***THIS REVIEW WAS ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED LAST MARCH ON THE NERD BLITZ PATREON***
I wanna say I stumbled across the first Ultimate Collection of this when Border’s Books went out of business, but I can’t say for certain if that’s the case.
All I remember for sure is that I got the first 13 issues dirt cheap and I fell in love immediately.
This has always been one of the top 3 comics I mention if somebody asks for a non-DC or Marvel recommendation.
But I’ve gotta be honest with you here, gang, I burned through it real quick back when I got it, I loved it, and I never went back to revisit it.
Now, with the animated series set to debut this Friday, March 26th, I think the time has come to take another look.
I’m going into this a wee bit nervous that my rose colored glasses may be cracked.
So let’s take a deep breath, calm our nerves, and dive back into the past to see if this really did rock or if I had shit taste and a head wound that week, shall we?
As always, this is your super spiffy ***SPOILER ALERT***
Cover By Cory Walker: While pretty to look at, it’s probably not the best cover for a first issue.
Even with the trade dress, it just feels kind of empty and bland to me.
Sure, Mark looks confident in the face of potential danger, but nothing about this pops out, grabs you, and says “Yo, fuck-up, you ain’t gonna wanna miss this shit!”.
To me, it just looks like some random issue of some random superhero tale that’s already deep into its run.
Art By Cory Walker: For years now, I’ve been blowing Ryan Ottley’s art.
When Ottley got the gig drawing Amazing Spider-Man I thought “Well, it’s about fuckin’ time. What a perfect fit!”
But the thing I always forget is that Ottley didn’t come in until issue 8.
Look, Walker clearly set the tone that Ottley swooped in and took to bigger and better hieghts, and I respect that.
The guts are more dynamic and flashy than the shell but, much like the cover, the art here kinda falls flat for me.
I don’t know if he was intentionally trying to ease you into what’s to come or not, but these almost feel like slightly polished sketches.
Sadly, I’m not diggin’ it as much as I once did.
Having said that, the art services the story well enough and visually tells you exactly what you need to know, it just doesn’t pop much for me.
Story By Robert Kirkman: Now this is where shit gets good!
Meet Mark Grayson, he is just your plain old, boring, average high school teen.
His Mom is on his ass about being late for school, his Dad is one of the greatest superheroes the world has ever known, he works at a fast food joint after school, he has friends that just wanna hang out and be kids, ya know typical.
Oh yeah, his super powers just so happened to manifest when he was taking the trash to the dumpster out back at work, anyway, could you please pass the mashed potatoes?
And just like that, it all floods back, I remember what I loved so much about this book back in the day.
Kirkman took this extraordinary tale we’ve read and watched play out dozens of times as a life changing, earthshaking, mind bending event…and buttons it with something as simple and boring as “can you pass the potatoes?”.
The way he makes this normally incredible event so mundane is so refreshing and wonderful for the superhero genre!
Now, don’t get me wrong, this is in no way a boring read.
There’s plenty of excitement for Mark, for instance when his Dad (the globally recognized hero Omni-Man) takes him to his costume maker, which leads to Mark trying to figure out his superhero name and nail down that iconic look all while still attending school and such.
It’s the type of thing we nerds have always talked about, but has never really been dealt with.
In a great way, I’ve always thought this story and character were eerily reminiscent of Spider-Man.
Though not as bogged down in stressing over every choice he makes or his responsibility in the way Peter Parker is, Mark Grayson is still juggling a shit ton in his life just the same as Pete.
That’s why I always kinda hoped Ottley & Kirkman could do a Spidey mini-series, they cut their teeth on this series for so long that if you added in the 50 years of history for them to swim through like Scrooge McDuck, it could only be, dare I say it…Amazing!
The only real complaint I can point to on the story front is that this fucker zips by so fast that it almost forces you to read it in chunks of 2 to 3 issues at a time to feel like you’ve read a full issue.
Like, I read this in about 9 minutes, most comics take me 15-25 minutes to read.
So it leaves you with a bit of a “Huh, that’s it?” feeling at the end of the issue.
Bottomline, the solid story more than makes up for the semi-flat art.
And I’m glad for that, because I vaguely remember what’s ahead and once I can get to the Ottley era, this baby is gonna be smooooooooooth as silk.
This book is a damn good break from the more cookie cutter tales (which I still love!) that you get from the big 2.
That’s a wrap for this outting, gang.
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