Reviewer: Chris Delloiacono
Story Title: Hollywood: Part 2
Written by: Brian Michael Bendis
Penciled by: Mark Bagley
Inked by: Art Thibert
Colored by: J.D. Smith
Lettered by: Chris Eliopoulos
Assistant Editor: Nick Lowe
Editor: Ralph Macchio
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Marvel has really got the Spider-Man 2 connections rolling like a freight train this year. It seems that Doctor Octopus has been in a book, or two, every single week for months now. Doc Ock recently went ballistic in the pages of Spectacular Spider-Man, will be featured in the new Marvel Age: Spider-Man issue #2 in April, and was recently the focus of not one, but two mini-series. Not to mention another mini, the five part Spider-Man/Doctor Octopus: Year One in June, as well as the requisite film adaptation. So, of course, it’s about time for Doc Ock to make a return engagement in the pages Ultimate Spider-Man.
Up until four or five months ago, I’d only read the first trade paperback of Ultimate Spider-Man. My girlfriend collects the book and has every issue, so I finally took the stack home and blew through them pretty damn quick. This has been a really good read just about every month of its run, and other then the slightly de-compressed nature of the storytelling I have few complaints.
Last issue, the first of the “Hollywood†arc, was a little disappointing. It was kind of silly to see some of the real-world personalities (Tobey Maguire, Sam Raimi, and Avi Arad) behind the Spider-Man film franchise show up in “Ultimate-land†making a Spidey movie. The issue seemed a little forced, and more than anything it felt like an attempt to cash in on the buzz surrounding the monster-hit that will be Spider-Man 2. The principal focus of the issue was setting up the film angle, and the only major advance was Doctor Octopus busting out of prison.
This month’s issue is a solid step up from the last. The developments on the movie set continue, Peter/Spidey is not at all happy about the film and he’s, literally, been a fly on the wall during the filming process. Peter’s schoolmate, Kong, lands a part during a fun sequence where we see the casting process as a variety of individuals utter the line “Look up in the sky, it’s Spider-Man.†Sure it is cheesy and schmaltzy, but quite funny. These quirky character bits are one of the reasons that I like this book.
Bendis also offers up some outstanding character moments with Gwen Stacy. Her character adds a nice dynamic with her blaming Spider-Man for her dad’s death, and being another young female (besides Mary Jane) in Pete’s life. Gwen’s death is something that everyone expects, because it happened long ago in the regular Marvel Universe. I, for one, love having her around in an ongoing comic, and hope to see the trend from the classic incarnation of Spidey bucked, and Gwen remain an integral part of the book for years to come.
While seeing Doctor Octopus this year is getting old, Bendis’ rendition is spot-on. Doc Ock is creepy as hell this time out, walking around with a hood on and talking to his hardware…literally. Just prior to him showing up at the film set—so he can have a word with his ex-wife about selling his story to Sony—Bendis throws in a cool moment with a classic Spider-Man villain that to my knowledge hasn’t been seen in the Ultimate-verse yet. Knowing Bendis, this is an early glimpse of things to come. Bendis’ has usually put an interesting spin on classic villains, which is another reason to buy the book.
What can you say about Mark Bagley? Does he ever sleep? How has he kept up with the workload of putting this title out on a twice-monthly basis for most of the last couple of years? Plus he’s currently penciling the first six issues of The Pulse! Bagley’s pencils capture Bendis’ words so well that it boggles the mind. Does anyone not like Bagley’s work…? As always Art Thibert throws in amazing inks that accent Bagley’s dynamic work.
Ultimate Spider-Man reads better in big chunks, but it’s still a really solid read on a monthly basis. The fact is, Bendis has a lot more freedom on this book then you’ll ever see on the main line, and that’s what makes the book special.
