Spider-Man: The Black Cat Strikes #4: Naughty Girls Need Love Too

I’m not a game player at all. But, I do know that a lot of video games have storylines, and honestly if they’re anything like this comic, I might start looking at game systems. Author Dennis Hallum has a lot of experience under his belt, and I think that gives him a leg up on writing this book and add to that that it’s set in one of Marvel’s multiverses instead of the main 616 universe. That gives him a lot of leeways when it comes to writing this story. This issue in particular deals with Spider-Man’s romantic relationship with the Black Cat. A small step either way and this could turn into an 80’s power ballad or a romantic comedy, but Hopeless manages to keep things moving forward and not let things go off the rails into too sentimental or too cold. You’ve also got a juiced-up Hammerhead stomping around New York chasing after a version of Silver Sable, and what you have here is a really solid read. I’ve been a fan of this series since the first issue, but I found this one particularly well done. Most importantly, it feels like this story is going somewhere, and that’s a lot more than you can say for some comics.

Artist Luca Maresca is a chameleon this issue!!! He switches her style to fit what she’s drawing, and that’s a really valuable talent to have. When she draws personal moments, things tend to be a bit softer and there are more close-ups and when he draws action scenes, his panels are wider and more cinematic which is great because he’s able to fit more on the page. I’m definitely gonna put Maresca on my “to watch” list, as I predict he’s going onward and upward really fast.