The Monkey King's Used Primate Emporium and Book Reviews

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Brian Michael Bendis, �Ultimate Spider-Man� (multiple titles)

Started August 29 � Finished August 31, 2003; 953 pages. Posted 06 September 2003

A few reviews back, I mentioned how I was picking up a ton of graphic novels, simply because they were cheap. I should also note that the collection at the store has grown by leaps and bounds as well. When I first started there, we had maybe a shelf and a half. Now there�s an entire bookcase devoted to the genre. It�s not like I pick up every graphic novel and keep it to myself. In fact, most of the time it�s relegated to a select few authors and of course, anything and everything Daredevil related.

So when a ton of Spider-man material came in, I didn�t care. In fact, a lot of it is still at the store if you�re interested. But then I noticed that this was by a guy named Brian Michael Bendis, a guy who just happens to be the current scribe on Daredevil, who has written some of the best issues since the Frank Miller hey day.

Frankly, I don�t know how this guy does it. He�s currently involved in an incredibly complicated story line for Daredevil. He�s also still writing for Powers (Reviewed here, and it was great). And now I find out he�s writing for Alias (the comic, not the television show, though I haven�t seen either), and then this Spider-man title.

My god. I started my own little script for Daredevil (and yes Alex, I still want to do this), and I�m having trouble because I need to make sure the story is at a sufficient point in a limited amount of space. How the hell does this guy manage to juggle all these stories? More important, how does he manage to juggle all these stories and manage to make them good?

For the non-doofus out there, Ultimate Spider-man is essentially a retelling the entire story line of the character, only updating it for the new millennium. When I figured out what they we�re doing I have to admit, I was a little annoyed. I mean really, doesn�t it just reek of some money-milking scam? Worse, I don�t know if I want to see the football player wearing a NOFX shirt and Peter Parker saying, �my costume could use a little bling-bling.�

Once I got past all that, however, I couldn�t believe how good this was. Bendis has managed to update the stories on all the characters, and taken out all the corny aspects that came from the Stan Lee era. Reintroducing characters like Venom, The Rhino, Doctor Octopus, and The Green Goblin, a gutsy move in itself, Bendis manages do what (and I�m pushing the geek level to an absurd degree here) seems impossible � he presents the characters and how they became that way in a manner that is believable.

I never really paid much attention to this character. Even when I was a child, I got my superhero fill from Daredevil, a decidedly darker and more adult orientated character. I see no reason to change that now. That being said, I am not going to start collecting this series when I make my monthly trip to the comic store.

I�m not.

I mean it.

Ah, goddamn it. I�m not fooling anybody, am I?


Rating: All are worth new!

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