Fancy Meeting You Here: A (Very) Late Review of Ultimate Spider-Man #3

 written by Jonathan Hickman

drawn by Marco Checchetto 

colored by Matt Wilson

I was tempted to review this alongside the next issue given that I got them both quite late, but given that this is Marco Checchetto's last issue before he is spelled by a different artist, and given that the first mini-arc of this  new storyline kind of ends at this point I thought it merited a review all on its own.

So Peter Parker has finally adopted a definitive look for his new crime fighting guise, courtesy of his daughter May, and continues his crusade. Meanwhile, J. Jonah Jameson and Ben Parker roll up their sleeves and get to work transforming the hellhole they have acquired for their new office into an actual news operation, and the mysterious man in green armor antagonizing Wilson Fisk may have actually met his match in a rather deadly assailant who gets his target every time...unless Spider-Man has something to say about it. 

Familiar faces from old Spider-Man stories pop up again, but as is the case with everything that's come before so far in this title much has been changed. Best friends are now strangers, and what was once a hand-sewn costume is now a proprietary piece of tech.

I'll lay off the hyperbole; this book isn't the second coming of Jesus or the absolute best Spider-Man story I've ever read in all my life, but it is engaging and fun, and it does have me intrigued to see where Hickman and his rotating team of artists are going with this story.

Truth be told, since I jumped on this Ultimate Universe revival last year I have found myself questioning some of Hickman's changes to the Ultimate Marvel universe as random or arbitrary, but so far these creative choices have worked to the betterment of this particular book, so I'm not really inclined to complain. 

I'd also like to add that I really enjoyed Checchetto's work here. He really does have a distinct and attractive style, and at a time when veterans like John Romita Jr have turned into caricatures of themselves and notorious tracers like Greg Land are still getting work, that's a very good thing.  

The first-three issue mini arc ends on an intriguing but largely upbeat note, and while we're clearly a way to go from the first story arc properly wrapping up I have to pat both Hickman and Checchetto on the back for launching a credible new entry in the Spider-Man mythos.

8.5/10