A Letter To Team Ultimate

While reading issue ten of Ultimate Spider-Man 2024, I started to notice something that didn't sit well with me. By the end of the book, I came across a blurb that encouraged readers to reach out to the team at ultimateoffice@marvel.com. So, I did, following the directions to add, "Okay to Print" to the subject line.

Hello Team Ultimate,

I stepped out of comics a long time ago, around 1998, and didn't return to the Marvel Universe until the buzz for Ultimate Spider-Man 2024 started to stir up the internet. Overall, I really dig the story, and continue to tune in monthly, sitting on the edge of my seat as things unfold. Something definitely feels like it's building, and I anticipate the slow burn will have a big payoff.

I did notice something with the artwork though, especially in issue ten of Ultimate Spider-Man that makes me have to ask a question. Is the artwork being reused? I'm noticing what seems like the same drawings in multiple panels, but altered ever so slightly, either by zooming in or out, changing angles, adding extra detail sketch or hash marks, changing mouths or the eyes to focus in a different direction, etc.

I hope this isn't the case, and the team behind the series is just that good to provide consistent artwork across every page.

Sincerely,

-Matt

Will they post my letter? I don't know. Will they email a response? Probably not. But, we'll see.

So, what am I talking about exactly? Well, let me show you.

(1) J. Jonah Jameson sitting in a car talking to Ben Parker
(2) J. Jonah Jameson sitting in a car drinking coffee
(3) J. Jonah Jameson continues his conversation with Ben
(4) The conversation continues, but zoomed in

(1) Ben Parker speaks to James Wesley
(skip to 3) Ben Parker's mouth and eyes are slightly altered from 1
(back to 2) We see an unamused James Wesley
(4) Looks like the same image as 2 with the hand removed, and glasses now glinting

(1) Names on a bulletin board
(2) Zoomed out and expanded, meaning that panel 1 is just a zoom in of this one

Too many similarities from panel to panel - eyes and eyebrow are all the exact same
and look at the nose in three of the panels. These even have the same sketch mark.
The hair is also exact in some of the panels, but slightly altered in others.

Mind you, this is just some of the examples I noticed while reading through the current issue. I really hope, as I said in my letter, that the team is just that good to provide this type of consistency from panel to panel because this looks sketchy to me, no pun intended.

As someone who came from an era of comics where the greats seemed to pour their hearts into every panel, it would be a real shame to see that this is where comics have come to (if the case). Especially when artists are paid per page. How could you be paid for a full page when fifty percent of your work is copied and pasted? Again, I hope that's not the case, but honestly, I have doubts. Are they valid?

Click "HERE" to go back to the home page. For more posts related to this one, please click the labels below.