text: This fantastic re-imagining of the Avengers is best consumed in this form. Yes there are too many pop culture references, yes the hulk is a little goofy and the Ultimate Nick Fury has virtually nothing in common with his regular universe counterpart but I think once your done with this gigantic, thirteen issue epic powerhouse you wont have much left to complain about. This story arc takes the Alternate Universe Avengers from their creation to their first major victory, ill let someone else spoil it for you but its good. The second volume is juuuust about complete as of november 2006 and is pretty amazing as well. This is the best that the Ultimate universe has to offer, is one of the few titles exploring fairly original ideas and has not been reworked specifically to appeal to teenagers, no inline skates, teen angst, or first love in this one. 
  
  Millar and Hitch are a great creative team but their ability to make deadlines is positively absurd. These thirteen issues took the better part of three years to be released and I read every one of those issues as it was released on the news stand. My wife got her MSW in the time it took the skrull war to unfold, it sucked and the new series isnt much better. Thankfully it has only one issue to go, hopefully well get it before theres a new president in the whitehouse. Removed from the delays the series is a pretty impressive achievement, the art is top notch and the story is positively crackin! Yes it's "just" a super hero comic but its one of the best, so if you like the medium and are lucky enough not to have read it yet do yourself a favor and check it out, and keep an eye out for the second series hardcover
  