Hey there! Did you know that over the last three months you’ve been living in an age of Ultron?
No, no. Don’t be embarrassed. Not many others really knew either. I mean, no one has even seen the machine-gone-sentient big bad of the Avengers. Nine bi-weekly (or so) issues and not one bolt or transistor of the villainous tin can has been seen. Nope. Not one gear or hinge or electrical wire. Just a bunch of avatar sentries floating around in some crazy parallel future, indiscriminately killing earth’s greatest heroes.
Oh, I know. You feel bad that you haven’t noticed. Well, no worries. We’ve got you covered, here at Biff Bam Pop!
After all, the last issue of the series is out today…and boy, are we in for a surprise! No, really!
Age of Ultron #10
Written by: Brian Michael Bendis
Illustrated by: Bryan Hitch, Carlos Pacheco, Brandon Peterson, Alex Maleev, Butch Guice, David Marquez, Joe Quesada
Published by: Marvel Comics
Back on March 6, this very column harkened the first issue of Age of Ultron as a title to pick up. You can read that particular column here. Hopes were high for the series. Let me apologize now if you feel your hopes haven’t been lived up to. Many-a-writer on this site have opined via Popcast!, column, post and tweet, that they’re not really sure what the reason for this particular series is. That proper characterization of some of the world’s most beloved heroes has been…well, misappropriated. That there will be, after the tenth issue, no lasting legacy for the story.
We’ve had resident Avenger enthusiast, Glenn Walker, regular piece together the plot points of each issue and demonstrate to you, the reader why they may not actually make much sense. He’ll be writing his final column on the matter shortly. Stay tuned to this site for that piece. In the meantime, you can read his most recent, well, “editorial” might be the best, politically correct terminology, here. I’d consider his thoughts on the matter, required reading. Prepare yourselves.
In the meantime, Age of Ultron #10 is released today. So, why recommend a comic book that I’m not that high on?
Well, the art team is pretty top notch. Huge names show up here in addition to the series regulars. That includes Marvel’s Chief Creative Officer, Joe Quesada! We already know that the character called Angela will finally appear in the Marvel Universe in this issue. She’s a character who has been in legal limbo for a number of years as both Todd McFarlane and Neil Gaiman have been going head-to-head in the courts over her ownership rights. Recently, Gaiman won that legal battle and is now, I don’t know, leasing her to Marvel? Something like that. The development has got some fans quite excited.
Me? I’m excited over the fact that Marvel has promised that this series has an ending nobody has seen coming. Is it the end of the Ultimates line of characters as some have speculated? How seamlessly might it flow into the upcoming monthly Avengers AI comic book (a series containing artificial intelligence heroes like the Vision and Ultron’s son)? Will fan-favourite character, Hank Pym, creator of the Ultron entity, finally get his payoff?
The draw here had got to be the latter. I’m all about a story’s payoff. And my hopes are still high that Pym, good or bad, gets his in this series.
So make the run to your local comic book shop today and pick up Age of Ultron #10. You don’t need an artificial intelligence to tell you that you need to finish living out the age of Ultron.
Do you?
Every Wednesday, JP makes the after-work run to his local downtown comic book shop. Comics arrive on Wednesdays you see and JP, fearful that the latest issue will sell out, rushes out to purchase his copy. This regular, weekly column will highlight a particularly interesting release, written in short order, of course, because JP has to get his – before someone else does!
