The Ultimates are taking on the Children of Tomorrow (who I referred to previously as Ultimate Future Foundation) and blast full force into their city.
The Good
Esad Ribic and Jonathan Hickman are the perfect fit for this book. Ribic's art really compliments Hickman's high concept stories and ideas. There's a great two page spread of The City. It's highly detailed, futuristic, and a really cool design. Ribic just has an art style I can stare at all day, especially the final page with Thor in this issue.
Although I really enjoy Hickman's writing, I'm glad the high concept portion of the story was toned down for this one. The past couple of issues have had elements that were a bit hard to grasp (Let's not even get into the insanity, in a good way, that is Red Wing) and this issue was toned down just a bit. It focuses more on bringing back Thor into the fold and some great action sequences.
Speaking of the action sequences, I loved the panel composition. I loved the few offset and angled panels, and the way they were set up really moves you through the story and action quickly, giving a great sense of chaos.
Hawkeye is the man. I've said this before too, I love that this book isn't pulling punches. Arrow through the head? Yes, and it's going to happen more than once because that's how Hawkeye works.
The Bad
Not a great place for new readers to start, even with the catch-up page in the beginning. It's all a bit confusing, if you haven't read the first two issues.
I feel like nothing really happened in the issue, compared to the last two issue. They take on the Children of Tomorrow and Thor gets a new suit... and the last page. Other than that, it really felt like all one giant battle... A battle that showed how powerful Children of Tomorrow's tech is... Maybe I'm a bit down the middle on this one.
The Verdict
Another amazing issue. I'm loving all the Ultimate books, minus Ultimate Spidey which I'm not reading. Hickman and Ribic are killing it on this book, and especially loving Ribic's artwork on this one. The high concept writing is toned down a bit for this issue, and the action scenes are great. Hawkeye, for me, is a stand-out character in this new universe, even though he's not the star of this book. I didn't like the fact this wasn't a good place for new readers to start and I feel like this issue could have gone a little more forward with the story. I highly recommend this book and issue.