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ULTIMATE MARVEL TEAM-UP #7
Highly Recommended (9/10)
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Marvel Comics
Writer: Brian Michael Bendis
Pencils: Bill Sienkiewicz
Colors: JC
Letters: Comicraft
Editor: Ralph Macchio
Price: $2.25 US/$3.50 CAN |
Many (including myself) had written off Ultimate Marvel Team-Up as a weak book,
but with the currently developing Punisher/Daredevil/Spider-Man story, Bendis
has changed my mind completely. This is a solid crime book, a gritty take on the
Punisher that plays him far more seriously than he is currently being shown in
the Marvel Knights series. Sienkiewicz is doing some of the strongest work I've
seen from him, really incredible and moody stuff, and Bendis's handle on the
little details of the characters, whether it's the details of the corrupt cops
in the Punisher's origin or Daredevil's description of how his senses work, is
equally involving. When all is said and done, this may very well wind up as one
of my favorite story arcs of 2001.
As with his work on Elektra, Bendis has realized that the most attractive
feature of his lead character is their mystery and sense of menace. We're really
viewing the Punisher from the outside in this series, as he shows up mostly to
serve as the urban bogeyman, an executioner of the wicked. The scene with the
Punisher and his prey outside the bar is chilling, as we see that the Punisher
isn't just doing this because he's dead inside, but that he's directing his rage
at what happened to him into vicious (if perhaps justified) vengeance.
In addition to continuing the development of
a scary and effective Punisher, this issue introduces us to Ultimate Daredevil,
who is pretty much the same as the mainstream Daredevil. However, Bendis and
Sienkiewicz combine to give us probably the most effective idea of how Daredevil
actually "sees" the world that I've read, in a two-page sequence that drew me in
and had me absolutely captivated, even though basically nothing was actually
happening.
Sienkiewicz's work is compelling throughout,
of course. He's especially effective on the splash page style shots, whether
it's the Punisher looming over his victim like an angel of death, the two-page
splash of color with two cops that seems to be a farewell to Frank's past life
and Daredevil's first emergence in costume. Along with colors by JC, this book
has a look that is simply amazing. It's haunting, gritty and vague without ever
being unclear.
I've always maintained that despite having a
few issues in my collection, I am not a fan of the Punisher. With books like
Ennis's dark comedic version and now this hard-boiled crime short, these
creators seem determined to make a liar out of me.
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