that wasn’t the most hilarious comic I’ve read this year, I’d be hard-pressed to think of another. After reading an early solicitation of this issue, I admit to being a little disappointed that the setting of this “team-up” would be in a mall and told more in the style of a teen-sitcom than a super-hero adventure. Not only do I retract that air of disappointment in its entirety, but also I praise this different take, as it was a fresh and unique direction for such a team-up as Ultimate Marvel’s biggest stars.
Peter Parker & Friends (Mary, Gwen, Liz and Kong) drive into the city, on a mission to enjoy Senior Skip Day to the fullest. They’re targeted areas: Times Square, Museums, The Village, Everything! Where did they end up? A mall. “We suck,” Mary said. Hilarity ensues.
Part of what made this issue work really well was that all of the characters (maybe except Liz) were given plenty of funny lines and “screen time” instead of being mere supporting players in a Spider-Man comic. By no means is this the "Peter Parker Show". In fact, if someone who had never read a comic book picked up this issue without looking at the cover, they’d have a hard time figuring out whether the star of this book was Peter or Gwen Stacy. About halfway through the book, once the X-Men (Wolverine, Cyclops, Marvel Girl, Storm and Beast) show up, Pete hardly gets a word in as Gwen takes the stage.
This is probably the first Ultimate Marvel Team-Up issue that plays on continuity from a past installment. Wolverine showed up in the first issue and, of course, he’s a part of the X-Men so it’s a sequel of sorts to that meeting. Logan gets a whiff of Pete’s scent, makes the Spider-Man connection and takes it upon himself to make the young wall-crawler’s life miserable for a few minutes, just for kicks. Both Peter’s and Logan’s friends have no idea what’s going on, which makes the scene all the more funny.
The dialogue (which everyone knows writer Brian Bendis is stellar at) between all parties turns from cute ‘n’ funny to awkward and tense once Liz yanks the cat out of the bag – “Are you guys mutants?” to which Cyclops bluntly replies “Yes.”
The subsequent exchange is fascinating because, even though <i>we</i> know all about the plight of mutant life from reading various X-books, it’s a life that Gwen and the rest know nothing about and, as all confused teens do, they want to know more through a barrage of questions, some easier to answer than others. It almost reads as a subtle public service announcement, mutant dilemmas used as a parallel for real-world problems such as prejudice and bigotry.
Chynna Clugston-Major’s artwork is perfect for this tale, inspiring me to seek out her other work, particularly Blue Monday, which I’ve heard nothing but good things about. Her animé-style renderings are especially appropriate for this light-hearted, down-to-earth issue. Some of the jokes depend entirely on the artist’s storytelling skills, with Chynna being up to the task, and then some.
In case you haven’t noticed, I rarely call Peter “Spider-Man” and I cringe when I write codenames like “Wolverine” because this is not a story about super-heroes and aliases; It’s a smart and funny take on young people living in a world they sometimes fear and hate.
ART:
http://x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/xfull.jpghttp://x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/xfull.jpghttp://x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/xfull.jpghttp://x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/xfull.jpghttp://x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/xfull.jpg
STORY:
http://x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/xfull.jpghttp://x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/xfull.jpghttp://x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/xfull.jpghttp://x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/xfull.jpghttp://x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/xfull.jpg
OVERALL:
http://x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/xfull.jpghttp://x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/xfull.jpghttp://x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/xfull.jpghttp://x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/xfull.jpghttp://x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/xfull.jpg
Buy this issue online now from X-World Comics (http://www.x-worldcomics.com/x/bstore/newbooksmain.html) and save!
Quick Rating: Excellent!
Story Title: Peter Parker’s Day Off
The Ultimate meeting of Spider-Man and the X-Men happens not at the lair of a some unscrupulous villain-of-the-month but at... the mall!
Writer: Brian Michael Bendis
Art: Chynna Clugston-Major
Lettered by: Sharpefont
Colored by: Transparency Digital
Associate Editor: Brian Smith
Editor: Ralph Macchio
Editor In Chief: Joe Quesada
President: Bill Jemas
Well, if that wasn’t the most hilarious comic I’ve read this year, I’d be hard-pressed to think of another. After reading an early solicitation of this issue, I admit to being a little disappointed that the setting of this “team-up” would be in a mall and told more in the style of a teen-sitcom than a super-hero adventure. Not only do I retract that air of disappointment in its entirety, but also I praise this different take, as it was a fresh and unique direction for such a team-up as Ultimate Marvel’s biggest stars.
Peter Parker & Friends (Mary, Gwen, Liz and Kong) drive into the city, on a mission to enjoy Senior Skip Day to the fullest. They’re targeted areas: Times Square, Museums, The Village, Everything! Where did they end up? A mall. “We suck,” Mary said. Hilarity ensues.
Part of what made this issue work really well was that all of the characters (maybe except Liz) were given plenty of funny lines and “screen time” instead of being mere supporting players in a Spider-Man comic. By no means is this the "Peter Parker Show". In fact, if someone who had never read a comic book picked up this issue without looking at the cover, they’d have a hard time figuring out whether the star of this book was Peter or Gwen Stacy. About halfway through the book, once the X-Men (Wolverine, Cyclops, Marvel Girl, Storm and Beast) show up, Pete hardly gets a word in as Gwen takes the stage.
This is probably the first Ultimate Marvel Team-Up issue that plays on continuity from a past installment. Wolverine showed up in the first issue and, of course, he’s a part of the X-Men so it’s a sequel of sorts to that meeting. Logan gets a whiff of Pete’s scent, makes the Spider-Man connection and takes it upon himself to make the young wall-crawler’s life miserable for a few minutes, just for kicks. Both Peter’s and Logan’s friends have no idea what’s going on, which makes the scene all the more funny.
The dialogue (which everyone knows writer Brian Bendis is stellar at) between all parties turns from cute ‘n’ funny to awkward and tense once Liz yanks the cat out of the bag – “Are you guys mutants?” to which Cyclops bluntly replies “Yes.”
The subsequent exchange is fascinating because, even though <i>we</i> know all about the plight of mutant life from reading various X-books, it’s a life that Gwen and the rest know nothing about and, as all confused teens do, they want to know more through a barrage of questions, some easier to answer than others. It almost reads as a subtle public service announcement, mutant dilemmas used as a parallel for real-world problems such as prejudice and bigotry.
Chynna Clugston-Major’s artwork is perfect for this tale, inspiring me to seek out her other work, particularly Blue Monday, which I’ve heard nothing but good things about. Her animé-style renderings are especially appropriate for this light-hearted, down-to-earth issue. Some of the jokes depend entirely on the artist’s storytelling skills, with Chynna being up to the task, and then some.
In case you haven’t noticed, I rarely call Peter “Spider-Man” and I cringe when I write codenames like “Wolverine” because this is not a story about super-heroes and aliases; It’s a smart and funny take on young people living in a world they sometimes fear and hate.
ART:
http://x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/xfull.jpghttp://x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/xfull.jpghttp://x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/xfull.jpghttp://x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/xfull.jpghttp://x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/xfull.jpg
STORY:
http://x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/xfull.jpghttp://x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/xfull.jpghttp://x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/xfull.jpghttp://x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/xfull.jpghttp://x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/xfull.jpg
OVERALL:
http://x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/xfull.jpghttp://x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/xfull.jpghttp://x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/xfull.jpghttp://x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/xfull.jpghttp://x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/xfull.jpg
Buy this issue online now from X-World Comics (http://www.x-worldcomics.com/x/bstore/newbooksmain.html) and save!