Ultimate Spider-Man #93, pg. 18-19

My second grail!

In my eyes, Mark Bagley is *the* definitive Spider-Man artist.

He drew the issue of Spider-Man where I begun collecting every single month, after having only bought the occasional new issue when the opportunity struck and plenty of back issues.
And his run with Brian Michael Bendis on Ultimate Spider-Man is an impressive feat, doubtful to ever be topped, if only for the sheer number of issues they did together. That these issues also happened to be extremely well told Spidey stories is even more impressive.

So I've been in the market for a Spidey page by Bagley (preferably from that series) for a looong time.

But they've always been out of my price range, as I wanted a page that properly featured Spidey. And those don't come cheap.

I had some extra money, because I'd sold a book ("Style and Substance", published by PanelxPanel. Find it on Kickstater!). I quickly decided that some of that money should go to original art, to celebrate the sale of my first book.
I looked at every art dealer's site I could find, trying to figure out exactly what piece of art I should get, when I found this. On a Danish art dealer's site, no less! This meant I wouldn't have to worry about insane shipping prices or taxes or any of that stuff that usually makes being a collector in Europe such a hassle.

As soon as I saw this double page spread, I knew this was the one. It had everything I was looking for.

Not counting the black panels (used for text in the printed version, see additional image), there are 24 panels on this DPS. Spidey is in 18 of those, so there's plenty of Spidey. There's some great actions shots in panel 5 and 6, showing a fight with Doctor Octopus. This also means there's some classic Spidey foes action.
There's plenty of Kitty Pryde, a character that featured prominently in Bendis' Ult. Spidey run, and someone who Bagley draws very well. This even includes a flashback panel of their first date, where they catch the Shocker (who was the villain in the first Spider-Man comic I ever read!). That date was originally drawn by Mark Brooks, so I think this might be the only time Bagley has drawn it.
There's several shots of Ultimate Deadpool and his band of cyborg mercenaries, which makes for some very cool visuals.
It's a double page spread, a classic visual that Bendis and Bagley used as a core tool for their Ultimate Spider-Man run.
There are the amazing inks from one of the best inkers ever, Danny Miki (look at the great hair! Look at the awesome texture work on the metal! Marvel at the foliage! And so much more!)
And most importantly of all, the storytelling by Bagley is just perfect. Every beat is handled expertly, every angle chosen just right, every character acting so well. The story is just told perfectly, something that Mark Bagley does better than almost anyone else in the business. He's just an amazing storyteller and it's on full display on this DPS.

I am so thrilled that I own this amazing DPS.