PUNISHER'S COSPLAY and COMICS: ULTIMATE AVENGERS 3 #1-6 review

ULTIMATE AVENGERS 3: BLADE vs THE AVENGERS #1-6

Writer: Mark Miller

Art: Steve Dillon

Published by Marvel Comics

Also available in collected edition paperback from Panini UK LTD

Review by Stewart Loud

All the vampires in the world have decided to get together in one massive bunch along with a few freshly bitten super heroes and go and batter Nick Fury and all of his Avenger and S.H.I.E.L.D. mates at the Triscellion. Looks like Blade's the only guy who can save them all from being eaten or turned into vampires but no bastard will listen to him!

Packed full of violence and action, this mini series is anything but boring. As well as all the nameless S.H.I.E.L.D. goons that get effortlessly murdered by the vampires (I did find myself wondering what exactly they're paying these guys for, they're that useless) there's quite a few super powered characters who get killed off as well.

Unfortunately, despite the promising idea for a good slug fest, this mini series is also anything but good. Not only do all the S.H.I.E.L.D. guys look completely useless in the combat but the story is riddled with bits where various characters suddenly and shockingly appear in the midst of the good guys base. Far from making them look like stealth geniuses, it just made me wonder what kind of security they actually have at the Triscellion if people can just keep walking in and out without being spotted.

Another thing that niggled at me was that all the good guys in the 6 comics barely say anything to each other that isn't a really personal insult or put down. May sound like a weird complaint but that paired with Steve Dillons art making everyone look like they're all in a really bad mood throughout just made them all seem like a bunch of ass holes. Even Captain America comes across as a bit arrogant and unpleasant. Maybe this is what Miller's going for in the Ultimate universe but I never noticed it as much in any of the other Ultimate comics I've read.

There's a lot of people jumping around messing each other up which usually I can enjoy (World War Hulk for instance) but on the whole it just felt rushed and a bit lazy. There's very little dialogue and most of the panels don't have much going on in them so it probably could have been squeezed into 3 or 4 issues without any trouble. I flew through each issue in a few minutes. There are one or two events in it that are important to what takes place in Ultimate Avengers vs New Ultimates, which is a lot better though.

SCORE 5/10