$2.99 on sale this Wednesday.
I’ve been reading Brian Bendis’ Ultimate Spider-Man for years (since issue 18 actually). I can say with total honesty that that book is the gateway drug that got me back into collecting comics when I was 16. The past few weeks I’ve been diving into my back issues to re-read arcs from years back and am still blown away by Bendis’ storytelling abilities. With each arc the series gets better, more mature and stronger, as he has an innate ability to mold Peter Parker, Mary Jane and countless other heroes and villains into three dimensional characters we actually give a shit about. Bendis’ proves his worth and relevance in Marvel Comics yet again, meticulously fleshing out back-story that is never dull and only leaves us wanting more. When Peter goes on a 10-page monologue on his search for resolution to his symbiote troubles and his detest for the barrage of corporations that are stealing his father’s life work we know Bendis isn’t fucking around.
This month’s issue of Ultimate Spider-Man sets up an the end of this current chapter of the Ultimate Venom mythos within the series and simultaneously kicks off one that marks the much-anticipated return of Gwen Stacy (or at least her clone). And maybe it will possibly answer our questions on why she is also part Ultimate Carnage and set us up for yet another story that takes what has been done in the normal Marvel Universe, flipping it on it’s ear and creating something fresh, original and of course fun to read.