ULTIMATE COMICS FALLOUT #1 (OF 6)

Review by: glwarm76

What did the
iFanboy
community think?

592
Pulls
Avg Rating: 4.6
 
Users who pulled this comic:
Story by Brian Michael Bendis
Art by Mark Bagley & Andy Lanning
Colors by Justin Ponsor & Laura Martin
Letters by Cory Petit
Cover by Mark Bagley, Andy Lanning, Justin Ponsor & Marko Djurdjevic

Size: pages
Price: 3.99

Every comic fan knows, that death is only temporary. Once a character “dies,” fans cynically and collectively roll their eyes and begin the countdown until his or her inevitable return. This comic-truism diminishes the impact of any character death, cheapens the mourning period that should follow, and prevents any lasting impact on the Universe as a whole. With Ultimate Spider-man, Bendis and Bagley are given the unique opportunity to kill one of the most popular characters in comics the right way. In Ultimate Spider-man, Peter’s death is not a lazy device to raise the stakes of an event (Fear Itself:Bucky) but instead a moment that will change the Ultimate Universe forever. I know many story-lines are called game changers but the death of Peter truly is. Anyone that has read Ultimate Spider-man for any extended period knows that Peter Parker was the heart and soul of the Ultimate Universe, not because Peter always did the right thing but because he always tried to do the right thing, even though everyone else told him to just be a kid. His death will reverberate throughout the Ultimate Universe and set the stage for a new and fresh take on familiar characters. Now on to the present issue. Aftermath issues are usually forgettable at best or embarassingly inappropriate at worst(Sentry: Fallen Sun), but this issue was neither. Bendis and Bagley provide readers with a quick look at how many of those who knew Peter are dealing with his death. Although each scene is quick, they all perfectly capture the impact of Peter’s death on most of the characters we have grown to love over the past hundred or so issues. My favorite scenes are with Aunt May. Her strength and interaction with a young girl had me struggling to hold back tears. Bendis remains wordy as always but each scene feels straight from the heart. On art is Bagley. Bagley is what he is and you either like him or not. His art isn’t breathtaking and his storytelling isn’t revolutionary, but he is consistent, his storytelling is always clear, and he conveys emotion expertly. As a pure sequential storyteller, there are few artists that can compete with Bagley. If you don’t read Ultimate Spider-man on a regular basis, I implore you to pick up the first trade and start reading one of the greatest superhero runs of all time.

Story: 5 - Excellent
Art: 5 - Excellent

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