Tuesday, August 14, 2007

Ultimate Spider-man #111 - Marvel



What a fantastic book. By now we all know that this was Mark Bagley's last issue. Truly . . . it's very sad. But . . . that's all part of life. People come and go. Sometimes we only get to know someone for a short time. Other times . . . it's a much longer relationship. But the only constant is that sooner or later, everyone has to move on. We're constantly in motion. For 2 items to constantly be in motion . . . but for us to believe that they will always be close, or a part of each other's immediate space . . . is absurd. Or at the least . . defeatist. The logical thing to do would be to accept it and not get hung up on relationships. But . . . that's not the way we're wired. We're built to be autonomous beings. Basically self sufficient and self reliant. But . . . at the same time we crave social interactions and relationships. And most of the time, we judge our value . . or self-worth . . by the number or importance of our friends and family. And the more we like them . . or value their love or friendship . . the tighter we hang on. But with the laws of motion, it's just inevitable that eventually everything will move on. So to has Mark Bagley. He's been doing this for a long time. 111 issues to be exact. And we've known for the last 20 or so issues that this was going to be the end. But it doesn't make it any less bitter. I have nothing but respect for the guy. And wish him the best of luck. Yes I wish he could've stuck around longer. But, at the same time, I'm very happy for what we got. 111 issues of sheer perfection. As far as this particular issue? It's "the talk". Aunt May has finally come home from the hospital. To a newly rebuilt home. But all she wants to do is finish the conversation that started between her and Peter shortly before her heart-attack. And it's a very moving story. And now Aunt May is pretty much up to speed. But she has to process it all. So I'm sure they're not going to have the perfect relationship for a little while. But . . that's ok. It's all part of the process. The important thing is that she's willing to try . . . for Peter. This book started and, I feel, came to define the Ultimate universe. It's been the cornerstone, and pillar, to which all the books that followed were compared. Some have lived up to the standard . . some haven't. But . . . it's been a hell of a ride. And without this book, there probably wouldn't have been an Ultimate universe. So for that, there's many fans that owe Mark and Brian a huge "Thanks!!". They started it, and they set the standard. And I'm sure Mark will do that with his next project also. The King is dead! Long live the King!


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