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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Ultimates-Lite, September 13, 2006
This review is from: Tomorrow Men (The Ultimates) (Mass Market Paperback)
Set between the first two comic books series starring the Ultimates (Captain America, Iron Man, Thor, Wasp, Black Widow, Nick Fury, Hulk, Quicksilver, Hawkeye, Scarlet Witch, and Giant-Man), TOMORROW MEN involves a time traveling group who have journeyed back to present day to stop the rise of a terrorist organization that wreaks havoc in the present-day world.
Michael Jan Friedman is no stranger to tie-in novels or comics. He's contributed to the Star Trek universe in prose as well as scripts. He's written Superman, Fantastic Four, and X-Men novels, and even a cross-over novel starring the crew of STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION and the X-MEN.
Friedman always has clean, easy-to-read prose. He obviously loves playing with the characters, but really comes across more strongly with Tony Stark (Iron Man). The dialogue between Stark and Jarvis is really good, and the mission feel of the book emulates what goes on in the comics side of the franchise.
THE ULTIMATES is an on-going comic book series by Mark Millar and Brian Hitch. It was created to be a reboot on the Avengers under the popular Ultimate comic line. The focus of the series is on the Ultimates, the first-ever government-sponsered superteam. The monthly comics are a huge success, and the books are always gathered into a graphic novel as soon as the story line is wrapped. The line has also spawned two made-for-tv DVDs.
TOMORROW MEN suffers from having too much that has gone on before it and too much that happens after it. As a result, it exists in a weird kind of limbo, especially to comics fans who have read the first graphic novel and are now following the second wave of Ultimates' adventures. Although set at a frantic pace featuring short, choppy scenes, all too often a lot gets said but nothing gets done.
Fans of the series will want to pick the book up to complete their collections of all things Ultimates. People who've seen both DVDs and haven't picked up the comics might want to give the book a look. Friedman firmly establishes the Ultimates world and backstory in the novel.
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Not Millar, but not that bad either..., January 22, 2007
This review is from: Tomorrow Men (The Ultimates) (Mass Market Paperback)
The Ultimates: Tomorrow Men bridges the gap between the first 12 issues of Ultimates and the second 12 issues. It is a fun, energetic story written by Michael Han Friedman. That is the only fault of the story, is it's written by someone other than Mark Millar, and therefore, some of the magic is missing.
The plot, without giving too much away, involves a band of white and green clad figures with shaved heads showing up, claiming they are from the future. Whether they are or aren't is up for debate over the course of the book, while the Ultimates engage a host of menaces and traps from without and within. There are plenty of thrills and chills, though not as epic a scale as is avalible in the Ultimates comics.
The characters are what make me give the book 4, not 5 stars. Friedman does a good job relaying the characters, and even polishes some of the details left fuzzy by the comic books. But unfortunately, some of the twists that took place in the second Ultimates series make moments in this book ring completely false. This is unfortunate and I'm sure not Friedman's fault- I know this novel took a long time to publish and he didn't have all those last moment details. Still, the `pink elephant' of conflicting plot is there, and hard to miss.
If you're like me, an avid reader and rabid Ultimates fan, this book is an amusing way to pass the time until Millar comes out with another Ultimates series (oh, please soooooonnnn) and frankly, I am going to buy the other novel that comes out late 2007. But reading this book is akin to being ravenously hungry and eating popcorn when you want stake. Does this take the edge off your need? Yes. Does it satisfy your craving, not completely.
Buy the book and enjoy it, just don't expect something as good as Millar's Ultimates.
Recommended for comic junkies in need of a fix....
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4.0 out of 5 stars
Not the Ultimate Ultimates, August 28, 2007
This review is from: Tomorrow Men (The Ultimates) (Mass Market Paperback)
The book, as stated by the other reviewers, is a nice little interlude between the two series of comics. The characters were written the way they should have been, and that is the problem. It is obvious, after reading the second series of Ultimates, that there is a huge character problem. I don't think it was the author's faulth though, since he probably didn't get any input from Marvel or Millar on what was coming.
My biggest problem with the book is that the villains are sorely lacking in the "We're going to destroy the Earth!" department. There is no real threat that would make it necessary for the Ultimates to be involved with these guys. Granted, it could be a nice lead in for the Maggia, AIM, Hydra, or some other group, or if you stretched it, Kang. But the villains were just too subdued and not threatening enough. I never felt that the Ultimates were the ones for this job, it was more of a FF book to me.
And for those who haven't read it, stop here, a spoiler follows....
In the future, why wasn't there anything based off of Tony's armor? Why was he the most powerful person, when everyone was from his company? There should have been all kinds of technology that made him obsolete.
Oh well. The author did a good job of using the characters and turning things around on them a bit, and then putting them back none the worse for wear.
All in all, not a bad book. Save the money and go check it out at the library.
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