Spider-Man Loves Mary Jane

Spider-Man Loves Mary Jane 16-20

The switch from Takeshi Miyazawa to new artist David Hahn is really jarring.  He’s not bad, and while his American manga style makes sense for the title theoretically, it never really clicks for me.  

The story’s fine, introducing Firestar into the Spidey romance mix.  McKeever ends this run the way he did the tenth issue, with MJ on the brink of finally taking her shot with Peter…

Regret buying: No

Would buy again: Yes

Would read again: Yes

Rating: Pretty good 

Spider-Man Loves Mary Jane 1-5

...which she does in my head canon, because the follow up by Terry Moore and Craig Rousseau is surprisingly dreck.  You’d think Moore would excel at this kind of romance/drama, but he really screws it up.  He tries too hard to make these kids sound like teenagers, in stark contrast to Sean McKeever’s effortless dialogue.  Plus, the relationships between these friends now feel stagnant, the perils of an ongoing series where real change is hard to pull off.  McKeever got out at the right time, if he was never going to be allowed to have MJ and Peter get together.

Also, he’s truly a singular artist of the highest caliber, but Moore does not draw a good Mary Jane. She looks different on all of his covers, and in none of them does she have the glamour-while-still-the-girl-next-door look she's known for.

Regret buying: No

Would buy again: No

Would read again: No

Rating: Didn’t suck (Cutting)