Millar back in the Ultimate universe

In an interview on IGN.com Mark Millar revealed he will be revamping the Ultimate line of Marvel comic books to bring back the quality that the books have been lacking over the past couple of years. People who have been with the Ultimate line from the beginning and have actually stuck with it like me know that it's been a rough couple of years for the fans of the Ultimate line. The drop in overall quality in writing started when Robert Kirkman took over the Ultimate X-MEN book and wrote with less of the gritty realism that for me and many fans defined the Ultimate line, and brought in more of the C and D list characters that I feel didn't fit well. Then Ultimate Fantastic Four became uninteresting and unimportant overall, and when Mark Bagley left Ultimate Spider-man the book lost a style in storytelling that he brought to the table (namely the ability to make talking heads look interesting). And of course the less said about Jeph Loeb's run on Ultimates 3 the better.

But apparently all of that is going to change says Millar, starting with regular events books that will make the Ultimate universe cohesive and exciting again. Remember when you had the feeling that anyone could die at any time because it wasn't part of the core Marvel Universe? Millar wants to bring that back to the Ultimate line, and he is bringing top talent with him.

It will be interesting to see if people give the Ultimate line another chance. I think they will due to some of the great artists who are on-board with the project, who wouldn't pick up a book out of curiosity with Carlos Pacheco or Leinil Fancis Yu doing the art? These guys are some of the best in the business right now and their names lend some much needed credibility to the Ultimate line. It's a clever marketing move that will hopefully re-cement the Ultimate line's reputation for quality and a grittier take on Marvel characters. The writer's working on the project will be Brian Michael Bendis, Mark Miller, and Jeph Loeb, not a bad team by any means provided some of Jeph Loeb's seemingly manic and inconsistent writing can be reeled into something a little more coherent than Ultimates 3. Till next time citizens keep an eye out for the new Ultimate books.

(The original article at IGN.com can be found here)