Ultimate Spider-Man Rocks!

Hey, I was up there in the widespread chorus of disapproval when Byrne's Spider-Man: Chapter One was released. I can't say I joined the dissapointment, because I wasn't disappointed... I expected it to suck.

Well, I didn't have high hopes for Ultimate Spider-Man either. And I was wrong. It's awesome. Chapter One was a pointless tweaking exercise, thrown together half-heartedly by a guy who relies too much on his name these days, and not enough on what flows from his pen. Ultimate Spider-Man took the bull by the horns, and went right back to the drawing board.

As a Spidey Purist, I should be horrified at this sort of rough treatment... but I'm not. Why not? Hey, surprise, I'm going to tell you why not.

1. First. It's good. It's great stuff, and it stands on its own merits. Good comic is good comic, and I can recognise that.
2. Secondly. It's different. It's so different that it doesn't really tread on the toes of the original.

So whereas Chapter One was just something to live through, Ultimate Spidey is something I'm going to enjoy reading each month. Sure, that ongoing alternate cover nonsense is going to get right up my snoot... but when you open it up and look inside, it's great stuff. I recommend it.