Best Issues Ever: Ultimate Spider-Man #13

Brendan: This was the issue that took me from a kid who loved comics to a person who appreciated comics. This story, that cemented Brian Bendis both as a trustworthy caretaker for Marvel’s most accessible version of Spider-man and as a creator who Marvel was willing to build around, did something I thought no comic, never mind a super-hero comic, could. This comic moved me. I was made to feel more mature having read it. It taught me, as a young and naïve reader, that comics could be moving without being grand or earth-shattering. It made a reader familiar with only the emotional range of standard superhero fare, believe that pictures and words on a page could actually bear reflection on the world around. All it did, all it took, was a boy sharing the biggest secret he had with a girl. Some people would deride this work, or the style it heralded, as slow or inconsequential. To me, it showed that “stuff happening” was something I had slightly overrated. I could connect with characters in a more personal way through a well executed scene between two characters. This book made me want more from my comics than fights and tights, and it whetted my pallet for more sophistication from the funnybooks I read. And just think, it’s just two kids sitting around talking. Comics can be great sometimes.

Adan: This is in fact my favorite single issue of this series. It’s sweet, it’s funny, it’s heartfelt, and it made me believe that Bendis could do anything. For a little while at least, before Bendis stretched himself out too thin. But we’re trying to be positive here, so, yes, this is my favorite issue of Ultimate Spider-Man. You know, before the “Hollywood” arc… or Venom… or Carnage. *shudder*