The second issue of Marvel's new Spider-Man anthology title is much stronger than the first, though there's still a sense of the generic to these short stories. Mind you, one shouldn't expect to find anything more here, as this is far from the place to expect to find change and growth in some of the publisher's best known characters. One of the stories here offers some light fun while spotlighting the title character's new job, and the other offers a thoughtful look at Mary-Jane Watson-Parker and where she fits into Spider-Man's life. Both of the new writers who essentially "try out" for Marvel here fare quite well, and I wouldn't be surprised if we saw more work from them in the near future.
Peter Parker -- in his guise as a certain friendly neighborhood Spider-Man -- decides to pass the time marking his students' tests, and he's encouraged by a number of the results. Of course, Spidey should have known better... loose tests and life-saving heroics do not mix. One of them is going to be sacrificed for the other. Meanwhile, Mary-Jane is on the set of her new movie. She's the focus of an Access Hollywood interview and the adoration of a throng of fans. She can't help but resent the attention, though, because she knows that her husband, who really makes a difference in people's lives, is bafflingly loathed by the masses.
Rick Mays's fluid and exciting style is well suited to the acrobatic and frenzied actions of the title character. He captures the action here quite well. Where his artwork comes up short is in the same respect it always does: his depiction of the characters' ages. He doesn't differentiate between adults and kids all that well. I thought the guy Spidey rescues in the story was a kid, but the script would lead us to believe otherwise. Azaceta's work on the second story reminds me a great deal of Pat (Punisher: The Movie, Spider-Girl) Olliffe's work. It boasts an appropriately reflective tone. As for the cheesecake factor early on in the story, it's actually in context and not as irksome as a result.
Higgs's script is based on a visual -- Spidey's efforts to retrieve falling papers -- as opposed to any real plot or conflict. It makes for a rather inconsequential story, but given the shorter format, it's also a light and satisfying read. The story reads as a setup of sorts to get Peter involved in a student's life; it really felt like there was more Higgs wanted to say here.
Krul's story is definitely the stronger of the two. He really delves into what makes Mary-Jane tick, the pain she endures as a result of her husband's risky but vitally important double life, and how she manages to get through every day despite that pain. The parallels in MJ's interview dialogue represent a nice little bit of writing. My only problem with the story is that it ends the same way just about every Peter/MJ heart-to-heart does: with sex. Don't get me wrong... I have no problem with sex. It's just that we've seen the exact same scene time and time again in the past, playing out exactly the same way.
