[Black Cat #1]

Tuesday, Marvel Comics announced that Kevin Smith, the writer of Marvel's upcoming "Spider-Man/Black Cat: The Evil That Men Do" mini-series, will be making an appearance on NBC's "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno" on June 24th. Smith will be on the show not to plug a film or television project, but in fact will be there with the express purpose of promoting this comic book. While this is not the first time a comics professional has appeared on a late night talk show, it is an extremely high profile bit of publicity directly for a comic the likes of which hasn't been seen before. Curmudgeon Harvey Pekar, author of "American Splendor," used to make regular appearances on "Late Night with David Letterman" in the '80s.

"I'm as proud of my work in comics as I am of anything I've done on film, so

I thought 'Why not call up the folks at 'The Tonight Show' and see if I

could talk about SPIDER-MAN/BLACK CAT on the show as a guest?," said Smith in the release. "Thankfully, Jay (Leno) and Co. were really up for it and found me a

slot on the show two days before the book hits the stands. What better way

to call more attention to comics than by waving one around on late night's

most-watched talk show? It's going to be a real kick to run a clip of Terry

and Rachel Dodson's awesome artwork for the approximately six million folks

who watch Leno each night. And the fact that it's a historical first as well

makes it kind of fun."

"This is just one more step in our attempt to take the world of comics to

the masses, and Kevin is the perfect ambassador," said Marvel's Editor In

Chief Joe Quesada. "Kevin has been a regular on 'The Tonight Show' these

last few months, with his 'Roadside Attraction' bits and the 'Clerks' short,

'The Flying Car,' and Jay is a big Spidey fan. So when Kevin called me and

said that he wanted to book himself on the show just to promote 'Spider-Man/Black Cat,' my head nearly exploded! This is a giant step for our

industry and I hope retailers take note and plan accordingly for the traffic

that this event will drive to their stores!"

"Wow... and all I was hoping for was a promo poster," added Spider-Man editor Axel Alonso. "Kevin's done so much to keep comics on the pop culture

radar, and this is just another feather in his cap. I couldn't be happier."

Marvel describes "Spider-Man/Black Cat: The Evil That Men Do" as "a four-issue miniseries that puts the web-slinger on a collision course with his old flame, the red-hot Black Cat! It also serves as the launching pad for the new 'Black Cat' series

that will also be penned by Smith."

"Spider-Man/Black Cat" is illustrated by Terry and Rachel Dodson. The book will ship to stores June 26th and can be ordered from Diamond Comcis Distributors until June 6th.