Very good, but it could have used one or two more issues to fully develop the universe. You can feel that some plot threads and character arcs were rushed or cut short.

Ultimates isn’t a bad book. It’s actually a solid title, full of ideas. Like the original Ultimate Universe, it tells a Marvel story that feels timely, but in a fresh, inventive way. The only issue, in my opinion, is that compared to something like Absolute Batman or Absolute Superman—which tackle similar themes, like the individual facing the rise of corporate power or the creeping spread of authoritarianism through media and networks—everything here feels a bit too heavy-handed. We’re led by the hand, clearly told who the good guys and bad guys are, with little room left for nuance or trust in the reader’s intelligence. I’ve noticed this tendency in a lot of so-called progressive American writers lately. Probably a response to the global surge of far-right ideologies, this kind of urgent, almost aggressive writing style. I get where it comes from, but I’m not sure it’s the most effective approach. It might even be counterproductive. more

Aside from Absolute Green Lantern, the Absolute Universe keeps delivering hit after hit with consistently high quality. Absolute Flash isn’t my favorite title from the line, but it’s still top-tier, especially compared to what other publishers are putting out. And the pacing seems to improve with each new issue.

I’m usually not much of a Sophie Campbell fan! But this comic really gets Supergirl: it’s light, fun, with clever little nods to continuity, and exactly the kind of book I’d give my young nephews to spark their interest in comics. It’s not groundbreaking, but that’s not always what you’re looking for. It’s enjoyable, accessible, and, most importantly, it truly understands and respects Supergirl. I really hope it finds its audience, we need more comics like this right now. more

I don’t understand the rave reviews. This is a truly mid-level comic, with artwork that doesn’t really do justice to the Silver Surfer, new characters that aren’t very compelling, and a storyline that’s all over the place, lacking any real grounding. Silver Surfer is one of the most interesting but also one of the hardest characters to write. If you’re making a comic called “The Death of Silver Surfer”, you better bring your A-game. This one just doesn’t deliver. more

Just goes to show how comics really are a visual medium. It’s not that this comic is bad, it’s that the tone of the story, a horror atmosphere set in the Green Lantern universe, absolutely does not match Jahnoy Lindsay’s art. The tone and the visuals clash so much it actually pulls me out of the story.
I know Ewing was traumatized by Joe Bennet, but he needs to learn to trust artists again. (And I’m sorry, but if you’re doing an Absolute Green Lantern series, at least use John Stewart or Hal Jordan as the main protagonist.) more

Ah, finally finished. I’m usually a big fan of Joe Kelly, but this arc felt way too long, especially for an opening storyline. It could’ve easily been trimmed down to two or three issues.
It seems like Joe Kelly chose to focus on Spider-Man’s mental wellbeing, which can be interesting, just needs to be careful not to overdo it. There has to be a balance between his internal struggles, the action, and the overall narrative.
It’s not bad, but so far I expected better from Joe Kelly. more

I was a huge fan of Robin & Batman by Jeff Lemire, for me it’s an underrated classic that never got the recognition it deserved. So I’m really glad to see that Lemire hasn’t lost his touch. This new volume focused on Jason Todd starts off just as strong, and it’s especially striking to see how much Batman has grown since his early days with Dick Grayson.
With the constant flood of Batman titles these days, it’s a shame that such gems like this sometimes slip through the cracks. more

Hey, it’s great to finally live in a time where Superman and Batman, the two most important superheroes of all time along with Spider-Man, both have the best comics out right now. Absolute Superman keeps delivering, it’s sharp, thrilling, dynamic, and has a real point of view that resonates with the times.

Marvel wants to destroy itself, they don't want the old fans for these books, they just want the 3%, this is clearly a way for Marvel to try to get at Joe Bennett by showing that they used his concept to make people see that what Phillip Kennedy Johnson is doing is the right way, while for them, Bennett was doing it wrong, because he didn't agree with the entire editorial.

They still recruit TERRIBLE artists, if only the art was bad, but the script is also bad, and here, not even Nic Klein shows up to make up for the atrocity of the guest artists. more

I'm a big fan of Al Ewing, but I still can't stand the artwork, and the story starts way too slowly... There are plenty of intriguing elements, but when you add a protagonist you feel no attachment to, compared to other Absolute titles, Absolute Green Lantern is off to a pretty rough start.

Good event, even though there are a couple of things that don’t seem very credible. Specifically, the heroes’ plan so far seems completely stupid. It falls into the common trap we see in this kind of trope, where heroes face an extremely intelligent villain: instead of making the villain smarter and more capable, the heroes are just made dumber and more emotional, falling into every trap. That said, I see a lot of criticism about Doom’s open-border plan—considering he’s of Romani origin an

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And here it is. The comic I’ve been looking forward to the most since they launched absolute. I like it. Do I like it as much as flash 1 by Mike Baron from 1987? No. Because that book was a 10 and still is one of the greatest comics ever.

This was never going to live up to my expectations.

I will stick with this as I prefer pre dad energy Wally West. Broadly speaking, the main dcu wally west hero’s journey feels like it’s over. So it begins again with a different vision of what that journey looks like without his mentor.

Frankly it may be time for the current DCU to go the way of earth 2 re: Adventure Comics from the late 1970s. And let absolute take over as main continuity. more

As a much older fan off The Flash , I was seriously disappointed in this opening chapter. I understand the need at times to reinvent the wheel all over again but this was painful to read. The script was great but all the back and forward was to me so unnecessary and made the reading experience a whole lot disjointed. Hopefully as the story unfolds it will make it more enjoyable but to me there is only one Flash and that is Barry Allen....damn I must sound prehistoric in today's society......Jonn
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Maybe I’ve been too spoiled by the other comics in the “Absolute” collection, but this one is a bit of a disappointment. The story feels a bit messy and doesn’t take enough time to establish the main character, unlike Absolute Batman, Superman, and Wonder Woman. Strangely, it tries to do too much while at the same time not enough. However, the main character seems likable, the reinvention of Flash’s enemies is interesting, and there is potential. We’ll see how it develops. more

I was a big fan of the Secret Six, but for me, this will be the first and last issue. Extremely mediocre, with uninteresting characters and a team that, unlike the original Secret Six, doesn’t feel like it works. At some point, they need to stop giving comics to mediocre writers who wouldn’t be able to sell a thousand copies even if their life depended on it.

All hope lies in Doom.

This issue highlights something I've been criticizing about the new Ultimate Universe for a while, compared to the original version: the characters are too similar to their 616 counterparts.

There’s no real reinvention or different origin story because the core of the characters remains the same as in the main universe. Here, we’re dealing with a fun “what-if” scenario—“what if Wolverine were the Winter Soldier”—but nothing truly surprising. A brainwashed Wolverine? We've seen that a hundred times already.

Despite all its flaws, the original Ultimate Universe managed to surprise us and offered genuine reinvention. In this regard, DC's Absolute Universe is currently doing a better job of reimagining its characters while staying true to their origins than Marvel's Ultimate Universe.

But hey, it's still a good comic, competently written, but like Ultimate Black Panther, it lacks originality. more