posted
Nice review... you're making me wish I had kept my ULTRAVERSEs... but after Marvel turned the whole thing to a steaming pile of dogcrap, I got rid of them.
posted
Thanks Lash. I'm having a lot of fun with them. The stuff after Marvel buys them starts out okay (some of them anyway), but everything goes downhill shortly thereafter.
From: Turn around... | Registered: Jul 2003
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Writer: James Hudnal Pencils: Jim Callahan Inks: Norm Breyfogle Letterer: Tim Eldred Color Designer: Paul Mounts Editor: Chris Ulm
Cover Art: Dave Gibbons
Variants: Ultra 5000 (same cover art as standard issue), Silver hologram (alternate cover art featuring Hardcase and NM-E), Gold hologram (alternate cover art featuring Hardcase and NM-E)
My summary/review (Just as a note of warning, there are all kinds of spoilers in this review):
Well, like Prime, this issue starts off with something that is not normally seen (at least at this that time) in your average hero comic. The destruction of a team; resulting in the death of two members and a third being put into a coma with brain damage. That team was The Squad (we will see this entire story later in the Ultraverse run as a mini series that goes through tThe Squads story in greater detail.)
Among the members of The Squad; D.J. Blast and Forsa are killed. D.J. Blast sacrifices himself to take NM-E out. Starburst is brain damaged after this fight and is in a hospital with little to no hope of ever recovering. Of the four members, only Hardcase (Tom Hawke) is left alive and in one piece.
We then flash forward a year and see Hardcase fighting some bad guys...at least that's what it appears to be. It turns out that Hardcase has quit the hero business and become a Hollywood actor/stuntman.
Going to take a moment here to talk about a few things noticed. NM-E looks a lot like the alien from the movie Aliens. Not exact mind you, but elongated head with a toothy grin. A tail like weapon used to spear Forsa (ala Bishop from the end of Aliens.) Not much else is revealed about NM-E here...that will come later in the tales from the Ultraverse. Hardcase is a sort of Golden Age Superman and Wonder Man (of the Avengers) style character. Not totally invulnerable, cannot fly under his own power...but can jump really far and high. He also has a form of enhanced hearing. Add in the Actor/Stuntman angle and you have a nice mesh of two characters...with his own characteristics added to not make him a clone of any one character.
Back to the story...Hardcase is dealing with not being a hero anymore, and a police officer calls him on it. The officer is called off by a bank robbery that is happening nearby, and Hardcase declines tagging along to help. Headknocker (heh) is robbing the bank, and he's an Ultra. He kills several guards and tosses the bank manager around like a ragdoll. On the movie set, Hardcase hears gunfire from the battle and decides that he has had enough and jumps off to help. Although, a bit too late for the officer that he was just talking to. He had been getting a poster signed for his son, and talking to Hardcase about coming back to help the police out as they really appreciated what he and The Squad had done. This adds a bit of Spider-Man angst to the character as well...just a little. The whole feeling somewhat responsible for the death of another when it could have probably been avoided if he had intervened vibe is here and helps Hardcase come to a conclusion.
Hardcase and Headknocker trade blows and Hardcase wins. Headknocker is taken into custody and Hardcase decides that he is back in the game.Watching all this unfold is a mysterious figure...a man who is not a man. He is Between NM-E not completing its mission, and the emergence of other Ultras, the man who isn't a man gets angry and decides that they all must die...even if half the world is destroyed in the process.
Not a bad first issue here as well. Hardcase is a figure that has suffered a lot during his time as an Ultra and is looking for a way to just live his life...but that isn't what fate has in store for him. It has a very different vibe than that of the first issue of Prime. This is a good thing though, as each book seems to have its own focus.
The art is alright, and I think saved a lot by the inking of Norm Breyfogle. I am not really familiar with any other work of Jim Callahan, and a search at the Grand Comics Database does not turn up much at all.
As far as the look of Hardcase…He starts out in the flashback with a kind of an Aquaman/Luke Cage feel to his outfit. His current costume is in keeping with the time frame...shiny shoulder pads and chains around his waist and wrists. It's not a terrible look, but definitely influenced by the time.
