Then we get "Ultimate X". I read and loved the first issue (reviewed here). Particularly because Art Adams was mind-blowingly good on the artwork. Also, Loeb was, for a long time, not trying to write like Mark Millar. Loeb, to me, has always been a character-driven writer. He's not someone to play with big concepts like Grant Morrrison or wide-screen action like Millar. He should just be himself - mostly to avoid the embarrassment of trying to "kick-it" like teenagers today. Once upon a time, Loeb spoke to the teenage demographics (circa late 1980s) with.. uh... "Teen Wolf" anyone? Today, not so much.
Thankfully, nobody does quite emo moments quite like Jeph Loeb. Time was, Chris Claremont was the best at doing stuff like that. He doesn't just show his characters struggling with pain, estrangement and loneliness. He has to go all out to tell us that his characters are hurting. Today, we say "emo". And Loeb does emo to the Nth level in "Ultimate X". At times he gets melodramatic. At other times he gets cheesy. I was torn by my nostalgia for the good old days of Millar-Kubert "Ultimate X-Men" and still cursing Loeb under my breath for getting rid of so many of my favourite characters (I still miss Ultimate Dazzler). But I'm also thankful that he at least bothers to do something with the post-Ultimatum world of the Ultimate Marvel Universe. Furthermore, this issue stars Jean Grey.
That's at least one of my favourite characters not currently running alive and well in the 616-Marvel Universe. When UXM first started, we got a kick-ass redesign of Jean Grey with really short hair. Now, we get Karen Grant. Jean has moved to Baltimore. The issue opens 2-3 months after the Ultimatum Wave. We get a mallcop in love with Jean/Karen. Mystique and Sabretooth shows up in the mall where Jean works. Sabretooth kills mallcop. Jean drop some Volkswagen vans on Sabretooth's head then goes home and meets Wolverine's son.
That's about it for the story. What makes it extra special (aside from the sweet Art Adams artwork) is the signature Loeb touch in telling the story. Internal monologues and more emo stuff. I admit to choking up on some scenes. One was when Jean/Karen was looking at the old "Timesweek" magazine cover showing the Ultimate X-Men during their "World Tour". The other was when she held unto Cyclops' visor. Another was a two-page spread showing all the dead X-characters.
