Broken Frontier

Faster than Quicksilver, Ultimates Annual #1 has sold out at Diamond and critics are loving the return of Annuals to Marvel.

Hilary Goldstein of IGN.com says, “Annuals are finally back and in a big way!  Best comic of the week.”

In a stand-alone story that ties into the monthly title, Ultimates Annual #1 features a story of Nick Fury and his (possible) replacement team of Ultimates.  Written by monthly scribe Mark Millar with pencils by Steve Dillon, this double-sized issue is busting at the seams with Ultimates action.

“It was important that, although these annuals are stand alone stories, they tie into the events in the monthly Ultimate titles,” said Editor Ralph Macchio.  “We wanted our annuals to count. And they do.”

Writer Mark Millar had plenty to say when informed of the book’s sell-out.  “Am I happy about this? Of course, but more relieved than anything else because the orders for this were ridiculously high for a four dollar book and-- I swear to God-- my greatest fear was that retailers had ordered too many and would be feeding these things to pets and children for years to come. But we sold out! And that's great. And what's even weirder is that there's a huge re-order activity going on too which is completely bloody brilliant so cheers for that. I really should relax more, but I'm more surprised than anyone when this stuff happens. It's insane!”

Annuals were once a yearly tradition for all Marvel titles and its successful return with Ultimates Annual #1 has fans clamoring for more.  And they’ll get their wish, too as Ultimate Spider-Man Annual #1 hit stores this week and Ultimate X-Men Annual #1 and Ultimate Fantastic Four Annual #1 are set for release over the next few weeks.  

"This quick sell-out is a strong sign of continuing sales momentum in the Ultimate line," says David Gabriel, Marvel’s Director of Sales. "We urge retailers to increase orders now on the coming annuals to avoid getting caught short. We are contemplating a quick back to press edition right now depending on the volume of backorders."

Be sure to pick up these upcoming Ultimate Annuals:

ULTIMATE X-MEN ANNUAL #1  (JUN051988)
Written by BRIAN K. VAUGHAN
Penciled by TOM RANEY
Cover by STUART IMMONEN
48 PGS./T+ SUGGESTED FOR TEENS AND UP …$3.99
On Sale – 8/24/05

ULTIMATE FANTASTIC FOUR ANNUAL #1  (JUN051987)
Written by MARK MILLAR
Penciled by JAE LEE
Cover by GREG LAND
48 PGS./T+ SUGGESTED FOR TEENS AND UP …$3.99
On Sale – 9/21/05