Also of note is that Nicholas Lone, Solitaire, is seen here taking his money out of the bank that Head Knocker robs.
A few other blurbs about this issue from various Ultraverse publications follow...
Summary from the other Ultraverse comics Published that month:
First hard hitting issue! Hardcase comes out of his self-imposed retirement and leaps headlong into his first action in months - but will it be his last?
From the Collectors Guide to the Ultraverse:
Hardcase returns to being an Ultrahero, after the death of two members of his tam, The Squad. He takes on Head Knocker.
From the Ultraverse Year One issue:
Years ago, a Jumpstart Effect gave ultra powers to Jamal Blass, Carlos Jiminez, Tom Hawke and Linda Warren, These four joined together as the world's first ultra team. Their abruptly ended when the mysterious Rex Mundi sent the Nanotech Mechanized Entity (NM-E) to destroy them. Having survived NM-E's rampage; Hardcase was left to deal with the aftermath (two members were dead and another one was comatose). Believing that he let his friends down, Hardcase retires as a hero and launches a successful movie career. On the set of his latest film, Hardcase learns of a robbery in progress at a nearby bank and decides he cannot sit idly by while while innocent peoples lives are in danger. At the bank he encounters the powerful ultra, Headknocker, and the two engage in a brutal battle. Hardcase defeats Headknocker by beating him down with a police car. Afterwords, Hardcase realizes that he can no longer remain in retirement and becomes an ultra hero once again.
From: Turn around... | Registered: Jul 2003
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Writer: Steve Englehart Pencils: Rick Hoberg Inks: Tim Burgard Letters: Tim Eldred Color Design: Paul Mounts Editor: Chris Ulm
Cover Art: Rick Hoberg
Variants: Ultra 5000 (same cover art as standard issue) Silver hologram (alternate cover art featuring Yrial fighting Atom Bob and Grenade), Gold hologram (alternate cover art featuring Yrial fighting Atom Bob and Grenade)
My summary/review (Just as a note of warning, there are all kinds of spoilers in this review):
A cable car in San Fransisco is going along its normal route with an assortment of passengers. Among them are Bob Hardin (an art student), Hugh Fox (Bobs friend and fellow student), Elena La Brava ( a fashion designer), Dave Castiglone (works at or owns a bakery), Mr. G. Lawrence Bushnell and his Nurse Henrietta Hawkins, Leon Balford (street punk), as well as J.D. Hunt and his friend Candy. There are 59 in total on the cable car, but these are the main ones we are introduced to J.D. and Candy are 'making out' on the cable car, and enjoying the attention. They are asked to stop by the gripman, but refuse. Hugh, Bob and Dave step in and throw J.D. off the car...seconds before the cable car is hit by lightning. The car then hits a Miata, driven by Johnny Domino, who is seriously wounded by a piece of metal that lodges itself into his forehead.
It is then revealed that J.D. Hint is a powerful businessman who threatens to sue the city and anyone involved in him being thrown off the cable car. He demands Candy to come to him, and she freaks out and runs away...much to his surprise.
We are then treated to little vignettes of each of the people we were introduced to...Elena goes to her studio and is inspired to create outfits (that will eventually become their costumes.
Hugh and Bob go to their College, adn discover that they each have a power now. Bob can change matter on a atomic level. Hugh can fire out shrapnel out of his body.
At his Bakery, Dave bursts into Green flame.
Leon discovers he has super speed while quitting his 'job' with an apparent drug dealer.
Candy is still walking around in some sskimpy clothing and notices that her arm is cut and there is circutry underneath, It is then revealed by Hunt that she is a machine that is programmed for giving men pleasure.
Mr. G. Lawrence Bushnell and his Nurse Henrietta Hawkins are shown to be reversing theoir conditions. She feels worse than ever, and he feels better. He had been dying of cancer, and by the end of the issue, we learn that he believes the he is being talked to by that cancer.
