Ultimate Comics Spider-Man #20
Story by Brian Michael Bendis
Art by Sara Pichelli
Colors by Justin Ponsor
Marvel Comics
Release Date: February 6, 2013
Cover Price: $3.99

Let us not forget who our senior ranking Spider-Man is, folks. It’s not the Superior one, it’s not even Kaine-turned-Scarlet, it’s good old Miles Morales, who has the most issues over the greatest period of time under his belt.

Part of what is making Miles so enjoyable is his individuality as a person and with his family issues colliding head-on with the history of Peter Parker. It’s just as fun to read Miles talk to Aunt May as it is to read Miles talking to Ganke, and that’s the magic touch that makes Ultimate Spider-Man the best Spider-Man running. Don’t get me wrong, the exact same thing is happening in Superior Spider-Man, but the lead character in that book is usurping the Parker Legacy while Miles is honoring it. It makes all the difference in the world.

Part of the fun of the original Ultimate Spider-Man run was to see how the characters would change from their 616-Universe counterparts. This was pre-New 52 and Marvel NOW!, so often the tease that would keep me coming back for those first 100 issues was “What’s Scorpion going to be like in this universe?” I choose Scorpion purposefully because the second volume Ultimate Spider-Man also re-imagined that character once the Volume One, Parker Ultimate years revealed Scorpion to be a Peter clone. Miles had to deal with a Mexican Warlord Scorpion while contemplating his relationship to his uncle. Both re-imaginings worked for their respective Spider-Men, and it’s staggering to see that this slight retconning still draws the audience.

Ashcan All-Stars, an art blog where weekly topics are sent out to a group of professional artists to provide their unique take on characters from pop culture, is celebrating The Hunger Games this week, and it’s already off to an amazing start.

So far, Ashcan All-Stars has two great additions to the collection with even more coming down the pipe. First is an Effie Trinket piece by Ultimate Spider-Man artist Sara Pichelli that’s designed in the style of an Uncle Sam propaganda poster. Next, All-Star Western artist Moritat gives his interpretation of the star of the popular book, and now film, Katniss Everdeen. Moritat’s take is more of a classic action pose of Katniss as she prepares her bow for the hunt. I really love both of these pieces, which are provided here below for your convenience, as I’m a huge fan of both artists and the content, and I’m even more excited to see other artists’ interpretation of The Hunger Games.