SPIDER-MAN/BLACK CAT: THE EVIL THAT MEN DO #1
"Part One: What's New, Pussycat?"
Recommended (7/10)
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Marvel Comics
Writer: Kevin Smith
Pencils: Terry Dodson
Inks/Colors: Rachel Dodson
Letters: Comicraft
Editor: Axel Alonso
Price: $2.99 US/$4.75 CAN |
Kevin Smith is perhaps the best known comic-book fan out there, and his love for the super-hero genre and what has come before shines through in this latest effort. He instills the characters with a great deal of personality and humor. Wisely -- given Smith's higher-than-usual creator profile and the attention the Spider-Man has generated -- he also provides an accessible gateway into the world of Marvel's resident wall-crawler.
The similar fates of two friends of Spider-Man and the Black Cat has the two costumed figures investigating the same case: one involving a drug ring that's unlike any other. As the Black Cat, AKA Felicia Hardy, returns to New York to follow her leads, her mind drifts to the past... her past as a thief, her past as an adventurer, and her past as a partner and lover to a certain wall-crawler.
Terry and Rachel Dodson have a reputation for cheesecake art, but I've enjoyed their work in the past. However, I found they took the cheesecake quality way too far here. They have her striking unrealistic poses just to give the reader a good look at her ass and breasts. Sure, it's titillating, but it distracts from the story. Mind you, this comic book will have a big spotlight shone on it later this week, and sex sells, be it in movies, TV or comics. It's a shame that some people won't see that the book stands up well on its own based just on Smith's strong script and intriguing plot.
Spidey's funny under Smith's guidance, but what really caught my attention was a risque quality. There's an adult, almost bawdy quality to the script, as well as a subtle intelligent tone. This is a super-hero story for grown-ups, but it manages to do so without the MAX Comics line's less restrictive language guidelines. There's an edgier tone to Spidey here that what we've come to expect from one of his mainstream adventures. He has an offbeat and occasionally raunchy sense of humor, and Felicia... well, she's danger in heels, a real sexual predator and confident woman.
On the other hand, though, Smith might go a bit too far with it, at least at one point. Yes, Felicia is a sexual being, but I really didn't find that her moment of self-indulgence, so to speak, earlier on in the book added anything to the book, save to excite teenage boys who haven't managed to find their fathers' Playboy stashes yet.
Behind the sharp dialogue, sexy tone and the jokes, though, is an interesting plot. This unseen Mr. Brownstone is a chilling figure, and his drug-dealing gimmick strikes me as being particularly clever yet simple. I look forward to where this story is headed.
Note: Some of the comments in this review were reproduced from a previous feature on the website.
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