Johnny Domino is in surgery, and it is not looking good for him.
Dave visits a Doctor and there s nothing that he can see wrong with him. There is talk of unprotected sex and Dave not wanting to get Aids.
A large cloud appears over the city and Yrial appears on the streets of San Francisco. Six of the people on the cable car show up thinking that she may have had something to do with the lightning, and of course they tussle. Yrail takes off, but not before Dave turns into Orange and Yellow flame. Leon gets the six of them out of there when the police start asking questions. The six of them decide to follow Yrail and the cloud.
This book does suffer a bit from the fact that it introduces an entire team of characters and has their origin and discovery of powers all in 28 pages. That being said, there is more story here than in any current trade paperback on the shelf at your local comic store shelf today. It feels a bit rushed in places, and I think that this could have actually been drawn out to two issues to give us a better chance to meet each of the characters. The information here is surface, with a few minor deeper glimpses into a few of the characters.
The art is good and easy to follow. Rick Hoberg has a pretty good resume of work to his portfolio for both Marvel and DC.
The characters do not appear in costume here (except on the cover...which also telegraphs that Yrail will end up as part of the team, making their fight seem like a waste of time) which is a good thing in my mind, and hearkens back to the early Fantastic Four issues where they didn't apppear in costume either.
Another good entry to the Ultraverse line of books. Definately a book featuring diverse characters, something that the big two still cannot seem to get correct.
A few other blurbs about this issue from various Ultraverse publications follow...
Summary from the other Ultraverse comics Published that month:
59 people on a cable car, some are friends, some are lovers, but most are strangers. When all 59 gain powers, six decde to form the strangest ultrateam of all.
From the Collectors Guide to the Ultraverse:
After being struck by the 'Jumpstart Effect,' six strangers decide to form a crime fighting team. They find a seventh member in Yrail, a woman who lives in the sky.
From the Ultraverse Year One issue:
On a clear day in June, a bolt of energy strikes a cable car in San Francisco and somehow grants all 59 passengers ultrahuman powers. Six passengers (Leon Balford, Candy Dave Castiglone, Hugh Fox, Bob Hardin, Elena La Brava) are barely discovering the new-found abilities when the mysterious woman Yrail suddenly appears in downtown San Fransisco. All six passengers are drawn to this area, hoping that this woman is somehow responsible for their abilities. Using their powers, these six strangers are able to drive Yrail away. Still believing that Yrail has the answers they are looking for, they decide to follow Yrail to an unseasonal clouad in the sky.
From: Turn around... | Registered: Jul 2003
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Writer: Mike W. Barr Pencils: Terry Dodson Inks: Al Vey Letters: Tim Eldred Color Designer: Paul Mounts Editor: Chris Ulm
Cover Art: Hoang Nguyen
Variants: Ultra 5000 (same cover art as standard issue), Silver hologram (same cover art as standard issue), Gold hologram (same cover art as standard issue), Also a Polybagged issue that came with a trading card.
My summary/review (Just as a note of warning, there are all kinds of spoilers in this review):
Title: Reversal of Fortune
Now here is a grand first issue to remember. Great story and great art.
We are introduced to Lukasz, a warrior, who currently inhabits the body of Bill Cooper, who has just left his wife and son...because he is no longer the man they remember. Lukasz meets up with others from the ranks of Archmage. They are Yaron, Hamath and Thansi. They are meeting to fight Notch and his crew...who work for Boneyard.
During the battle, Lukasz is killed. So are two of Notch's men, but they are promptly brought back to life. Also, Boneyard and Archmage exchange words on the spirit plane.
We then meet Warstrike, who is being hired to do something.
Carl and Marla, a young couple that has been having issues are back together thanks to the efforts of Eden Blake. Eden is a single mother of two, who is joining Carl and Marla on a double date with a friend.
Lukasz enters Carl’s body and quickly leaves poor Marla behind, but not before Eden gives him an earful.
Eden and her date obviously go out and end up sleeping together...and while they are out on the town and getting busy, Lukasz is meeting with Archmage and the group.
