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Deniz Camp and Juan Frigeri's alternate take on the Marvel Universe in The Ultimates has been met with critical acclaim, but the writer is still unsure if whether or not his contributions to Marvel's Ultimate line are truly "worthy." For Camp, he admits that it's "hard" to talk about what his role in shaping the Ultimate Universe has amounted to, because he stands on one side of the proverbial line in the sand, while fans, the true guardians of the comic book canon, are on the other side. 

Ahead of the release of Ultimate Endgame #1, I spoke with Camp about the end that's to come for The Ultimates. When I asked him how he feels about his role in the Ultimate line, Camp gave a thoughtful answer. "Yeah, I mean, I feel it's hard, you know, talking about my contributions. I don't really know. It's really more for fans to decide if they're worthy or if they're good. I feel really grateful that we got to do kind of our version of the Marvel Universe. I think that being entrusted with that, and the pitch for this book was kind of that, where it's just, I'm going to recreate the Marvel Universe for modern times, as I see fit, in this dystopian world. I'm really grateful I got to do that, and they entrusted me to do that. I think whether it's good or bad or stands the test of time is, in 10 years' time, fans will know and will decide," Camp said. 

So, in essence, it's difficult for someone in Camp's position as a writer at the center of the Ultimate Universe, to stand back and get a clear view of what the Ultimate Universe ended up being as a piece of media within pop culture. Certainly, as the writer of The Ultimates, there is a lot more about the series and the line in general that Camp knows that we'll simply never know. And what we see on the pages of The Ultimates is the synthesis of cerebral and ambitious ideas that Camp had for a Marvel superhero story. 

What Camp is absolutely sure of is that his experience working on The Ultimates and Ultimate Endgame was "remarkable," and that he remains "grateful for the opportunity." "It's a confidence and trust that not a lot of people get. It's an opportunity that not a lot of people get. So I feel proud of what we did and grateful for the opportunity," Camp concluded. 

I think that when we, as fans, talk about the place that our favorite comics have within larger comic book culture, we can sometimes lose track of the fact that the creators themselves may not see their work the same way that we do. That is, we're the ones going to our local comic shops every Wednesday and having discussions with each other, or we're assembling in lines in artists' alleys across the country and globe, dishing on what our favorite books are. Of course, comic book creators are comic book fans themselves (Okay, maybe not Alan Moore), but I would say that once something leaves your word processor, hits the presses, and is released alongside new books on a given Wednesday, you're put in a liminal space. 

For Camp, he's happy to leave it to us as fans to decide what the final verdict of his and Juan Frigeri's run on The Ultimates is. 

You can read my complete interview with Deniz Camp about The Ultimates and Ultimate Endgame here. 

Get ready for what's next with our guide to upcoming comics, how to buy comics at a comic shop, and our guide to Free Comic Book Day 2025.