Welcome to another edition of
Bin Fodder! This week I spotlight
another Image Comics book,
Ultra:
Seven Days, written and
created by the Luna Brothers. The
Luna Brothers are possibly the best (if only) Asian brother duo in comics. Other books they’ve created are Girls and Sword, which
are both Image books.
The book is probably best
described as a cross between Superman and Sex and the City. You have the hero everybody loves, Ultra, and
her two best friends Aphrodite (the slutty one) and Cowgirl (the innocent girl,
daughter of the mayor). But don’t lose
hope, men, there’s plenty of eye candy to keep you into the story if you
somehow fail to realize that you’re actually reading an excellent piece of
writing. Each issue ends on a
cliffhanger of one kind or another. It
compels you to turn the page or buy the next issue.
Ultra is set in a world where superheroes are commonplace, so much so that they have representation (agents) and do ads for things like “Cool Cola” or “Levy’s Jeans”. The story of Seven Days centers on the main character Ultra. (insert picture of Ultra)
She’s reached a crossroads in
her life as a person and as a superhero.
A random encounter with a fortune teller, forced upon her by best friend
Aphrodite, sets Ultra on reluctant search for true love. Don’t worry though, there’s still plenty of
action and sexy undertones throughout.
Ultra, whose real name is Pearl
Penalosa, has a chance encounter with a guy whom after an awkward,
cut-short-by-superhero-y-things conversation, she agrees on a date with. The situation ends badly for Pearl in a thankfully
unpredictable way. The man, who seems
genuine and even likable in his awkward and self-doubting way, ends up taking
pictures of himself in bed with the sleeping super heroine all covered in
bruises and sells the pictures and his tale to a sleazy tabloid. This ruins Ultra’s previously untainted
persona as the squeaky-clean heroine.
As Pearl tries to recover from
the public outrage against her she turns to friend Cowgirl, Jen, for a relaxing
lunch and talk about life at the top of an under-construction skyscraper (ya
know, a normal place to have a nice quiet lunch). It’s here that Jen decides to express her
concern for Pearl’s well being and express her love for her with a kiss.
The admission that her best
friend is in love with her does nothing to help Pearl’s situation, but as a
super heroine the job never really stops. The next day she is forced to deal
with a new ultra powerful super villain, a pyrokinetic. During this fight Ultra is nearly killed and
when she wakes up the hospital she starts to realize how short and fleeting
life really can be.
In the end Pearl realizes that
being Ultra isn’t the end-all, be-all of her existence and she decides to leave
the business.
I’d definitely consider this a
book for everyone. It’s got pieces for
men and women alike.
Until
next time,
This
is Bin Fodder Guru Tim Blacksmith signing off!
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