Marvel Previews 'The Ultimates' by Hickman and Ribic

I am as excited as hell for the Ultimate Comics Ultimates by Jonathan Hickman and Esad Ribic. From these initial preview pages (after the jump), it looks like Hickman is embracing the epic nature of Mark Millar’s volumes on the title.

What excites me more is that I don’t see that nasty little word anywhere on the cover—volume.  When a book is tagged with that word, it just becomes a special event book. Don’t get me wrong—I like me some special events—but the Ultimate Universe can be a really fresh diversion from the regular Marvel U. I’m eager to see a writer like Hickman come in and tell a big, sprawling story, peppered with one-shots and smaller arcs if he feels so inclined.

Ribic’s pages are looking wonderfully dynamic! Iron Man is looking svelte. Nick Fury appears to be modeled less off of Samuel L. Jackson and more off of Tyrese. And is that a bear drinking a beer? I know there’s a joke in there somewhere.

Life After Spider-Man: Marvel Announces 'Ultimate Comics Universe Reborn'

Ultimate Fallout #1

After Ultimatum, the Ultimate Universe, as a whole, was beginning to feel more like a pastime.  This was a place for good writers to come tell some fun stories, but there was no sense of the cohesiveness that Mavel fans have come to expect from the 616 Universe.

For my money, Ultimatum seemed to do more harm than good. I felt as though folks at Marvel, led by series writer Jeph Loeb wanted to distinguish the Ultimate Universe in as shocking a way possible. And it didn’t work.