Frequently, these "team-up" books are actually a story featuring one character while the other lends sales support. This is not the case with The Evil That Men Do, as this is truly a story of Spider-Man and Black Cat, as much a story of past romance as it is an action/super-hero story. Smith's story sometimes gets a little too cutesy and some of the pop culture references and innuendo feels forced, but his takes on Spidey and Black Cat are dead on, and the Dodsons are providing terrific, fun and sexy artwork that matches the tone of the story.
OK, confession time: I've always thought that Black Cat was much more interesting than Mary Jane or Gwen Stacy as a girlfriend for Peter Parker. If nothing else, her ability to work with him as well as, er, play with him off-duty was a big boon as far as keeping her involved. I'm not sure, but it wouldn't surprise me if Smith feels the same way, because while Black Cat and Spidey both talk about Mary Jane and being married in this issue, there is fantastic chemistry between the two of them.
Smith's grasp on male and female relationships isn't universal, but it's believable enough to work even when it's applied to two super-heroes. These characters have lives most of us can't easily relate to, but the tension, excitement and nervousness that comes from encounters with someone you used to date and still have feelings for is pretty close to a universal experience. The playful banter between Spider-Man and Black Cat is perfectly in keeping with both of their personalities and with Smith's dialogue strengths.
Mind you, those dialogue strengths are sometimes dialogue weaknesses in this issue. Like Tarantino, Smith loves to use pop culture references, and also like Tarantino, they sometimes come off as forced and out of place. The opening scene seems more like name-checking, attempted hip dialogue than the actual stuff that Smith is perfectly capable of, and while I enjoyed the innuendo, I did think having Black Cat comment on it was a little too "in-your-face" for the readers. I also have to wonder if there wasn't a little bit of censorship behind the scenes, as the phrase "Twenty bucks says he's got a mad-on" didn't make that much sense, but a change of one simple word makes it a joke that keeps right in with the tone of the book.
Terry and Rachel Dodson provide the book with artwork that is as fun and sexually charged as the story that Smith is telling, and I love their take on Spider-Man and Black Cat. Spider-Man in particular looks like the classic John Romita look, and Black Cat has cleavage that fits right into her history of using sex as a weapon. I was also quite pleased to see Lee Loughridge on colors this issue, as it seemed considerably more subtle and effective than the colors in the first issue.
