I don't make much time in my collection for the Ultimate line of books. I have the Ultimates 1 & 2 series, the odd Ultimate X-Men and Spider-man, but other than that I haven't bought into the Ultimate Universe. The Ultimatum books (2 so far) might change all that.
So far the series has been very good. Jeph Loeb is not everybody’s style, but he is a good fit for this "extreme" title. And David Finch is always pleasing to the eye!
Issue 2 deals with the aftermath of Magneto altering the Earth's polarity. In one fell swoop the Master of Magnetism plummets the Earth into chaos. The death toll in Manhattan alone at the hands of a giant tidal wave is epic. The superheroes that survived the attack pull together to begin the clean up. But each hero is faced with his or her own personal challenge. The most graphic of these might be Hawkeye having to watch the Blob eat the Wasp! This was truly a comic moment that will stick with me for a long time. Poor Janet is getting any love in either Marvel Universe!
Loeb is skilled at what he does, which is craft an action packed, good old fashioned superhero book with lots of shock value. I for one am thoroughly enjoying this series and wish more comics took this approach.