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Posted by Don MacPherson on December 7th, 2007
Ultimates 3 #1
“Sex, Lies, & DVD”
Writer: Jeph Loeb
Artist/Cover artist: Joe Madureira
Colors: Christian Lichtner
Letters: Richard Starkings
Editor: Ralph Macchio
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Price: $2.99 US/$3.05 CAN
Earlier this week, I watched a climactic episode of Heroes on NBC. Clearly taking a lot of cues from super-hero comics, it was thoroughly entertaining, balancing darker, more modern cynicism with instances of heroism and idealism. The episode was credited as being written by Jeph Loeb, and while I haven’t been wild about his recent comics work, the Heroes episode renewed my faith in the genre writer. So it was with cautious optimism that I approached Ultimates 3 #1, despite my general disinterest in the artwork of Joe Madureira. It didn’t take many pages for that cautious optimism to turn to disappointment. This is only a five-issue limited series, as I understand it, and in the first issue, Loeb provides us with no actual plot. His script doesn’t jibe with Marvel’s Ultimate continuity, and all of the “heroes” are off-putting. Even if Loeb and Madureira didn’t face the daunting task of following in the footsteps of Mark Millar and Bryan Hitch, this comic book would have come up wanting.
Now independent from S.H.I.E.L.D., the Ultimates are based out of Tony Stark’s Manhattan mansion, but the closer quarters haven’t made for stronger bonds among the superhuman champions. And now that a sex video featuring Tony Stark and the late, traitorous Black Widow has been leaked to the public, dynamics among the team members have become even more strained. As even bigger scandals lurk in the wings, a single super-villain invades the heroes’ private retreat, giving them a run for their money.
Joe Madureira’s exaggerated style is certainly flashy, but it really doesn’t tell the story all that well. The action unfolds in an unclear manner; without the script, the reader really wouldn’t know what was happening. He also fails to convey any real individuality in the characters, leaving us only with paragons of physique. And his eye for anatomy is far from accurate, even factoring in exaggeration and style. The Ultimate Wasp’s Asian heritage is all but lost here, and Captain America and Thor seem like nothing more than hulking behemoths, hardly human at all. Christian Lichtner’s colors are soothing at first, bringing a warm glow to the visuals. But that glow permeates almost every panel, and it seems as though an odd haze has fallen over every scene.
It seems as though just about every character in the lineup here is reprehensible in some way. Captain America’s demands that people behave a certain way in the face of his refusal to discuss what he’s been up to is annoyingly hypocritical. Thor and Valkyrie’s oversexed relationship seems terribly shallow, and Loeb’s decision to deal with Pietro and Wanda’s odd relationship so overtly seems rather gratuitous. Loeb seems to go out of his way to present the Ultimates as hard-luck heroes, completely dumping the more idealistic, hopeful tone that capped Ultimates 2. Loeb’s take on the Ultimate version of Venom isn’t consistent with what we’ve seen of the character in Ultimate Spider-Man either. Judging from that part of the script and the promise the gatefolds covers seem to make about the participation of a wide variety of established villains, Loeb seems to want to write something more grounded in regular Marvel continuity rather than the Ultimate universe.
The one bit of characterization that did work for me was the harsher take on Hawkeye that the writer offers up in this issue. Portraying the Ultimate Hawkeye as a grieving husband and father with a deathwish makes sense in the context of the events of Ultimates 2. The costume redesign certainly works within that context as well. Furthermore, Loeb’s script, at least when it comes to Hawkeye, is accessible.
Perhaps what’s most frustrating about this story is that there is no story… not yet. We’re presented with two seemingly random attacks on the heroes, but that’s it. And the attacks seem to serve no purpose, as the protagonists all seem to be self-destructing anyway. The script is driven by darkness and action, but there’s no substance, no humanity to be found. 3/10
December 7th, 2007 at 3:21 am
POW! Right in the kisser! Straight to the moon, Panther!
December 7th, 2007 at 11:10 am
Don, I completely agree. In fact, you’re generous to give this book 3/10. This book pretty much went off the rails on the first page; I couldn’t even follow which characters were talking, with Loeb’s choppy and indistinct dialogue. Dump in the sex tape, implied incest, completely random character introductions and a surly Captain America and you’ve got a recipe for a bad comic book.
