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ULTIMATE MARVEL TEAM UP #10
Recommended (8/10)
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Marvel Comics
Writer: Brian Michael Bendis
Artists: John Totleben & Ron Randall
Colors: Transparency Digital
Letters: Sharpefont
Editor: Ralph Macchio
Price: $2.25 US/$3.50 CAN |
After the incredible last four issues of this title, I'm a little disappointed in this issue, if only because it doesn't seem to be playing to Bendis's strengths. However, it does play into the strengths of artist Totleben, who delivers an incredible re-interpretation of the Lizard along with the rest of his beautiful artwork. In trying to develop a moody and horrific atmosphere for Totleben, Bendis loses the usual zip of his dialogue, and I still feel like this book would be better if Spidey didn't have to be shoe-horned into each story, but there are some important moments for Ultimate Spider-Man here, as well as a moody and gorgeous story to enjoy.
I've never been a fan of
Swamp Thing or Man-Thing, quite honestly, and even the Alan Moore stuff is work
that I respect largely out of the level of craft rather than any sort of
connection to the material. However, I can't deny that these types of creatures
allow certain artists to really shine, and Totleben is one of those. His
depictions of the sewer, the Man-Thing and the Lizard are moody and powerful,
and there's a sense of magic and otherworldly atmosphere to the whole story as a
result.
For his part, Bendis delivers
the origin of the Lizard, slightly updated for the Ultimate universe but
relatively unchanged when you compare it to Doctor Octopus, Green Goblin or
Kraven the Hunter. The heart of the story is the tragic relationship between
Curt Conners and his wife, conveyed through a long letter, and that's as it
should be as well. The tragic circumstance of Conners has always been the
strongest element of the Lizard, and Bendis latches onto that aspect and gives
us a heart-breaking tale of a man who made one mistake and must forever pay for
it.
Though the three-part story
with Daredevil and Punisher was much grittier than I've come to expect from
Bendis, the darkness in this story is quite different. It's moody and tragic,
based more on the idea of horror than on noir crime, and thus it's a little more
of a stretch for Bendis. He does a nice job establishing the atmosphere, helped
considerably by Totleben's artwork, but the price we pay is that the humorous
and realistic dialogue he's known for is either toned down or feels a bit
jarring in contrast with the rest of the story. Spider-Man feels like a third
wheel in this story, a bit out of place, and quite honestly the story was so
dark at times that I started to become disinterested. I don't know if the answer
would be a better balance between light humor and dark mood or to eliminate the
humor entirely, but the balance felt off to me.
Whatever faults I might find
in the story, however, it all really comes together in the sewer when the Lizard
and Man-Thing meet. The Lizard is given a powerful, even more animal, visual,
which makes him seem more dangerous and primal, and makes his match-up with the
quiet and other-worldly Man-Thing a stunning visual moment.
Email Randy Lander comments about this review, or discuss it on the Fourth Rail message board. |