Boneyard show up and says Archmages real name, rendering him helpless to those who have counted on him.
The two sides battle again and things are not looking good for Lukasz and the boys. If they die...it is for real this time. Warstrike shows up and promptly kills Lukasz. He is obviously not happy about it and says that he and Notch need to talk.
Lukasz is surprised however that he is once again in the soulwalk. He has one more body to enter.
He awakens to a man asking him if he is alright. He is naked and feels off somehow. He is in the body of Eden Blake. He is in trouble.
He gets out of that situation, and heads to see his friends. he is almost muged along the way...or worse, but the attacker bursts into flame. He then learns from Katinya that this was Archmages plan. To get him into the body of this woman, and it’s potential for magic. She hands Eden/Lukasz a pendant that changes her into Mantra.
Katinya dies and Eden/Lukasz takes off for home, wading through a few police to do so.
At home, she is greeted by her mother, who has been watching her two children. They are sent to bed and Mom goes home. Lukasz is sorry to learn that Eden's body does not like Whiskey.
The final image is of Warstrike showing up and announcing that he knows that Lukasz is in Eden’s body...
This is a jam packed comic. There is a loit of story covered here, and yet...unlike The Strangers, this does not feel rushed at all. The set up for this book is great. An ancient warrior moving from body to body throughout the years is finally stuck...and in a woman’s body. Let the awkwardness begin with the other males in Eden/Lukasz'z life begin...because this is one gorgeous woman who is not interested.
The art is great. It is by a then newer artist...Terry Dodson. His art has gotten even better over time, but this is his first mainstream comics work...according to what I can see.
A few other blurbs about this issue from various Ultraverse publications follow...
Summary from the other Ultraverse comics Published that month:
None. Only creator information iis given.
From the Collectors Guide to the Ultraverse:
After his body is killed in battle, Lukasz's soul is transferred into the body of Eden Blake. Now he must continue his battle as a woman.
From the Ultraverse Year One issue:
As the latest incarnation of the eternal warrior Lukasz, Bill Cooper and his fellow warriors are directed by their leader, Arhmage, to a local magic shop. The minions of Boneyard (Archmages brother and mortal enemy) have recovered a magical mask at the shop. The shop owner, Edgar Strauss, is saved when Lukasz breaks into the shop. Strauss escapes with the mask. Lukasz's body is killed by Notch. Archmage places Lukasz into another body (Carl). Archmage informs his knights that there is a traitor among them. Boneyard appears and spirits Archmage away, leaving Notch and his men to slaughter the surprised warriors. Lukasz is killed again, this time killed by Warstrike. This time Lukasz is placed into the body of a woman, Eden Blake. Lukasz visits the dying Katinya, who gives "him a mantra to live by and a charm that becomes Mantra's costume.
From: Turn around... | Registered: Jul 2003
| IP: Logged |
Writer: Gerard Jones Pencils: Ben Herrera Inks: Mike Christian Letters: Time Eldred Color Designer: Paul Mounts Editor: Chris Ulm
Cover Art: Walter Simonson
Variants: Ultra 5000 (same cover art as standard issue), Silver hologram (different cover art than standard issue by Herrera and Christian), Gold hologram (different cover art than standard issue by Herrera and Christian), Also a Polybagged issue that came with a trading card.
My summary/review (Just as a note of warning, there are all kinds of spoilers in this review):
Title: Freaked
We open with a young man running from the police. He seems afraid of something other than the Officer however. He turns down an alley and the Officer follows, to run into a giant stone looking individual. The Officer opens fire and Ray (as he is called by the initial young man) lifts him off the ground. Ray refers to the young man as Huck, but is corrected and told that this is reality.
Ray then calls the young man Lewis, and they run from the alley into a couple police cruisers. A young woman named Val appears and powers her light/heat powers up to fire at the police. Lewis yells for her to stop and then turns into a goopy like substance to take the brunt of her blast. On Lewis’ urging, Ray grabs Val and they run off, and Lewis escapes down the sewer.
