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.

WOLVERINE & THE BLACK CAT: CLAWS II

"CLAWS II: BACK AND FORTH"
Writers: Jimmy Palmiotti & Justin Gray | Artist: Joseph Michael Linsner
Colorists: Dan Brown & Nick Filardi with Ian Hannin | Letterer: Jeff Eckleberry
Production: Maya Gutierrez | Assistant Editor: Jake Thomas | Editor: Mark Paniccia
Editor-in-Chief: Axel Alonso | Chief Creative Officer: Joe Quesada
Publisher: Dan Buckley | Executive Producer: Alan Fine

The first issue of CLAWS was marked "1 of 6". But inexplicably, the following two issues were labeled "of 3". Then, four years later, CLAWS 2 came about -- a second three issue series, picking up exactly where the first left off. Was this originally intended as a six-issue series that got split into two three-parters? I don't know. But at any rate, I decided that even though I had barely tolerated the first CLAWS, I might as well check out its sequel.

As noted above, this story begins precisely where the last concluded. Wolverine and the Black Cat are celebrating their victory over Arcade and the White Rabbit, but the villains are not idle in the Savage Land, where our heroes had dumped them as punishment after their first adventure. Arcade and his hare-brained paramour encounter an alien with time travel technology, knock her out, steal her gizmos, and teleport Wolverine and Black Cat to the far-flung future.

WOLVERINE & THE BLACK CAT: CLAWS

I really hadn't intended on going through the entire Palmiotti/Gray back catalog, but I keep finding random one-shots and mini-series by them, and I mostly like their stuff -- so here's another one from their vault:

"CLAWS"
Written by Jimmy Palmiotti & Justin Gray | Illustrated by Joe Linsner
Colorist: Jason Keith | Letterer: Jeff Eckleberry
Assistant Editor: Daniel Ketchum | Associate Editor: Warren Simons
Editor: Axel Alonso | Editor-in-Chief: Joe Quesada | Publisher: Dan Buckley

I like a story that doesn't take itself seriously once in a while. But I don't like a story that doesn't take its characters seriously, and unfortunately, that's exactly what CLAWS is.

I was still reading new Marvels when CLAWS was published in 2006, and I even considered picking it up. At the time I had read very little, if anything, by Jimmy Palmiotti and Justin Gray, and I had never even heard of Joe Linsner -- but the idea of Wolverine and the Black Cat teaming up seemed to have some "odd couple" type potential. The only thing that kept me from giving the series a try was the hideous costume Linsner had put the Black Cat in. That ugly mask, those stupid ears -- what an awful design!