Ultimate Spider-Man, Vol. 4
When did Aunt May become such a great character? Geeze, all I remember from the main continuity is a querulous, fragile thing who was mostly a nuisance. Sure, Peter Parker loves her and junk, but she didn't factor all that much into the story. The Ultimate line takes the time (and the risk) to redevelop and explore the relationships of all the peripheral characters, and the stories improved tenfold.
The lady gets an entire issue devoted to her therapy session, and it was a good issue.
This series really gets into what being a superhero is doing to Parker as a 15-year-old. Instead of it being just a punch-line, Bendis really explores Parker's changing attitudes and experiences, whether it be with Jonah Jameson, Mary Jane, or his teacher. There hasn't been as much from Flash and Kong and Liz this volume, but I suspect we're not done with them yet. There's a couple loose ends there I want wrapped up.
Bendis delivers some great laughs too (oh hey...catfight). Funniest sequence in a comic I've read/seen in a long time. Good show!
Ultimate Marvel
Next: 'Ultimate Spider-man, Vol. 5'
Previous: 'Ultimate Spider-man, Vol. 3'
