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Ultimate Spider-Man Vol. 8: Cats and Kings by Brian Michael Bendis
I've made no secret of my love-hate relationship with this series (see my April 19, 2004 review). Yet once I pick it up, I can't seem to put it down. It happened again with Ultimate Spider-Man Vol. 8: Cats and Kings (2004, Marvel Comics, Amazon listing) which I breezed through while watching a baseball game.

One of my least favorite characters from Spidey's normal continuity, the Black Cat, is introduced Ultimate-style. Like the original character, the Black Cat is a thief with luck-altering powers: bad things happen to those around her allowing her to escape. She is also attracted to Spider-Man and, despite his better judgment, he is intrigued by her. Peter is, once again, having problems with Mary Jane and the Cat is a welcome distraction.

Beyond the lady problems, Spidey is also having problems with the Kingpin who has recently escaped a murder charge, despite being caught on video tape. Kingpin is backing a candidate for district attorney who is running on an anti-Spider-Man platform. Furthermore, Peter's employer, J. Jonah Jameson editor of the Daily Bugle, is endorsing the candidate and fires Peter when he questions his decision.

Brian Michael Bendis has again spun a good story. The addition of Elektra seems unnecessary and as the series moves further along, I'm starting to dislike the direction some of the characters are taking. Peter and MJ are a bit to lovie for my tastes. The Kingpin seemed a joke and not nearly as scary of a character as he should be. However, Bendis did do a good job of showing the contradictions of Jameson and his reasons for hating Spidey.

Mark Bagley's art is at its cartoonyest. All of his characters look a bit young. Elektra should have more of an edge and the staff at the Daily Bugle should be skewed older. But for this glossy book appealing to kids is key and it all seems to work

Ultimate Spider-Man Vol. 8: Cats and Kings 3.5 stars (out of 5)
posted by Sean McGurr at 8:45 AM