BLACK CAT (2010)

"THE TROPHY HUNTERS"
Writer: Jen Van Meter | Artists: Javier Pulido & Javier Rodriguez
Color Art: Matt Hollingsworth w/Javier Rodriguez | Letters: VC's Joe Carmagna
Assistant Editor: Tom Brennan | Editor: Stephen Wacker | Executive Editor: Tom Brevoort
Editor-in-Chief: Joe Quesada | Publisher: Dan Buckley | Executive Producer: Alan Fine
Covers by Amanda Conner & Christina Strain

Also known as AMAZING SPIDER-MAN PRESENTS: BLACK CAT, this limited series was published during the "Brand New Day" era of AMAZING SPIDER-MAN, as a sort of "side story" taking place during the events of the storyline called "The Gauntlet", in which Kraven the Hunter's family banded together to set challenge after challenge against Spider-Man in order to soften him up for their own final attack.

The story follows Felicia Hardy, the Black Cat, as Vasili Sidarov, a servant of the Kravinov family, kidnaps Felicia's mother and uses her to blackmail the Cat into stealing several items for him, which once belonged to the Kravinovs. But the Cat works with her gear suppliers, sisters named Kyoto and Tami, and her tech guru Poet, to turn the tables on Vasili, rescue her mother, and escape from the Kravinovs.

The artwork on this series is a bit of a let-down for me, personally. Don't mistake my opinion, however -- I think Javiers Pulido and Rodriguez are both excellent cartoonists. Their styles would fit an ongoing Spider-Man series wonderfully, especially alongside other similarly styled artists such as Marcos Martin, Paolo Rivera, and Chris Samnee. They draw a terrific web-slinger, and the general action and storytelling in this series are great. I can't state that enough before moving on: I like these artists quite a bit.