I read issues #0.5 to #57 of Ultimate Spiderman over the weekend. (I was browsing that explodey star site and saw they had it, Ultimate X-Men and The Ultimates available so I figured why the hell not. Didn't see any Nightwing, though. If they had I would have downloaded that too after the rave reviews on this board.) It's really, really good. Not super-deep or anything, but incredibly entertaining.

I've never been a big comics reader, but Spidey was my favorite superhero growing up. I love the writing and the artwork (though my initial reaction to skinny big-head Spiderman was "What the hell?" But once I realized that they had him as a scrawny 15 year-old again I went "Oh. Okay, that makes sense.") and while some of the changes took a bit of getting used to (Ben and May were hippies. Peter and MJ dating in highschool.) I like where they went with a lot of the choices. It's an interesting mix of the familiar and something new.

The brief X-Men crossover is a lot of fun, though I'm not a big fan of the black leather and bare midriff look that most of the female X-Men have adopted. But I realize that's just personal preference. My only real complaint is Spidey is obviously doing stuff in other books (there's references to him meeting Daredevil, Wolverine and the Hulk) but it doesn't say which books and when. I guess Marvel simply assumes the reader is reading all of the Ultimate books at once. Huh. Regardless, I'm going to pick up the USM TPBs when I have money for frivalties again.

I also read The Ultimates 1-12 last night (which was all that was available for download.) It was okay, I guess. A lot of the characters make me want to smack them around, which isn't really what I look for in my entertainment. I mean, Fury's great and I love that Cap is this great mix of Mr. Virtue and no-nonsense soldier. He has high ideals, but isn't afraid to get his hands dirty. Thor being an eco-crusader is an interesting change. Stark's amusing, but there doesn't seem to be much behind the billionaire playboy boozehound with neat toys thus far. The Pyms, Bettie Ross and Banner, on the other hand, need to be smacked silly in a serious way. Especially Banner.

It was okay, I guess. A lot of the characters make me want to smack them around, which isn't really what I look for in my entertainment.

Yes, this.

I like a lot of the changes they made in Ultimate Spidey. Particularly having Peter tell Mary Jane that he's Spidey.

Doesn't Bendis write Ultimate Spidey? I've been thinking about doing a dive into his Marvel stuff, so it's nice to hear a good review from someone who knows the canon.

Doesn't Bendis write Ultimate Spidey?

Yup.

I've been thinking about doing a dive into his Marvel stuff, so it's nice to hear a good review from someone who knows the canon.

I really do like almost all of the changes, except what they did to Kraven. Nothing can come close to Kraven's Last Hunt, so why even try?

Doesn't Bendis write Ultimate Spidey?

Yes.

It was okay, I guess. A lot of the characters make me want to smack them around, which isn't really what I look for in my entertainment.

I didn't get that. For me, it was like one big superhero action movie, and I loved it. I mean, yeah, they're flawed people, but I took it.

What has Bendis done before? His name sounds familiar.

I really do like almost all of the changes, except what they did to Kraven. Nothing can come close to Kraven's Last Hunt, so why even try?

See, I've never liked Kraven, so I got a kick out of it.

What has Bendis done before? His name sounds familiar.

Powers, Daredevil, Ultimate Six, Secret War, Alias(now Pulse)...before that he was known for his crime fiction like Torso, Jinx, and Goldfish.

See, I've never liked Kraven

I see the words, but they make no sense.

Powers is a pretty important/influential book, on top of being hella good.