The Ultimates 2: Gods & Monsters

The beauty of discovering a comic series years after its initial release is not having to wait. 

Comic books are usually released about 20-some pages at a time monthly. Then, a reader has to wait a month to read the next installment, then wait another month again, etc. 

Books collecting these issues allow readers to typically read six months to a year at a time. But even then, a reader must wait months or a year again for the next collection.

But discover or seek out a title years after its release, well, a reader can catch up with years worth of stories in a matter of weeks, days or less. Especially with the ability to order digital books online.

Take “The Ultimates” – Marvel’s alternative universe telling of the Avengers and others characters from its comics.

A few years passed, for example, between the initial “Ultimates 1” story arcs and “Ultimates 2,” but I read “Ultimates 1” a couple weeks ago and jumped into the start of “Ultimates 2” this week.

Here, each Marvel character is similar to the traditional Marvel Universe version but with a twist.

An important twist here is Thor, for example.

With the Ultimates, Thor has strength and remains a thunderer but everyone thinks he’s psychotic believing he’s the Norse thunder god. And his powers may be fueled by technology not by an Asgardian birth.

In “The Ultimates 2: Gods & Monsters,” the Ultimate Avengers must bring Thor to heel.

As with the earlier “Utimates” storylines, “The Ultimates 2” is not for children. The themes are adult; the violence a bit harsher, the storylines a bit more suggestive.

But “The Ultimates” books are available. So take your time. Or read them in a day, no waiting.