Comic Review: The Amazing Mary Jane #1

The Amazing Mary Jane #1

Marvel Comics

Writer: Leah Williams

Artists: Carlos Gomez and Carlos Lopez

I’m not the most difficult person to sell on a book starring Mary Jane. Not a lot of legwork needs to be put into the marketing because I’m going to try it out regardless of the pitch. MJ is one of the best-supporting characters in comics and, frankly, her chance at the spotlight is long overdue. The Amazing Mary Jane #1 not only succeeds at complimenting the main book but also in forging its own distinct identity.

The book seems to hinge almost entirely on the dynamic between MJ and Mysterio. Yeah, the Fishbowl Prince of Crime. As strange a pairing as it is, it totally works. Leah Williams crafts some excellent banter between the two, both selling MJ’s reluctance to help him and making the reader want to believe Beck is on a better path. I don’t really buy Mysterio’s intentions, but what matters is the writing makes me want to hope. I also don’t buy that MJ would work with the guy who’s tried to kill Peter multiple times, but I understand why she needs to for the story to work. Plus, Spider-Man sold their kid to the devil so maybe this is just karma.

On top of the strong character dynamics, the incredibly silly and lighthearted plot absolutely works for me. I don’t want to give too much away, but just know it’s something straight out of Silver Age. It focuses on MJ’s first starring role since returning to acting, and Marvel publishing it at all is commendable. It shows a desire to take risks that’s not always present in superhero comics that I really appreciate.

While the issue had almost no superhero/villain action, the book doesn’t seem as if it will lack it entirely. The cliffhanger sets up a plotline that will likely push us more into traditional superhero territory, but the book is strong enough as is that I’m not positive it even needs to go that direction. The very idea of Mary Jane helping a supervillain fulfill his dream is enough for me; everything else is icing.

Carlos Gomez is on art duties for this issue, and though I’ve never come across his work before, it’s impressive. His style is not so far from Marvel’s mainstream style that it’ll intimidate anyone, but it has a strong foundation that makes it stand out from the crowd. It’s the kind of art that’s more focused on telling the story as effectively and efficiently as possible. The goal is not to make you ooh and ahh at the pretty splash pages, rather, it’s to quietly convey the subtleties of the story. It’s effective, not flashy.

I don’t know what I thought The Amazing Mary Jane #1 would be, but it wasn’t what I got. It’s even better. The characterization of Mary Jane and Mysterio feels effortlessly compelling, and their dynamic is what makes the book work. On top of that, the Carlos Gomez art is entirely effective, though a little on the safe side. This series is, at least so far, not your traditional Marvel superhero fare. It may go that direction in the future, but if it continues to essentially be a weird indie book about an actress and a supervillain then I’ll be perfectly happy.