We get a brief flashback of Lewis turning into a puddle of goop during a high school football game. This is him remembering when his powers first manifested themselves, and is what led him to sitting naked in the sewers running from the police.
The police are puzzled and Val is really pissed off at Ray and Lewis. Ray tells her that Lewis saved him from the basement. This gives us his back story. His parents kept him in the basement with only a copy of ‘The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn’ to keep him occupied. He finally gets tired of being kept in the basement and runs away, after swatting his mom and probably destroying most of their house. He is found by Lewis and taken in.
He says that Lewis saved Val as well…she sees it a little differently and kicks out a door revealing a young lady in the hall. Val tries to take her down, but the girl gets away (after saying that she was told to come there). Ray helps her get away by stopping Val.
Val rants at Ray again and we see that she was in jail and being taken advantage of by a guard. She says that Lewis found her in a Laundromat and invited her to join them.
The scene shifts to outside on the Fire escape where Angela (the girl that was just attacked by Val) is sitting. Lewis approaches her and we see that she has some tentacles or something around her torso that she feels he should be repulsed by. As they talk the police show up and Lewis hides them against the building using his power.
Ray spray paints the word FREEX on the wall of the motel room. Lewis says that someone has been giving him information on where to find them,.
A television and some other mechanical junk is thrown through the window, and it comes to life and a image of a young man in a baseball cap introduces himself as Michael and says that he is the one that brought them together.
A great introductory team issue. For some reason this one does not seem too rushed like The Strangers did. There are a few less characters, and their origins are not interlinked. Three origins of a sort are covered to give us an idea of who these characters are. A lot happens again in the issue, and it does not seem rushed at all. It ends with the team assembled for the first time, and again, the cover gives away the members before we have a chance to meet them.
The cover is by the outstanding Walt Simonson. It’s a thing of beauty. The interiors are by Herrera and Christian and fit the mood of the book well.
I will say that this is the ‘X-Men’ book of the Ultraverse. It deals with characters that have powers, just like others that are celebrated as heroes, but are treated as outcasts in society. Never quite understood how Mutants can be persecuted while others that get their powers through artificial means are celebrated. Here in the Ultraverse, they all seem to get their powers through artificial means of some sort…yet there are differences in treatment as well. The only explanation here is that they resort to theft to survive, whereas the X-Men lived on a secluded mansion estate of their leader.
A few other blurbs about this issue from various Ultraverse publications follow...
Summary from the other Ultraverse comics Published that month:
None. Only creator information iis given.
From the Collectors Guide to the Ultraverse:
A band of five teenage ultra ‘freaks’ are brought together to form a team. They protect each other from a society that wants them dead.
From the Ultraverse Year One issue:
The Freex are teenagers with ultrahuman abilities Ray Golic, Lewis Phillips, Angela Salazar, Valerie Sharp). They are brought together by another teenager (Michael Rafani) because he feels that together, they can discover the origins of their powers which have recently manifested. They are being pursued by the police because, as runaways, they often have to steal to survive. Ray suggests that they call themselves the “Freex” and all adopt “gang names.” Ray calls himself “Boom Boy,” because of his size and strength, Lewis is called “Anything,” because he can morph his form into anything he wants, Valerie becomes “Pressure,” because she can fire plasma-heated steam and she has a bad temper, Michael is called “Plug,” because he can ‘plug’ into any electrical system, Angela is called “Sweet Face.” Ironically, Angela is the prettiest, but has a hideous body with tendrils growing from it.
From: Turn around... | Registered: Jul 2003
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posted
I remember when the Exiles suddenly ended with #4, I was so confused as to why. Was there ever a story behind this?
For whatever reason, the memory in my mind has the issue coming out around Halloween. I was 12.
From: If you don't want my peaches, honey... | Registered: Sep 2003
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posted
It was always meant to be a 4 issue series that set up the Break-Thru event. They solicited another issue or two to throw off people, so they would not expect what happened to that team.
From: Turn around... | Registered: Jul 2003
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