Review: Ultimate Nightmare #1

Sorry about the long hiatus.

Ultimate Nightmare #1
Marvel Comics
Writer: Warren Ellis
Artist: Trevor Hairsine

I like Warren Ellis. In particular Planetary, the Authority and his Wolverine "Not Dead Yet" storyline.

I like Trevor Hairsine. His work reminds me of a cross between Brian Hitch and David Finch.

I like the Ultimates. In fact, the Ultimates were somewhat inspired by Ellis's work as the Marvel "answer" to Wildstorm's Authority. So with Ellis on the book, it seems like a good match. Not only that, it will be months until our next fix of the characters.

I didn't like Ultimate Six or Ultimate War. These were the two prior Ultimate universe mini-series stories and neither one actually told much of a story. It was as if there were 6 or 7 part stories that did very little.

I don't like decompressed storytelling. It's happening more and more, particularly in Marvel books. For example, Wolverine is in the midst of a 7 part story arc. X-Men The End is an 18 part mini series (Marvel says, "think Lord of the Rings" and all I can think of is how people kept getting up early at the end of Return of the King).

What does this have to do with Ultimate Nightmare #1? It's got all these things. Warren Ellis. Trevor Hairsine. The Ultimates. An Ultimate Universe miniseries. Decompressed storytelling.

In fact it deals with a cosmic threat (see Planetary) and the first four pages have no words (see any recent Marvel storyline). It sounds like a good premise but I've heard rumblings that it's the first of several miniseries dealing with this threat (see previous Ultimate miniseries). The art is good and the dialogue sharp (when it's around). The best part was the ultimazation of a new character. Otherwise, it reads no differently than many other books out there. That isn't to say it's bad, but it's not spectacular yet. There's not much more to say since not much more happens. As with many works from the Marvel U, once again, judgment must be reserved for when the series is over.