Ultimate Spider-Man #53
Originally Presented at Comixtreme.com.
Quick Rating: Very Good
Title: Daughters
Peter seeks the missing Mary Jane, and the mystery of the Black Cat deepens.
Writer: Brian Michael Bendis
Pencils: Mark Bagley
Inker: Art Thibert
Colors: J.D. Smith
Letters: Chris Eliopoulos
Editor: Ralph Macchio
Cover Art: Mark Bagley
Publisher: Marvel Comics
REVIEW: After opening this issue with one of his fabled fake-outs, Brian Michael Bendis sends Peter out into the streets to search for Mary Jane Watson, who went missing at the end of last issue. Later, we get a wrap-up of the Black Cat storyline (at least for now) as we learn who she really is and why she has declared a one-woman war on the Kingpin.
Although Bendis really is a great writer, he does at times have a tendency to stretch action scenes too long or to squeeze character-building scenes across an entire issue. In this issue he’s finally struck a perfect balance between the two, showing the depth of emotion between our two young stars, making us feel for them and making them seem real. He manages to work a little action into the first half of the issue and a little emotion into the second half, and that teeter-totter finally finds its point of equilibrium.
Mark Bagley is - and I’m just going to come out and say it - the most consistent artist in comic books. There may be people with a better style than him, but there is nobody in the business that can deliver the quality of artwork he does in the quantity that he does. In a day when most artists can’t handle one monthly title without taking four months off a year, Bagley can handle a twice-monthly comic book, a story arc for The Pulse and various other covers, pin-ups and fill-ins without ever missing a step. The same can be said for Bendis, writing several high-quality comics at a time, but that trait is much rarer in an artist and I don’t think Bagley gets enough credit.
As this is the last issue of the story arc, it wouldn’t be a good place for a new reader to jump on… but is that really a problem? Judging by the sales figures, everyone in America who reads comic books is already reading this title. A lot of books can coast with poor art or writing just by being part of a popular franchise and still hit the top of the sales chart. This is probably a book that could go that route. Fortunately, as long as Bendis and Bagley are on board, it will almost certainly never have to.
Rating: 4/5