This Comic Is Good - Ultra
Some people have mentioned wanting holiday recommendations, so I figure I'll put these entries out a little quicker, so I'm gonna do two today, one new/one old.
This book just came out with a new issue this week. It is a title from Image Comics titled Ultra.
Ultra is about three female friends, in their early-mid 20s who are, oddly enough, superheroes.
In this universe, the way superhero works is that each superhero signs with a "company," where they make money through the endorsement deals, etc. that the companies sign them to.
For some reason, there are separate companies for male and female heroes.
In any event, in the first issue, the three friends get their fortunes read, and the fortunes send them off on a quest for, well, basically love.
It's a really rough comparison (as I am not a fan of the show), but this BASICALLY is a "Sex In The City For Superheroes" comic book.
But it is so much better than that.
This is a book where the cliffhanger is, "Will she let him into her house...or not?"
#4 seemed to be headed in a bad direction, but #5 took it right back.
The dialogue is a highlight of the book. Think Bendis, but I think more realistic. It's not like a Mamet film. The people are talking naturally, but cleverly enough to be interesting.
(The main character, by the way, is called Ultra, hence the title of the book).
The comic also includes little magazine articles, interviews, etc. at the end of the book to give us a sense of what the pop culture treatment of superheroes are in this universe. It's really neat stuff.
And the art is dynamite. Sorta like Middleton, only a little looser.
But really, it's good stuff.
So, anyone read this book and hate it?
Anyone read it and love it?
This book just came out with a new issue this week. It is a title from Image Comics titled Ultra.
Ultra is about three female friends, in their early-mid 20s who are, oddly enough, superheroes.
In this universe, the way superhero works is that each superhero signs with a "company," where they make money through the endorsement deals, etc. that the companies sign them to.
For some reason, there are separate companies for male and female heroes.
In any event, in the first issue, the three friends get their fortunes read, and the fortunes send them off on a quest for, well, basically love.
It's a really rough comparison (as I am not a fan of the show), but this BASICALLY is a "Sex In The City For Superheroes" comic book.
But it is so much better than that.
This is a book where the cliffhanger is, "Will she let him into her house...or not?"
#4 seemed to be headed in a bad direction, but #5 took it right back.
The dialogue is a highlight of the book. Think Bendis, but I think more realistic. It's not like a Mamet film. The people are talking naturally, but cleverly enough to be interesting.
(The main character, by the way, is called Ultra, hence the title of the book).
The comic also includes little magazine articles, interviews, etc. at the end of the book to give us a sense of what the pop culture treatment of superheroes are in this universe. It's really neat stuff.
And the art is dynamite. Sorta like Middleton, only a little looser.
But really, it's good stuff.
So, anyone read this book and hate it?
Anyone read it and love it?
posted by Brian Cronin at 12/16/2004 05:13:00 PM
1 Comments:
Ultra is great stuff. The phrase I keep harping on is "emotional realism." It's different from the "realism" comics that poorly imitate old Frank Miller work use. I heart it. And I just realized I'm late to meet someone.
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