Editor's Note: Ultimate Comics Spider-Man #2 arrives in stores tomorrow, September 2.

Since I know all of you rabidly look up and read my every review, I won't bother repeating here the details of just how big a fan I am of Ultimate Spider-Man. Suffice it to say I've read (and own) every issue, so I know what I'm talking about, and I know pretty quickly whether I think a change that's been made is good or bad. Let's dig in....

I'll start off by pointing out that Bendis has made some excellent choices here plot-wise. For those of you who read issue #1 of this re-launch, you already know that this story takes place months after Ultimatum. This is a smart move because it allows Bendis to bypass having to write issue after issue of just people mourning and being depressed and instead get the story rolling at the fairly upbeat tone that this series does best. This is not to say that he doesn't deal with the resulting damage (physical and psychological) of Ultimatum at all, because he certainly does. But he does so without letting the issue turn become depressing.

Bendis also makes excellent use of a trick he's used a number of times in Ultimate Spider-Man, which is to leave the readers hanging on an unexplained story point. Those who read the last issue will remember the astonishing twist where it's revealed that Peter is now dating Gwen Stacey! We get more of that here, and it certainly has my curiosity piqued. There is even more mystery to keep us eagerly reading as Mysterio, a villain that's already proven himself incredibly dangerous in the Ultimate universe, continues his evil machinations in the background.

All of this is done amidst Bendis' always perfect Ultimate Spidey dialogue. While some comic fans complain about Bendis' dialogue in some series, it'd be pretty near impossible to argue that he's ever mischaracterized anyone in this series. So all of this is to say that every portion of the writing in this issue is pretty much perfect for this series.

Then there's the art. I look at it and can't help but want to strangle somebody out of frustration just a little bit. Not enough to kill them of course, but just give them a little scare. Don't get me wrong the art here is by no means terrible. In fact, there are probably even some anime fans who find it great. The problem is it's a style that simply doesn't appeal to the majority of comic readers (myself included). Lafuente's characters simply look too childish. Mark Bagley's Ultimate Spider-Man art had an anime-ish tinge to it, but you could still tell how old the characters were supposed to be, and there was still a good of amount of visible facial details. Lafuente's Spider-Man looks pre-teen, and the facial detail is greatly diminished. Now, I know what they were probably thinking. They probably thought that the series has always been a little more anime than most Marvel titles, and I think it's great that they aimed to keep consistency in the look. It simply wasn't executed here as well as it could have been.

To be fair, the problem with the art may not be due to any inability or even choice of Lafuente as an artist; it may be that he was encouraged to draw this series in this style for the reasons listed above. Either way though Spider-Man himself, the character that MOST needs to look appealing, instead ends up looking like a 10 or 12 year old in a Spider-Man costume, and that's just not something I want to see issue after issue. I recently had the good fortune of interviewing Joe Quesada briefly who told me that Lafuente is going to be on the title for quite some time. Lafuente does show some great pieces of art in the issue, bringing dynamic action and movement and even making Mysterio look ominous and impressive, so it could be a great thing that he's staying on but hopefully as he goes he'll improve those aspects of his art that need work.

All in all, this is a good story that does a great job of continuing the Ultimate Spider-Man saga. Well, there are parts of the artwork that bother me, but I still quite strongly recommend this issue and this series overall.

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