I didn’t care for Joe Madureira’s art, either. The storytelling is poor with splash panel giving way to splash page and back again. There’s very little dynamism to his art – it’s just pretty frozen images that imply action, rather than giving a sense of motion. Plus, anything distinctive about the Ultimate characters’ costume designs has been lost, replaced with the same type of outlandish apparel in the regular Marvel Universe.
Atrocious. I’ll give it one more issue to right the ship or I’m done with it, just like every other Ultimate book other than Spider-Man.
December 7th, 2007 at 1:51 pm
Don, I was so disappointed with this 1st issue and I was hoping that you would give it a review. While I did have issues with the art, the story is what really killed it for me, or rather lack of story. Thank you for addressing it. I can’t believe this was approved by the heads over at Marvel. I too fell that it totally flies against what Millar & Hitch established with the great comic Ultimates 1 & 2 were. The characters in these pages are completely unlikable. Man, if there was one term I could use for this “creative” team’s work on this book its “un-subtle.” Man, Scarlet Witch & Quicksilver are a couple and Cap is just supposed to wrap his 1944 brain around that according to this Wasp? I can’t wrap my 2007 brain around it. When I was done, I felt like I had read an issue of Heroes Reborn Avengers, not the Ultimates. One thing’s for sure, this definetely show cases both Loeb & Madureira’s strengths: gratuitousness.
December 7th, 2007 at 4:23 pm
Wasn’t even suckered into purchasing this comic. Madureira’s art and reputation for unreliability was enough for me to avoid this book altogether. What a far cry in styles from Hitch, and so cartoony that it doesn’t fit the Ultimate universe’s more gritty atmosphere at all. Moreover, his art isn’t kinetic at all, with the action of the characters like they’re frozen in time. Loeb did well with his script on Ult Power, but was never really a huge fan of his Superman/Batman scripts anyways.
December 7th, 2007 at 6:24 pm
Thanks for the warning, I was on the fence and waiting for a reputable review (the people on Newsarama hate EVERYTHING).
December 7th, 2007 at 6:32 pm
When I discovered Millar & Hitch weren’t going to do Ultimates 3, I feared the worst. Don has just confirmed my fears. What a shame – Ultimates and Ultimates 2 were awesome titles.
December 7th, 2007 at 7:21 pm
It sounds like everything I expected has happened. Madureira’s art is incomprehensible– check. Subtext becomes overemphasized, as in post-Ellis Authority– check. Story hasn’t even really started yet– check. Looks like I was right to tell my comics shop to drop the 3rd volume from my pull list.
December 7th, 2007 at 10:10 pm
The total lack of respect Jeph Loeb has for these characters is appalling. It almost borders on satire. I suppose if we take Loeb at face value and that he truly means it when he says he’s going to destroy the Ultimate Universe at some point in the future (per alleged editorial mandate), then it’s easy to make these characters unlikeable since it sounds like they’re all going to be taking a dirt nap soon enough.
December 8th, 2007 at 6:52 am
Right on the money, Don. I was quite apprehensive after what Jeph Loeb did with (or rather to) Wolverine inhis recent run but was ready to give him a benefit of the doubt knowing that it might have been something more to do with editorial decisions than with his choices as a scripter (especially in light of JMS’s not exactly subtle criticism of OMD), however I was thoroughly disappointed with this first issue. The script, as you put it, is really weak, no plot, unlikeable characters, lack of proper personality and, what grated with me the ,ost probably, really weak storytelling on Madureira’s part. Half the time I wasn’t sure what was going on and how it tied into what happened before… As you rightly put, even without Millar/ Hitch’s run before this, this would be weak, but as it is – I am very worried about the future of the Ultimate Universe… It still has a lot to offer with UFF and UXM and even USM being pretty entertaining and I am looking forwasrd to Orson Scott Card’s Ultimate Iron man II, but announcements of the Ultimatum event and the tagline ‘destruction of Ultimate Universe as you know it’ is really making me feel pessimistic. Event driven comics in the mainstream continuity made 616 Marvel a really boring place and now they are doing the same thing to the UU…
December 8th, 2007 at 2:43 pm
That “3″ might be the most generous score you’ve ever given, Don.
