Panelhopper reviews: Mark Millar's The Ultimates

Quite often during the writing of this blog, I have mentioned how the inability of the major comic book houses, like DC and Marvel, to be innovitive in the writing of their characters, which leads to a lot of their most popular brands becoming increasing unrelatable(this is particularly true in the case of Superman, who has never been truely relatable). However, there is one comic in recent years which I believe is truely a step forward for writing in the world of comics: Mark Millar's The Ultimates.

First published in 2002, The Ulitimates was a reimagining of Marvel's classic super hero team The Avengers, specifically designed to reflect the modern era. Written by Mark Millar, each of the teams members, whose portrayal had remained largely unchanged since their creation, was given a personality makeover, granting them a greater degree of humanity and realism. Thor, once a two dimensional character, became not only a god but also an eco-warrior whose sanity was under suspicion and Bruce Banner, who had always been a respected scientist in the traditional Marvel universe, became a passive-aggressive loser, incapable of maintaining healthy friendships with the rest of the team.

This drastic overhaul breathed new life into a once tired concept and open the way for Millar to write an intriging story which fully explored the characters in their new context. This is one of the few comics I have ever read where the joy comes not from the action but from the dialogue. Millar's character feel real. They allow themselves to give in to their emotions, to make very human, and sometimes hidieous, mistakes.

To me, The Ultimates represents one of the best examples of modern comic book writing to date. It is witty, concise, emotional and entertaining. Definately worth reading.

Until next time,

Panelhopper