Now we're talkin'! First off, let me just say that Spider-Man should totally be with Mary Jane-- PERIOD. Now that that's outta the way, let me praise the awesomeness that is the team of Spider-Man (in his symbiote black uniform) and Black Cat...

They just look freakin' cool. Black Cat is a hot character, obviously-- but more importantly, Spider-Man had reinvented his look in comics at the time. Fans said boo, it'll never last or be well-received. They were wrong. That outfit is clearly the second greatest in his closet, right behind the classic original (obviously). Marvel had redesigned a lot of the looks of their characters in the 80s-- just check out my Storm pic from a few days ago to see another popular 80s choice.

It was a cool time in comics-- sales were steadily moving up, superheroes were in the mainstream, and things looked pretty bright for comics and the new generation of creators coming in-- Art Adams, Adam Hughes, Byrne at his finest, Perez on Crisis, Mike Zeck... a lot of these guys had been around before, but it wasn't until the 80s that they hit legendary status. It clearly inspired me, and of course the Image boys.

As a team and a couple they were cool, too-- it was the most bizarre of Peter's relationships, what with she not even LIKING Peter but loving the Spider... and seeing them take on foes together was a nice change of pace. I'm really pleased that Black Cat is coming back into the Spider-continuity of late... and that the black costume is back on Spidey. I've MISSED it. It just looks so cool. Movie tie-in or no, it's freakin' awesome.

I really want to draw these two again. Maybe I'll sneak them in as cameos on other "favorites" pieces. All I know is, I don't have it out of my system on these two... not by a long shot.

- jeremy