Captain Ultimate #1

by mahargen on July 20, 2013

The Creative Team:


Writers:  Joey Espositio, Benjamin Bailey

Art:  Boykoesh, Ed  Ryzowski


Get Caught Up...


First issue.  Brought to you in part by the warped minds responsible for the IGN Assemble! podcast.


What's Good?


Comics are fun again.  That’s the statement the advertisements for this series from Monkey Brain proclaim.  Well, they deliver.  Captain Ultimate #1 brings the fun in a big way.  Captain Ultimate is a classic Golden Age style hero plugged into a modern day world.  He's been gone for a while, but he's back.  Weird amalgamated ne'er-do-wells beware.


At first look it could be easy to dismiss this title as something for kids.  That is true, it is great for kids, but there is plenty there to keep the more mature reader interested. I read this with my daughter, but she was really mute interested in slobbering all over the iPad.  She is only 11 months old.  She did seem to dig the colors, though.  This is mainly a fun story about standing up for something.  This is also partly a lampoon of the comic industry's current state.  There are a handful of little digs against established characters that are there if you pay attention.  Nothing hurtful, just enough to show the reader how Captain Ultimate will differ from those other titles and characters.  It’s all in good fun.


I'm interested in seeing Captain Ultimate develop.  There are enough questions seeded here to keep me interested.  Why did he disappear?  Where did he go?  Who also came back?  How does he get that 'stache so impeccable?  There are hints of a larger story here.  I’m anxious to see what the writers have to say now that they’ve gotten our attention with a pretty great debut installment.


A fun story isn't complete without the appropriate art to work with it.  Boykoesh delivers on this, and the colors from Ryzowski really bring everything to life.  I loved the fact that they retained the dot-style art for Captain Ultimate when he eventually made his appearance in the present-day world.  It’s a nice throwback to the Golden Age characters from which his inspiration was drawn.


What's Not So Good?


This isn't something for nitpicking.  Not even I'm that jaded.  It is kind of a bummer that this isn’t available in print at the moment.  Although I’m hoping a collection will be available down the line.


The Verdict...


This is going to become a regular pick-up.  I need something to remind myself to not get lost in the violence and gritty realism of other comics on the market.


Oh, Yeah, And...



This sucker is only 99 cents.  Do it.  You’ve got a buck to spare.  Don't gripe that you don't have room in your list for this. Drop one of the eighteen Wolverine titles for a week.  I'll tell you what happens:  he growls and kills someone.  One issue of a Wolverine series will net you three months worth of Captain Ultimate.  Think on that.

Our Score:

9/10

A Look Inside