Spider-Man: Miles Morales TPB #1 and #2 review

Do you remember when Ultimate Spider-Man first came out?  Not only was Brian Michael Bendis’ quick-witted Sorkin-esque-lite writing refreshing but also this new Spider-Man didn’t have decades of exposition to tip-toe through.  BMB has captured that again with Miles Morales.  This time he’s able to expand storylines and characters by having Spider-Man be a minority.  Additionally, Morales has a few new spider-powers to explore.  And the return of web-shooters is never bad.     

None of this is completely new.  Miles Morales comes from the Ultimate Universe when the Ultimate Peter Parker was killed off (spoiler alert, oops).  Morales quickly became a fan favorite of the Ultimate Universe and was one of the few characters to make the leap to the 616, post Secret Wars company reboot.  

None of this matters when sitting down to read this new series.  All you need to know is;

• Miles Morales is a new Spider-Man still learning his powers
• High School aged
• Black (father) / Hispanic (mother) mix
• His best friend is Ganke (yes, he knows Miles is Spider-Man)
• And he’s already an Avenger

Okay, so that’s kinda a lot, but you’re ready to go.  

I’ve read all of the past Miles Morales stories, including his origin from the Ultimate Universe.  They're enjoyable if you want to go back and read them but you don’t need any of it to start enjoying this series.  

Best read in Trade form due to the occasional issue where nothing happens except character development.  As with most BMB stories, his writing is enjoyable, humorous and most importantly a quick read.  

So far, I really haven’t told you anything you probably don’t already know.  

The real standout, especially through the first Trade, is Sara Pichelli’s art.  With inking assists from Gaetano Carlucci and coloring by Justin Ponsor, the first trade is beautiful.  Pichelli’s ability to handle fast paced dialogue and then transition to double page splash action scenes is fantastic.  The second Trade’s main arc is handled by Nico Leon (art) and Marte Gracia with Rachelle Rosenberg (color), which provide a slight drop-off from Pichelli but still very high quality and a similar style.  

The main drawback is most of the second Trade is bogged down with a Civil War II crossover story.  Join the club Spidey.  I can’t totally rip Marvel for dragging this Spider-Man solo book into the Civil War II storyline when Spider-Man plays a huge roll in the Marvel event but these are definitely the weakest of the 10 issues covered in the two Trades.  There’re also two sub-plots involving Miles’ father and grandmother, the father seeming to be more important to the overall Marvel universe but the grandmother’s is probably the one BMB is more interested in telling and exploring, since it includes BMB staples Jessica Jones and Luke Cage.  To BMB credit, even these “lulls” are good reads and you get through them quickly.  In lesser hands, the subplots and Civil War II tie-in’s would be a mess.

My recommendation is a huge yes.  As someone who is 5+ years behind on all the Dan Slott, Peter Parker Spider-Man stories, this is a great way to jump in a Spidey book that very much is intertwined with the current Marvel Universe.  I hear great things about Slott’s Spider-Man but I haven’t taken the time and effort to get caught up with the Parker world.  Sometimes you just want a good awkward teenaged Spidey who’s just trying to get through school while becoming one of the most iconic superheroes ever.  With BMB and Miles Morales, you can get right in and have fun.

Thanks,

WK

@wkbear on Twitter

2012

If the world is going to come to an end in 2012, then it looks like we'll be going out in style.

They've just announced that the third Batman movie by C. Nolan will be out in 2012. I've got my thoughts on whether they can build on such a great movie which the Dark Knight was, but that's for a later discussion.

So far, slated to come out is Spider-Man 4, Star Trek 2, and (keep your fingers crossed for this one) The Avengers movie. It could be an all out war at the box office if all these movies come out in 2012. And frankly it's a war I'd like to see.

End of an Era

The Ultimate brand is and was amazing. If not for the Ultimate brand comics and entertainment would not be where it is today.

It was years since I bought a comic book. I still loved good art but just didn't care about comic books any more. Not after all the Image failures and 50 variant covers, which we all bought. I didn't even read the books.

But time passes and we all grow older, and I still had friends in the biz and others that still would buy comic books. Fortunately I began to make good money and had tons to spare. A few close friends would tell me, "have you read any comics lately?" or "Have you seen what they're doing in the books?" To be honest I could care less. But after months of pestering and then my dear friend Ethan, lent me the Ultimates first trade. I didn't even know what a trade was. I didn't realize that they where telling stories that spanned 5 or 6 issues and where complete stories.

I read Ultimates and was very surprised. It was good. The art was great. And for the first time I actually read the book all the way through and like the story. I was on my way to a week-end trip to visit my aunt in San Diego for some reason. On the way I decided to stop at a comic book store. I picked up Rising Stars first trade and the frist 3 trades of Ultimate Spider-man. I was hooked. By the time I got back from our trip, I was back in the comic book frame of mind.

My girlfriend found a great store that had just opened down the street from her office and she was picking up comics every Wednesday. She told me that this store was actually really cool and the owner took the time to help her out. That store was Earth 2, still the greatest comic book store around, and she said I had to visit them. Thinking that sure, they were nice because you're a hot girl in a store full of geeks, but they won't be nice to me. But I went. To make a long story short, I walked out of there with two short boxes and a $500 tab! Since then, I've been a weekly reader.

The many different Ultimate titles have had their good and their bad, but if not for them I and many others wouldn't have gotten in or back into comics. The new breed of writers and stellar art pushed the medium forward and layed the foundation for all the movies that you're seeing today.

I don't know what the Ultimate brand will look like but I am sad to see it shrink. But like all things, it has served its purpuse. I will miss these books but look forward to the next generation.