I have to be honest in saying that I have been a fan of the Ultimates, in all of their incarnations. That being said, this book sucked! The art, the script, the plot, all a giant waste of my time.
It is as though they no longer have any clue what to do with the idea of The Ultimates. Where there are references to past continuity it seems contrived rather than well researched.
The Marvel Execs also need to know, that Loki is getting old, fast, when it comes to possible villains. In all seriousness, it is as though Loki is hiding around every corner just waiting to wreak havoc on the Ultimates.
Loeb's storytelling is slipping, in that he is losing sight of what a reasonable gap in the storytelling looks like. It is one thing to leave holes in which readers can infer deeper. It is a whole other problem however, when the story feels as though you are reading the book while testing out a pogo stick (do they still make pogo sticks?). Loeb's story jumps around so much that I found myself trying to pry apart pages thinking two must be stuck together based on how quickly the story progressed.
Unfortunately, the art wasn't much better. I am not sure if I was merely too poisoned by the script to enjoy the art, or if the colouring merely didn't match Cho's lines. Either way, the end result was a plastic looking issue that fell flat on all levels.
I think it is safe to say that my wallet will not be supporting this series any longer. And that truly is a shame considering how big a fan I am of the Ultimates.