[.ca] Ultimate Marvel Team-Up Volume 1 TPB (ISBN 0785108076)

it was ok:
This was ok. It was really a Spider-Man collection. The first story teams him with Wolverine fighting Sabertooth. It was pretty good. The second story has Hulk in it. They fight--more or less evenly. It was a good story. The third story teams him with Iron Man. It's not such a good story. And it is drawn kind of cartoony.

Not up to par:
I don't know how fans of Ultimate Spider-man or X-Men can rave about these stories. If you like Bagley or Kubert's art from the mentioned titles, you will surely be turned off by the weak artwork in these stories. The stories are ok, though incredibly simple. Ok for someone just getting into the Ultimate universe because the stories are easy enough to understand, but it really offers nothing for long time fans.

Bad.:
I was very disappointed with this TPB. The art and writing are both sub par. Especially the Ironman story which looks like it was written by a twelve year old and penciled by his kid brother. Really bad. I think the Ultimate spider-man series is one of the best comics I've seen in years but this doesn't belong on the same shelf. The by-line says Bendis, but I don't believe it for a minute. I've read Bendis, I really like and respect Bendis. This is no Bendis (lol). Seriously, do yourself a favor. Skip this one.

A must for any comic fan!:
This hardcover edition of "Ultimate Marvel Team-up" encases the entire run of the series along with the "Ultimate Spider-man Super Special". If you want to see the artwork of a bevy of today's top comic talent, you have to buy this book. Ultimate Marvel Team-up was an anthology series, the artist changed with each story-arc, while the ever-dependable Brian Michael Bendis (Ultimate Spider-man, Powers, Daredevil, Jinx) wrote each issue. Here's a quick outline of what to expect and why this book only get 4 stars from me: THE GOOD: Everything after the 5th issue/chapter. Specifically issues 6-8, which contain the amazing Daredevil/Punisher story drawn by Bill Sienkiewicz. One of the best stories of the year and the real reason a comic fan has to own this book. Another huge highlight is the Jim Mahfood drawn Fantastic Four issue, it is hysterical, some of the funniest dialogue Bendis has ever written. The roster of artists for the "Ultimate Spider-man Super Special" is a who's who list of top artist's in the field today, and touches on nearly all the Marvel heroes not involved in the 16 issues of Team-Up. THE BAD: Issues 2-5 are far from remarkable. When these issues originally came out, Bendis kept talking about a bigger picture, about these stories all going somewhere. Well, issues 2-5 were a setup for The Ultimates. 2 and 3 deal with the Hulk. 4 and 5 deal with Iron Man. The Hulk story isn't terrible, the art from Phil Hester(Green Arrow) is pretty good, but it doesn't live up to the stories following it. My biggest complaint with the Iron Man arc is that the art from Mike Allred(Madman, X-Force/X-Statix) was digitally colored, and Allred's retro style does not work with digital coloring. Why Laura Allred didn't do the coloring here is beyond me. The story's alright, but the coloring is beyond distracting. THE UGLY: The first issue is awful, terrible, and every other negative word you can come up with. The story stinks and the art is wretched. Just skip it. Don't even read it. It's the one true eyesore in this beautiful book.

A Great Read For Spidey Fans!:
Ultimate Marvel Team-Up is the comic equivalent of a summer blockbuster movie- Lots of action, bare-bones plot, quick, hard-hitting fight sequences.... This beautiful book reprints Ultimate Marvel Team-Up #'s 1-16, featuring the young hero's meetings with Wolverine (Vs. Sabretooth), The Hulk, Iron Man, The Punisher and Daredevil, The Fantastic Four (Vs. The Skrulls), Man-Thing (& The Lizard), The X-Men, Doctor Strange (Vs. Xandu), The Black Widow, and Shang-Chi, Master of Kung-Fu. The art is by a wide variety of comic superstars, including Matt Wagner, Chynna Clugston-Major, Rick Mays, Terry Moore, Mike Allred, John Totleben, Ted McKeever, Bill Sienkiewicz, Phil Hester & Ande Parks, and many more. Writer Brian Michael Bendis continues his winning streak with some truly absorbing stories; How many writers can do a story where Spider-Man and the X-Men sit around in a mall food court TALKING and still make it a must-read? Truly superior stuff, highly recommended.