Ultimate Comics Spider-Man, Vol. 3
Not hampered by the status quo, Marvel’s Ultimate line features a well-and-truly deceased Peter Parker, a brand new Spider-Man in the form of 13-year-old Miles Morales, and a fractured America in the throes of war with the terrorist outfit Hydra.  After a setup in which Miles engages in a lethal battle with his supercriminal uncle, he is forced to prove himself to Captain America and then promptly joins the Ultimates (the Ultimate line’s Avengers) and takes it to the front lines for harrowing exposure to a much larger scale of battle.  The story line hits its stride with this oversize volume, and Bendis keeps the spirit of the original Spider-Man intact by offering an array of surprisingly complex emotional dilemmas for his amateur hero, bringing into relief an extremely compelling character.  Marquez visualizes strong human moments and manages to weave them into battles both personal and epic, all with a vibrant contemporary look.  The presence of such high-profile names and the well-crafted drama could well reel in new readers. Grades 7-12. --Jesse Karp