Spider-Man The Black Cat Strikes #1: You’re So Together Girl, But Just At A Glance

Um………wow? I can’t believe how much I liked this issue. Not that I was expecting it to be bad, I just wasn’t expecting to enjoy it as much as I did. This book is part of Marvel’s “Gamerverse” which is new to me because I’m not a gamer at all. The last Spider-Man video game I played was on the original Sega Genesis. So yeah, I’m not really current as to what’s going on in Spider-Man video games. But, he is my favorite superhero, so I was curious as to what this book would be like. Author Dennis “Hopeless” Hallum writes a really fun Spider-Man story here that is sort of a back to basics approach, which I SO miss with Spider-Man comics right now. I like the current Amazing Spider-Man book by Nick Spencer, but sometimes it gets too caught up in what’s going on in the Marvel Universe. But back to this book, it’s just a good, solid, Spider-Man story. Thankfully, for a guy like me, that’s new to this universe, you will have NO problem catching up with the status quo of this universe, as Hallum does a superb job of catching you up with a couple of great flashbacks and more importantly, he doesn’t talk down to the audience at all. Chances are, if you pick this up, you have at least a passing knowledge of Spider-Man and that’s good enough, cause he’ll catch you up on the rest, It’s really nice to see Spidey and Black Cat in a “new” romance again. They flirt shamelessly, and it’s really enjoyable. It never goes too far, so I can say honestly that you don’t have to worry about giving this to a younger reader. A great, exciting, entertaining story by Hallum.

Artist Luca Maresca is no slouch either. He’s got a really unique style that’s kind of a combination of Mark Bagley & Mike Weiringo, but it’s a style all his own. He does a fantastic job with making the Kingpin look like a great big guy who’s actually muscular, he’s given the Black Cat a look that’s unique and sexy, and Mary Jane is the adorable girl next door. The only time I had any problem with the art is during some web-swinging scenes. To me, the anatomy was just a little off during those, aside from that, the art was really solid.