Why is it that Loeb can be so great when working with Sale, yet has a high chance of turning in something like… this… otherwise?
Lichtner’s colours should be called on the carpet, too – the story was more murky than even New Avengers tends to be. What does Marvel have against making comics pop off the page?
December 8th, 2007 at 8:23 pm
Drat! I was so looking forward to the Ulimates and always have. Having read Don McPherson’s reviews for the last few years I have a great deal of faith in his judgement.
Also, having seen the “hype-crap” books that Marvel has spewed out over the last couple years I feel completely out-of-touch with their product. And that has a lot more to do with Marvel being completely out of touch with their products. (I think comic readers know what I mean.)
There aren’t any “real” Avenger books out there anymore. They all ultimately suck.
MacPherson has gone through the particulars here. The bottom line is established.
My cash will not be spent there.
(Note: the review on 50 Reasons to Stop Sketching at Conventions is another great gift on insight/critique provided by MacPherson. A book I’m on the look-out for now.)
December 8th, 2007 at 8:52 pm
tcbobcat wrote:
The total lack of respect Jeph Loeb has for these characters is appalling.
Oh, that’s going a bit far, don’t you think? Loeb has offered up slightly different take on these characters than Millar did, but Millar’s Ultimates were just divergent interpretations of the Avengers in mainstream Marvel continuity. The whole point of the Ultimate continuity is to allow creators to do something different with the icons. I didn’t care for it, but it’s not a matter of “lack of respect.” By the same reasoning, one could argue that when Superman went from leaping tall buildings in a single bound to flying, that showed a “lack of respect” for the established character. It was different, not disrespectful.
December 9th, 2007 at 12:05 am
Loeb was great in the DC Universe on stuff like Superman/Batman where things like continuity and dialogue takes a backseat to crazy costumed action. His Marvel voice is just absolutely terrible. I had no intention of picking this up, and I’m glad I was proven right.
You know, over the past couple years, I’ve watched with pleasure as the comics industry finally moved into a more writer-focused medium. Many readers like myself seem to follow writers more than any particular character. But I would hate for “name” writers to take priority over good writing. I think that’s probably what has happened here.
So much for the Ultimates.
December 9th, 2007 at 12:09 am
Botch wrote:
Loeb was great in the DC Universe on stuff like Superman/Batman where things like continuity and dialogue takes a backseat to crazy costumed action. His Marvel voice is just absolutely terrible.
To give credit where credit is due, his Marvel collaborations with Tim Sale, like those at DC, were good.
I think we also have to acknowledge that both Marvel and DC are calling for bigger stories from their writers, featuring more and more characters. To be fair, those are the kinds of stories that drew me to super-hero comics when I was a kid, but they weren’t “events” or quite so dark.
December 11th, 2007 at 11:33 pm
I don’t understand why this series couldn’t just go on indefinite hiatus until Millar and Hitch could return to it or not. It’s not like anything hinged on its regular publication; the series was biannual toward the end at best.
The Ultimates was one of the very last monthly comics I bought regularly and I’m bummed out that Marvel just pointlessly “continued” it, the way that DC/Wildstorm kept beating the dead horse of the post-Ellis/Hitch Authority.
December 12th, 2007 at 9:54 am
People think of Superman/Batman as belonging in the “good Loeb” column? Really? I’m astonished. Remember, we have that run to blame for the new Supergirl, and for crazy super-armor supervillain Luthor.
December 12th, 2007 at 10:50 am
Jacob wrote:
People think of Superman/Batman as belonging in the “good Loeb” column? Really? I’m astonished. Remember, we have that run to blame for the new Supergirl, and for crazy super-armor supervillain Luthor.
Actually, “super-armor supervillain Luthor” dates back to 1983. The new Luthor concept and design debuted in Action Comics #544. The new look was designed by George Perez (as was the new look for Brainiac, which debuted in the same issue).
December 12th, 2007 at 6:33 pm
Call me nutty, but I didn’t mind this issue as much as others. In fact, I liked it. Quite a bit.
