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Ultimate Comics: Spider-Man #8
Publisher: Marvel
Writer: Brian M. Bendis
Artist: Sara Pichelli
Cover: Kaare Andrews

Miles Morales has had a tough time trying to adjust to his new role as Spider-Man. From discovering his powers to fighting villains to getting accepted at a new school, it’s been one wild ride so far. It also looks as if things aren’t about to get any easier now that Miles’s Uncle Aaron has discovered his secret identity. He also has an agenda and Miles knows it’s not going to be good. On top of this, The Scorpion has showed up looking for Aaron, knowing that he is also the thief known as the Prowler. Things also get really mean and bloody as The Scorpion makes his move for a takeover.

Aside from the quick bursts of action, Bendis is still introducing us to the new Spidey and his supporting cast. Some may see this as a negative in a superhero book, but the drama and build up has been amazing even if it’s only moving the story a little at a time. Bendis also seems to be planting seeds for several future plot threads along the way that keep you guessing what will happen next. The scene in Paris with Aunt May and Gwen is a good example of this, and hopefully leads to a meeting between Miles and Peter’s Aunt in the future. Though the big question on everyone’s mind seems to be when or if Miles will get webs anytime soon.

Pichelli returns to art duties for this issue, and though some parts are not as strong as her opening arc, it was good seeing her work again. As always she nailed the facial expressions, which helped to sell the drama of the book and tension between characters. Scorpion’s intro was brutal, but in that “less is more” kind of way. Sara used shadows, off panel action, and varying angles to pull this off, making it one of the stand out sequences in the book. The ending fight moved very well, but it just didn’t pack the visual punch that we’re used to seeing Sara deliver. It’s going to be interesting to see what Dave Marquez can do to follow up in the next issue.

One thing Bendis does very well is bringing out the humanity in the characters he writes. This is why fans cared so much about his Peter Parker, and he’s on track to do the same thing with Miles Morales. Those who doubted this series need to give it a look and see what all of the praise has been about!

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