by Randy Lander

ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN #14 "Confessions" Highly Recommended (9/10) Marvel Comics Writer: Brian Michael Bendis Pencils: Mark Bagley Inks: Art Thibert Colors: JC Letters: Comicraft Editor: Ralph Macchio Price: $2.25 US/$3.50 CAN One of the most entertaining aspects of Ultimate Spider-Man has been a different look at Peter Parker and his high school interactions, and this story plays nicely off of that. He's captured the modern high school feel that Joss Whedon had in early Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and he's managed to make Peter an outsider of sorts without making him a total recluse, as he was in the Silver Age. While this issue is also the introduction of Doctor Octopus, in a dark and disturbing origin scene, the most interesting aspects this issue are the introduction of a new twist on an old supporting character and a look at how Spider-Man has affected the high school kids and may continue to do so. Using super-heroes as something of a "current events" assignment is a neat idea, and it's one of those little touches that makes the Marvel universe (Ultimate or otherwise) more interesting. I particularly enjoyed that it lets Bendis get a little more into the heads of the supporting characters, in this case the relatively untapped Kong (a.k.a. Clifford, and no wonder he wants to be called Kong instead). The final sequence is a nifty bit of visual storytelling, an answer to some questions raised early on in the series and a neat turn of events much like the one introduced in the last issue. I have a suspicion that Bendis is giving us a red herring, and Kong isn't thinking along the most obvious lines, but either way, it ought to make for some interesting storytelling. There are actually several other big developments in this issue. None of them are big in the sense of "Green Goblin comes back from the dead" or even "Mary Jane learns Peter's secret identity" but they're big in that they show change and forecast interesting events to come. The introduction of Gwen Stacy is done perfectly, and it seems as if she and Mary Jane have switched roles in the Ultimate universe. Mary Jane is the safe choice, and Gwen... well, Gwen's words are intelligent and rebellious and her look is one of sexy danger. It's easy to see from Bagley's art that Kong and Peter are both utterly smitten with her. The other big development, of course, is the introduction of Doctor Octopus. Bendis throws his trademark references in, whether it's pop culture (the "Ashley Judd" talk) or Marvel universe (a certain Dr. Pym) and treats the whole origin the way the origins of Spidey and the Goblin were. Origin stories in this book have been scary and exciting at the same time, with some of the more horrific side effects really played up. The bloody midsection shot is a nice effect, and Octopus's psychosis is understandable given the way he's being treated and the trauma of what has happened to him. Of course, in terms of production, there is also a big development, and that's the lettering. I don't notice lettering much, and I'm certainly not as picky about it as I am about coloring. But the lettering on this book has changed, and I don't like it. Rather than all-caps, the lettering is now done in the more traditional writing style, and it looks awkward and amateurish. I'm willing to grant that it's a good idea, but so far it strikes me much as the coloring on Detective Comics did at first: Good idea, poor execution. Fortunately, that's not the case with the rest of this book. Instead, it's more a case of risky idea, excellent execution and a consistently great book. Email Randy Lander comments about this review.