I think part of the point here is something that shouldn’t be new to long-time readers of the title – the Ultimates aren’t that nice. They never have been. They kill people, they have sex, they drink to excess and they sleep around. They are petty, jealous, vain and, in some cases, quite amoral. They aren’t paragons of virtue… they’re *us*. And, like many of us, they can’t the stress forever. Some of them crack, or deal with it in ways not exactly healthy – like Tony Stark, like Steve Rogers, like Hank Pym.
The situation Loeb presents in the first issue, in my opinion, is a pretty natural development for the team that went through the events of the first two series. It’s pretty amazing the team still *exists* in any capacity. This is, in short, the part of the movie where we see that the chips are down for the team. They’re on their own, the public is starting to turn on them, they’ve made a lot of enemies, and many of the founders are on the verge of a breakdown. I’m looking forward to seeing how they turn this around, myself.
My only nitpick was the unexplained presence of the Panther and Valkyrie, but I’m not that peeved. Starting the story in medias res, when it all goes screwy, when the bullet hits – much more punch for me than a setup issue filled with a Bendisian level of exposition and dialogue and no action. The Ultimates is a ‘cinematic comic’… it’s a popcorn movie. Less talk, more rock!
December 13th, 2007 at 12:40 am
I thought overall the dialogue could of been better. The art is what really carried this issue along. I thinkk Joe Mad is a great artist. I did think the book was slighlty dark.
December 16th, 2007 at 2:29 pm
Don wrote:
The one bit of characterization that did work for me was the harsher take on Hawkeye that the writer offers up in this issue. Portraying the Ultimate Hawkeye as a grieving husband and father with a deathwish makes sense in the context of the events of Ultimates 2. The costume redesign certainly works within that context as well. Furthermore, Loeb’s script, at least when it comes to Hawkeye, is accessible.
Not to get too snarky, but I wonder why that might be?
December 16th, 2007 at 9:39 pm
MattR wrote:
Not to get too snarky, but I wonder why that might be?
I don’t follow. Can you be more specific about what you’re wondering?
December 17th, 2007 at 8:49 am
This should be arriving in my mail order today. All reports I’ve heard were bad. While Marvel were right to try a different direction, perhaps they simply chose the wrong one with Loeb, whose work has taken a serious nose-dive since he has increased his time with all the tv shows he’s involved with.
December 17th, 2007 at 2:02 pm
David wrote:
While Marvel were right to try a different direction, perhaps they simply chose the wrong one with Loeb…
I think the real “change in direction” Marvel was trying out is Madureira’s artwork. Pairing him with Loeb was a logical choice because Loeb has a history of writing big, action-oriented, splashy stories for hot artists with exaggerated styles (ie – Ed McGuinness on Superman/Batman).
December 18th, 2007 at 2:57 am
It surprises me that Marvel allowed such a change in direction overall Don. Maybe part of Madureira’s deal was to basically have carte blanche with the art direction. It seems like a given that Jeph Loeb had it given his reputation with such a hit as the horribly, horrible, yet EXTREMELY successful “HUSH…!” (shhhh). But the more time i am away from Ultimates 3 I realize that its just Baaaaaad. Ult.3 was an extremely shallow comic book. This really isn’t a golden age for comics. After a number of years where comics quality was really high… too much event-driven, overhyped, crossover heavy stuff starting with HUSH, Identity Crisis, Infinite Crisis, Civil War (crap), and so on, have forced comics into a definite nosedive in terms of quality. I’m worried now. I’m worried that is gonna be like this for a while longer.
December 19th, 2007 at 3:44 am
Before i type anything know that this is my first time posting anything on the internet but i had to when i read all this. I’m really surprised that you guys had so many problems with it. I thought it was pretty good. It seems like you want to know the whole story in the first issue. It just seems like you guys should give it more time before you just smash it like that. You cant tell me you didn’t like the fight with panther and venom at all man. And i honestly thought the artwork was pretty cool but that really comes down to your preference in styles. i agree alot with what post 18 Pablo wrote. thanks for readin
December 19th, 2007 at 2:27 pm
Lee87 wrote:
Before i type anything know that this is my first time posting anything on the internet but i had to when i read all this.
