Ultimate Spider-Man, Vol. 19: Death of a Goblin

- Shocker (as he takes out a police car during a chase): "Hey, I got one!! I got one!!" - Spidey (whilst kicking Shocker's mug in): "I got one, too! Awww, but mine's a big tool!" Having just re-read these two trades back to back, I thought I'd try for a two-fer, double dipping on both ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN Vol. 19: DEATH OF A GOBLIN and Vol. 20: ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN & HIS AMAZING FRIENDS. Firstly, I harbor mad friggin' love for this series. With his Ultimate Spidey stories, Brian Michael Bendis has managed to reinvent and reinvigorate the Spider-Man mythos, and shiny-domed dude has even managed to stick with the thing for over 130 issues now. Artist Mark Bagley also gets massive golf claps for his extensive run, and it's no lie that his take on Ultimate Spidey has become THE definitive rendering. Having said that, Stuart Immonen, not exactly a scrub himself, has been doing righteous things with the artwork. I dig that Immonen keeps Spidey looking like a kid in tights, instead of some over-muscly bloke all of a sudden. ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN Vol. 19: DEATH OF A GOBLIN collects issues #112-117 and features the escape of Norman Osborn, a.k.a. the Green Goblin, from the Triskelion's maximum security compound and the resultant wigging out of Peter and Mary Jane. As Osborn goes about his machinations to take down Nick Fury (who, following the goings-on in the Ultimate Power mini-series, isn't around much anymore), interim S.H.I.E.L.D. director Carol Danvers tries to catch up with all the crazy going down. And, lest you forget that this is a certain teen wall-crawler's book, you best believe the Goblin's not forgotten Peter Parker. What I probably relish best in the Ultimate Universe is the sense of freshness it invokes. Not only do longtime Marvel characters get a do-over, but there seems to be more immediacy to the stuff that happens to them. And, importantly, while still steeped in outrageous fantasy, Ultimate Universe somehow feels closer to reality than the mainstream 616. Whenever an Ultimate character dies, it feels more permanent. All this leading to me saying that DEATH OF A GOBLIN is one of the best story arcs in this series. Bendis is very good with the superhero stuff, starting off with Spidey and the newly costumed Shadowcat early on taking out the Shocker in what feels like a throwaway sequence. The stakes quickly go up with Osborn's prison breakout because, as long time readers know, Osborn knows Spidey's civilian identity and evil dude's even flung Mary Jane off a bridge. With Pete ensuring that Aunt May and Mary Jane skedaddle the eff out of town, his bump of responsibility makes him stay on. Pete's taken on the Kingpin and Venom and sundry wacky clones, but let's face it, the Goblin has always been Spidey's traditional nemesis. Ultimate Goblin is immeasurably more powerful than Spidey, and more intelligent, and I like that Spidey always has to struggle like epic crapcakes just to eke out a win. Here, it's not even Pete who finally tak

Every time I read an Ultimate Spider-Man collection, I think the series must have hit it's peak. But the stories so constantly entertaining -- intense without being bleak, emotional without being sappy. This is the first full collection with new artist Stuart Immonen after years of Mark Bagley as sole artist. Mr. Bagly defined the look and feel of the series, but Mr. Immonen steps in with his own excellent take on Spider-Man's world. It was sad to see Mr. Bagley go, but I'm looking forward to more from Mr. Bagley. One of the best aspect of USM is seeing Peter Parker's personal life. This volume furthers the relationship with Mary Jane (just a bit) and gives us more of ex-girlfriend (and X-Man) Kitty Pride. The writing is so good that the conversations in the high school hall are just as exciting as the battle with the Goblin. This is a great read and I'm looking forward to the next one.

The opening of the book is a nice change of pace from the recent clone craziness, but it all comes together for one of the most memorable USM endings ever. Stuart Immonen's art is fantastic! It seems much more emotive than his work on Nextwave and suits the book to a T. He's even controlled his habit of giving women giant, bouffant, 80's hair [for the most part]. Personally, I like his stuff here better than Bagley's, which, while always being reliable and consistent, tends to sometimes lack energy and excitement. Ten thumbs up! Buy this if you want a great Spidey read!

My teen-aged son is a major Spider-man fan. He loves the movie series and the graphic novels. The Ultimate graphic novel series is his favorite. The writing and story line are very good and the art work is excellent.

This is the latest installment of the long-running , wildly successful "Ultimate Spider-Man" series, which takes the character back to his gangly, teenage roots. This volume gathers issues #112-117, and marks the debut of a new illustrator, Stuart Immonen, as the permanent artist on the series. I had gotten into the cartoony vibe of the previous artist, Mark Bagley, and was leery of his departure, but --man!!-- does Immonen deliver the goods! This is some of the most exciting, fluid, cinematic artwirk I've ever seen in a Marvel book... Wow! is it fun! Writer Brian Michael Bendis is also totally in the zone on this one, too -- Spidey's bitter, sarcastic ripostes to floundering interim S.H.I.E.L.D director Carol Danvers are some of the best dialog I've read in ages - funny and also illuminating of Peter Parker's maturing inner strength. This is a *great* superhero book, and a nice upswing for a title that was beginning to sag around the edges. Hope Bendis & Company can keep up the pace, 'cause this was a lot of fun. (Joe Sixpack, ReadThatAgain book reviews)