It's not difficult to understand why Marvel might want Mary Jane Watson to have her own solo series right about now, especially with the MCU and Insomniac's Spider-Man game both giving us much more assertive takes on Peter Parker's favorite flame. Whether The Amazing Mary Jane will actually appeal to those hungry for more Mary Jane is another matter. The first issue works as a perfectly entertaining spinoff of the ongoing Amazing Spider-Man series, but it doesn't have a huge amount to offer beyond that.

Spider-Man: 10 Essential Mysterio Comics 11 IMAGES

This series builds on recent MJ-related developments in writer Nick Spencer's work. MJ has reluctantly put her relationship with Peter Parker on pause in order to jump-start her Hollywood career. Little does she know the production she's joined is being run by Mysterio.There's really not much to the first issue beyond that basic premise. We see MJ grapple with all the predictable Hollywood woes - a badly underwritten part, incompetent co-stars and absentee writers. Writer Leah Williams take a meta approach by devoting a significant portion of this issue to MJ's rant about how women are mistreated and underutilized. The problem is that she spends so long complaining (however rightfully) about being taken for granted that MJ never actually has time to do much in this issue. This leaves the motivation for some of her decisions in this issue very up in the air. Only in a lone scene near the end of the issue is she given a chance to just be the wholesome, likable protagonist she can be. Williams' dialogue is peppy and fun, but too often the MJ scenes seem to run in circles with nothing much to show for it in the end.For the most part, Mysterio tends to steal the show away from MJ herself. That's a real double-edged sword. On the one hand, it's kind of hard to live up to the book's title when MJ feels like a secondary character. On the other, this series continues the Mysterio-related momentum generated by Amazing Spider-Man. Quentin Beck makes for a compelling foil to MJ. The book is not unlike Spider-Man: Far From Home in that it toys with our inherent suspicions about Beck's motivations and true nature while casting the character in a more sympathetic light. No, we probably shouldn't take Beck at his word as to why he's attempting this epic film production, but this issue gives us motivation to see how it all shakes out. Again, this series feels far more important as an extension of Amazing Spider-Man than it does as a solo platform for MJ.The other big flaw with The Amazing Mary Jane is that the script and art don't gel particularly well. On their own merits, artist Carlos Gomez and colorist Carlos Lopez fit right into the Spider-Man universe. Their work heavily evokes the look and feel of early '00s Spider-Man and artists like Mike Wieringo and Todd Nauck. The problem is that they bring a very traditional superhero quality to a book that is anything but. The tight lines and powerfully rendered figures wind up looking out of place when most of this issue unfolds on a movie set full of barely competent actors trying to approximate actual superheroes. The book's visual style really needed a more organic and down-to-earth approach.