While it probably doesn’t come as an enormous surprise that today at the San Diego Comicon, Marvel Comics announced writer Kevin Smith would make a return to the publisher to launch a new ongoing series, let’s be honest…how many people thought they were going to announce it would star Felicia Hardy, the Black Cat? Well, they did, and it does.

After earning something of a Midas-reputation for turning two previously floundering properties – Marvel’s Daredevil and DC’s Green Arrow – into sales gold, Smith will get to show if he’s a true alchemist next year when he launches the sometimes-supporting character of the Spider-Man titles into an ongoing series of her very own. Details are still early and sketchy, however. No artist has been assigned yet and the plans are for the series to launch sometime in mid 2002.

The series will be set in current Marvel/Spider-Man continuity and Smith calls the wall-crawler “integral” to the launch of the series. “I think we’re doing a Spidey one-shot that leads into the ongoing Black Cat series,” he said. Though it’s too early to say how closely the new series will tie into the Spidey titles.

Alonso says her adventures will occur in the Spider-Man universe, so he expects that their paths will cross, though asked if she’ll be back in the Mafia-esque New York scene with Silvermane, Cloak & Dagger, and the rest of the Spidey-crew from her heyday, Smith said she’d instead be out and about in new directions.

Alonso said it will be the same character readers have already come to know (”with nuances”), and Smith said he’ll be strictly focusing on the human element of the one-time super-powered character. “But I’ll handle her far grittier than she’s been handled before,” he said. “We’re going to take her in the least likely direction imaginable. Thank God Marveldumped the Code, is all I’m saying.”

The current plan is that like Daredevil and Green Arrow, Smith is committed to the first year of Black Cat, when he’ll then likely move on and let another writer take over the series. But that said he’s winded up staying around Green Arrow longer than first anticipated. His current thinking is he’ll stay on that DC series at least another half year beyond the first, and maybe more.

As to other future Marvel plans, Smith says there may be a Dr. Strange project of some kind in the future, as well as possibly a Daredevil graphic novel illustrated by Quesada.

“But that would be way down the road,” he said.