INSTEAD of talking about the latest Spider MCU movie, we are reading ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN, by Brian Michael Bendis' and Mark Bagley Way back when in the year 2000, Marvel Comics decided to ONCE AGAIN reboot all of their comics into a new parallel continuity, where all of their most popular superheroes would have their origins set in the modern world (VS the swinging 60s when they were invented). Much of this would actually set the stage for, inspire and influence the style of the popular Marvel Cinematic Universe a decade later. The FIRST comic to launch in this new line of Marvels was Ultimate Spider-Man, re-imagining Peter Parker a modern day, fifteen year old orphan and prodigy living in Queens. With the bite of a genetically modified spider, Peter's all-to-relatable teen trials and tribulation are dialed up to 11, as he navigates a world far to similar to our own, grappling with the introduction of super-powered beings. Gone are the wheat cakes - as Aunt May is a spry middle-aged soon-to-be-widow, Uncle Ben - Rest in Peace - was a former hippie with a pony tail, and Mary Jane Watson is the nerdy girl-next door. Don't get me started on Gwen Stacy and J. Jonah Jameson. And of course, there is Peter Parker - a modern day, anxiety-ridden, teen prodigy, grappling with the absence of parental figures, and the lunacy of the real world he is thrust upon. What starts off as a very Dawson's Creek / CW style superhero drama quickly breaks out of classic origin territory and becomes an eleven year storyline that many say is among Spider-Man's greatest runs. Beyond some trademark disarmingly fun and quippy dialogue - before it became a trope of the MCU - indie crime comics writer Brian Michael Bendis partnered with already established Spidey artist Mark Bagely for a multi-year run - where the stakes were very real from issue to issue, story arc to story arc, something not seen in superhero comics in decades. Over the course of 160+ issues we see Peter interact with a world of growing crazy - and his anxieties stretched to their limits in his very personal and professional super hero lifestyle. Since Ultimate Spider-Man was an ELEVEN year run, for this episode well only be reading volumes 1-13 which represents the first 78 of 160 issues. Next week we'll get thru the rest, seeing the series thru it's inevitable, ultimate conclusion