THE ULTIMATES: still not for the kids

I was surprised this week to find The Ultimates 3 #1 arrive in comic shops with such little fanfare. Jeph Loeb has taken over writing duties from Mark Millar (who penned the first two extraordinary volumes), and Joe Madureira provides the art. And I seem to be running contrary to most of the comment I’ve seen online — I love this first Loeb issue, and I’m loving the direction he’s taking the characters. The Ultimates (Marvel Comics’ alternative take on its own Avengers, for those unfamiliar with the series) was always a very ADULT book under Millar’s hand. Loeb makes it even more so, and I’m cautioning parents here: this issue is upsetting and may upset the kiddies in more ways than one. There are more “holy crap!” moments in this single comic book than I’ve seen anywhere in the past few months.