ULTIMATE ADVENTURES #1
"It Ain't Me You're Lookin' for, Babe"
Mildly Recommended (6/10)
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Marvel Comics
Writer: Ron Zimmerman
Pencils: Duncan Fegredo
Colors: Paul Mounts
Letters: Chris Eliopoulos
Editors: Joe Quesada & Ralph Macchio
Price: $2.25 US/$3.75 CAN |
Ron Zimmerman's been doing quite a bit of work for Marvel in the last few months, and the good news is that this "U-Decide" book is one of his better efforts. Of course, that may be damning with faint praise when one considers that among his Marvel scripts are the atrocious Spidey/Jay Leno backup strip and Spider-Man: Get Kraven. However, a powerful personality and some strong artwork make this Ultimate Adventures debut a decent read.
Hank Kipple's got a bad attitude. He's an orphan approaching his teen years and he knows he's got little hope of being invited to join a family. But it's not Hank's attitude alone that gets him into trouble... he's smart too, and perceptive. He soon finds himself in deep doo-doo, though, when two armed robbers break into the orphanage one night to hide out. Unfortunately for them -- and to the delight of all the young boys, save for Hank -- the dark crusader known as Hawk-Owl was right on the criminals' tails.
Fegredo's art stands out the book's greatest asset. He captures Hank's attitude and sharp mind nicely. There's a great Kevin Nowlan influence at play in his work as well, and it's more noticeable than usual here. Mounts's dull browns, yellows and greens create a downtrodden atmosphere and make it easy to understand Hank's pessimism about his lot in life.
Parodying Batman and Robin is far from the most challenging of material; the concept lends itself to mockery, as do many super-hero concepts. Zimmerman doesn't get too outrageous here, though, which is odd, as the very name of the premise -- Hawk-Owl and Woody? -- leads one to expect farce. It's as though the book doesn't know if it wants to be silly or to play things slightly tongue-in-cheek.
Perhaps one of the more distracting aspects of the book has more to do with marketing than the creators' efforts. If the "U-Decide" gimmick weren't off-putting enough, it seems that setting this new book in the "Ultimate" universe is nothing more than an attempt to boost sales and cling to the coattails of the other, stronger Ultimate titles. There's no reason this book couldn't be set in the Marvel Universe proper, or even in its own separate continuity. Mind you, Zimmerman can hardly be held responsible for that.
Ultimately, though, it's Hank Kipple's character that makes for an enjoyable read. The character is wise beyond his years, and it makes him an appealing figure. It's as though Zimmerman has merged Bart and Lisa Simpson and cast the amalgam in the role of Robin the Boy Wonder. That's enough to make me want to know what comes next.
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