
“That’s for giving the spider background to those Robotec people yesterday. You know clones and ‘Spider-Man’ rarely go well together.”
Spider-Man: The Manga #26
Marvel Comics (February, 1999)
WRITER/ARTIST: Ryoichi Ikegami
TRANSLATION: Mutsumi Masuda
RETOUCH/PRODUCTION: Dano Ink Studios
COVER COLORS/SEPARATION: Frank J. Virurello
no listing for letterer this issue
EDITOR: Dan Nakrosis
Yu and Mitsuo take down the thugs but Yu has to stop Mitsuo from beating the woman. While Yu gets him to admit what he’s doing isn’t right, Mitsuo explains why he takes advantage of rich women being attracted to him and lets slip that Yukiko works at a bar and slept with customers for money to pay for Mituso’s college education. After Yu brings him to the hospital and then home, Mitsuo is suddenly infused with great strength and as Yu eventually finds out even spider-climbing powers.
What they got right: This issue in particular showcases some of the best art the comic’s had thus far. The characters look good, he may be cheating with the background but you can’t argue with the results, and there are some good moments framing that the book isn’t celebrating Yukiko’s prostituting herself as a positive thing as well as the visual representations of the attraction between Yu and Yukiko (though he may not have moved past Rumi).
What they got wrong: I actually can’t think of anything to complain about, not even something minor just to fill the category.
What I think overall: The plot where Yu inadvertently creates the thing he’s been trying not to turn into is interesting and hopefully leads to him finally doing the superhero thing like a proper Spider-Man (I kind of doubt it). This is easily one of the better issues.