Review:
Ultimate X #1

Publisher's Blurb:

Ultimatum has ended. The world was on the brink of destruction. Countless heroes died. The Fantastic Four have disbanded. The X-Men are gone. Mutants are hunted as criminals. But there is hope. This is that story.

I have to be upfront and just say I was dreading doing this review. Personally, I dislike reading the majority of the DC/Marvel stuff, not because I'm not into superheroes (I love'em) but because I hate the insane amount of baggage these stories can frequently carry. The only reason I decided to review Ultimate X #1 was because I haven't managed to get my hands on Mass Effect Redemption #2 (so far). I suppose it also didn't hurt that I'm familiar with Jeph Loeb (the writer) having read some of his stuff before (most of it pretty good, some of it just plain excellent) and well, this issue does say it's the first release of this (mini)series; so I figured what the hell let me read it and see what I think.

Well, I think it's somewhere between bleh and meh. That's my technical and scientifically precise terminology. The problem with the issue isn't that the story is bad (it's average, I would say, as presented), that the writing is bland (it's again average, not Loeb's best stuff but certainly not terrible, though it could have done with less narration and more presentation), or that the artwork is mediocre (it's actually quite serviceable). The problem is this issue has no reason to exist.

For those of you who have read some of my previous reviews, specifically World of Warcraft Special #1; you'll recall I blasted that issue for the exact same reason. I'm going to do you a favour and save you 15 minutes of your life. The main character, Jimmy, is Wolverine's son. You are now fully prepared to read issue #2. This is not hyperbole. The real kicker though is that the cover has Jimmy with claws extended and the issue's subtitle is His Father's Son. In short, the cover gives away the "big reveal" of the issue and pretty much the whole and only reason the issue exists.