Ultimate Trilogy

1 Nightmare (5-issue mini; w Warren Ellis; a Trevor Hairsine, Steve Epting). [From Marvel Comics: Superstar Warren Ellis teams with hot newcomer Trevor Hairsine (ULTIMATE SIX) to tell a story of international intrigue that shakes every Ultimate book to its core! As world communications systems break down, the source of the anomaly is revealed as Tanguska, Russia. Nick Fury of S.H.I.E.L.D. leads a force comprised of Captain America, Black Widow and Sam Wilson to investigate, while, simultaneously, Charles Xavier of the X-Men dispatches his own team consisting of Jean Grey, Wolverine and Colossus. And what they discover there — and what happens next — defies belief!]

2 Secret (4-issue mini; w Warren Ellis; a Steve McNiven, Tom Raney). [From Marvel Comics: A hidden alien race is trying desperately to keep man from reaching the stars. Cape Canaveral scientist Phillip Lawson, secretly a Kree soldier assigned to a mission on our planet, knows of the hideous plan and will use all his considerable power to stop it...the power of Captain Mahr Vehl! But his sudden betrayal may mean a swift doom for the Earth. Starring the Ultimates and the Ultimate Fantastic Four!] Book of the Week 12/21/05: The Galactus Trilogy has been marred by art delays (in this case by Marvel's reprehensible decision to pull Steve McNiven after only two issues for another project—some people actually plan their schedules ahead), but read all at once, the story works. Where the first volume introduced Galactus (as a concept, anyway) and The Vision to the Ultimate Universe, this one brings us Captain Marvel and Carol Danvers. And science geek Warren Ellis is the perfect writer to reimagine and update the cosmic elements of 616, many of which were originally born in the goofy 60s (see the Old BotW below). And if the pay-off lives up to the set-up, Volume 3 should be a corker.

3 Extinction (5-issue mini; w Warren Ellis; a Brandon Peterson). [From Marvel Comics: It's time for the coming of Gah Lak Tus! And his arrival could mean the end of all life on this planet! Not even the power of S.H.I.E.L.D or the brilliance of Fantastic Four leader Reed Richards seems able to stop its inexorable march to Earth. What role do the Ultimate X-Men have in this drama? And who on Earth is Misty Knight and how does she know the fate of our world may rest with - Ultimate Silver Surfer?]

Ultimate Galactus Trilogy (All of the above). [From Marvel Comics: Super-scribe Warren Ellis chronicles the coming of Gah Lak Tus! This deluxe hardcover collects the entire Ultimate Galactus trilogy – ULTIMATE NIGHTMARE, ULTIMATE SECRET and ULTIMATE EXTINCTION – plus extras. In Ultimate Nightmare, world communications systems break down, and the source of the anomaly is revealed as Tanguska, Russia. Nick Fury of S.H.I.E.L.D. leads a force comprised of Captain America, Black Widow and Sam Wilson to investigate; simultaneously, Charles Xavier of the X-Men dispatches his own team consisting of Jean Grey, Wolverine and Colossus. What they discover there – and what happens next – defies belief! In Ultimate Secret, a hidden alien race is trying desperately to keep man from reaching the stars. Cape Canaveral scientist Phillip Lawson, secretly a Kree soldier assigned to a mission on our planet, knows of the hideous plan and will use all his considerable power to stop it...the power of Captain Mahr Vehl! But his sudden betrayal may mean a swift doom for the Earth. Starring the Ultimates and the Ultimate Fantastic Four! And finally, in Ultimate Extinction, it’s time for the coming of Gah Lak Tus! And his arrival could mean the end of all life on this planet! Not even the power of S.H.I.E.L.D. or the brilliance of Fantastic Four leader Reed Richards seems able to stop its inexorable march to Earth. What role do the Ultimate X-Men have in this drama? And who on Earth is Misty Knight and how does she know the fate of our world may rest with – Ultimate Silver Surfer?]

Ultimate Vision (5-issue mini + 0 issue; w Mike Carey, Mark Millar; a Brandon Peterson, John Romita Jr.). [From Marvel Comics: Picking up directly from the events of ULTIMATE EXTINCTION! The Earth was saved from the Ultimate threat: Gah Lak Tus. But scientist George Tarleton has captured a piece of that awesome entity and plans to reactivate it for his own evil purposes. The only hope for mankind against this mad scheme: the strange alien being called the Vision!] 1/23/08