The Ultimates 2 Volume 2 Grand Theft America

America gets invaded! Don't worry the Ultimates will save the day.

Grand Theft America is over the top. Completely. I was truly surprised with what they did to some characters, not just with but actually to them. Things get very, very, very dark in this one. Unfortunately, it was too much. I lost the sense that it was happening. I was able to figure out who the traitor was before it was revealed because it made the most sense in a fantasy world. I kept expecting to find out that it was all some terrible trick by Loki and that none of this was actually happening. That maybe he was just toying with Thor and his team mates to craft this ludicrous tale.

I understood the story that Miller was trying to tell but I didn't believe it. I can only give it a 2. Though I have to say I've never read a graphic novel that the splash page actually had to be folded out to get the full impact before. The art was much better than the story with this one.

The Ultimates 2 Volume 1 Gods and Monsters

Gods and Monsters sort of says it all. This first volume focuses on Thor and the question of his sanity and on the Hulk and his trial for the death of 800 New Yorkers.

The Ultimates is a dark series. I like the ambiguity of Thor's divinity. Is he a Norse god or is he insane? That was some of my favourite writing in the series. I liked the way Bruce Banner was handling his trial for his actions as the Hulk. While I didn't like the way Nick Fury handled the verdict, I liked that it was how I expected him to handle it. It's good writing when the characters do what you expect them to do even if you don't want them to.

What I didn't like was the creation of more and more super soldiers. I agree that's probably what world governments would do if the technology existed. It's an arms race and if the newest technology is super powers then that's what they'd go for. I just didn't like it. I'm giving this volume a 4.

The Ultimate Volume 2 Homeland Security

Alien Invasion! Now with Nazis!

That's pretty much what Homeland Security boils down to. It's one big fight against aliens that have masqueraded as Nazis so that Captain America can get some kind of closure. I do very much like the taunting of Bruce Banner. It makes me giggle every time I read it.

I'm giving this one a 3.

The Ultimates Volume 1 Super-Human

Again, not really a fan of Marvel. I couldn't tell you who was actually in the Avengers to save my life. I could probably come up with a few but not the whole team. The Ultimates is apparently the Ultimate universe version of the Avengers. With a Captain America back from the dead (well, back from the frozen ice), a hippie Thor, and Giant Man, the Wasp and the Hulk exhibiting terrible personal problems. I think Iron Man is pretty much the same.

It's the terrible personal problems that really surprised me. When I was first recommended this book it was to catch up on what's going on in the world of the Ultimate Spider-Man. I was told that I should probably read the first two volumes of the Ultimates before getting beyond Volume 10 of Spider-Man. So I did, expecting to find more of the same. It's not the same. It's a lot more adult. There's still a tonne of complaining going on, but it's less like the teenage angst of Spider-Man and more like the marital problems of unhinged people.

I like the dark turn, probably because I don't know any of the characters though. Even so, I'll give it a 4.