Welcome aboard. I’m glad discussion on this site spurred you to participate!
As for your disagreement, I’d be more worried if no one disagreed. Comics are art, and as such, appreciation is subjective.
December 24th, 2007 at 11:05 pm
Tcbobcat:
The total lack of respect Jeph Loeb has for these characters is appalling.
Don:
Oh, that’s going a bit far, don’t you think?
No, I don’t think it is. Loeb’s take on the Ultimates isn’t just different, it’s highly disrespectful. Not just to the characters, but to the readers as well. And it was incredibly disrespectful. I was actually angry that I spent money on it, which is surely the first time in eight years of reading comics that that’s happened.
From the first page, where we’re expected to believe that a sex tape of a married couple would be a major scandal (and that major news outlets would actually show it on the air), to the second page, where Hawkeye responds to Venom’s attack with a nonsensical quip that is neither funny nor believable (“And now a word from our sponsor”), and beyond, it is obvious that Loeb is either phoning it in or, worse, engaging in shameless self-parody. I could go through every page and point out how genuinely awful this comic book is (it would be pretty easy), but I feel like I’m almost validating the work by contributing to its “hotness”.
Self-destructive comic writing is funny when Frank Miller does it in All-Star Batman and Robin, because the readers haven’t invested hundreds of dollars in the continuity. But when Jeph Loeb comes along and tries to make a deconstructionist parody of a deconstructionist work, it’s not edgy or artistic or even just a bad idea.
Rather, it’s the book that makes a shameless Ultimate Fanboy like me (I own every Ultimate Universe book from Ultimate Spider-Man #1a up, plus all the hardcover trades) realize that his business is being taken for granted by the editorial staff at Marvel. So unless Ultimates 3 #2 is vastly improved, I’ll be dropping my subscriptions to all Ultimate titles other than Spider-Man. The completist in me could tolerate lackluster run after lackluster run in the other books, and countless miniseries that never went anywhere. It was even more than happy to take Ultimate Cable and Ultimate Stryfe. But it can’t take Ultimates 3… that’s just too much.
In short: I respectfully disagree with your review of 3/10, and argue that anything higher than 1/10 is unreasonably charitable.
January 5th, 2008 at 11:42 pm
Jeff wrote:
Self-destructive comic writing is funny when Frank Miller does it in All-Star Batman and Robin, because the readers haven’t invested hundreds of dollars in the continuity. But when Jeph Loeb comes along and tries to make a deconstructionist parody of a deconstructionist work, it’s not edgy or artistic or even just a bad idea.
(sorry, I can’t figure out how to use the xhtml code here.)
I have to say, in all fairness, that readers completely freaked OUT when the first issue of Miller’s All-Star Batman and Robin hit the shelves. They didn’t like Vickie Vale’s characterization, nor Batman’s. Many readers swore they weren’t going to buy the rest of the series until they realized what Miller was going for in his story.
This is issue one. I’m going to give it a couple of issues before I decide. And yeeesh already… it’s an Ultimates story. HOW can it disrespect anyone?? It was created to be something crazy and over the top.
Wanna talk disrespect..? I didn’t win ANY Eyeglass Awards. Hell, I wasn’t even NOMINATED. I’m personally never going to pay to read Don’s column again. Ever.
AND WHERE WAS MY FREAKIN’ “ISLA DE LA MUERTA” REVIEW??!!!
Smootches, Don!
January 5th, 2008 at 11:59 pm
Tom Beland wrote:
Wanna talk disrespect..? I didn’t win ANY Eyeglass Awards. Hell, I wasn’t even NOMINATED. I’m personally never going to pay to read Don’s column again. Ever.
AND WHERE WAS MY FREAKIN’ “ISLA DE LA MUERTA” REVIEW??!!!
C’mon, Tom… you know you were near the top of my lists for the Glass Eyes. Always diggin’ TSSTG.
As for FF: Isla de la Muerta, I’m working on a Quick Critique review. I only just read it today. I’ve been away for most of the holidays, and I’ve only just gotten back to reading new releases the last couple of days.
January 6th, 2008 at 10:46 pm
WOO HOO! Thanks!!
Just read it! As usual, my timing is flawless.. other than the ummm timing.