The Cat, the Devil, and the Spider.
Synopsis: The Man Without Fear joins Spider-Man to clear Black Cat's name.
What's Good?
In my book, it's always great to see Black Cat appear in Spider-Man, and it's the perfect time for her to show up. After all, Peter is single, miserable, and looking for some fun. But along with her mysterious nature (I mean, she's been quiet after Spider-Island), Mark Waid provides a different take on Spider-Man than Dan Slott when it comes to the storytelling. Black Cat is framed for stealing at Peter's job, Horizon Labs, but that can't be true...could it?
What's interesting to me however, is that Daredevil overshadows both Black Cat and Spidey in this issue. Believe or not, both Spider-Man and Daredevil are similar in a lot of ways. The two main similarities are that they all for justice, and they both like devious women. Now, I haven't been keeping up with Daredevil's new ongoing series, but he appears to be at his prime thanks to Mark Waid. His demeanor is incredibly lax compared to Peter, which irritates him to no ends throughout the issue. Peter just can't get a break.
At first, when I saw the cover, I thought Humberto Ramos was providing the artwork, but to my surprise, Emma Rios is the artist. Rios has been on my radar for some time now (Osborn, Cloak And Dagger: Spider-Island) and her work with this issue is fantastic. I'm amazed on how beautiful Black Cat looks under her work, despite her limited appearance. It's mostly due to the way she puts much effort on the bodies and faces of the characters. I also love how she drew the body movements for Spidey and Daredevil. The details in the backgrounds are a treat as well with such detail in the rooftops and the city of New York. And all of this is brought to life by Javier Rodriguez's coloring. Unfortunately, this issue is Rios' only part of the story. I hope in the future she'll have a bigger role.
What's Bad?
It's a crossover story. I don't necessarily hate them, but I'm not reading Daredevil.
Overall:
The first Spider-Man issue of 2012 starts off big. It's a engaging story that makes me want to continue reading the story. I've been hearing great things about the new Daredevil series, so I might spare some money and pick it up.
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