Turning Over That New Leaf — Reviewing ‘Black Cat’ #1

They say its bad luck when a black cat crosses your path. Perhaps it might bring some good luck now. Especially since feline costumed super-thief Felicia Hardy has a status quo shifting career change in mind.

It’s a brand-new era as Black Cat #1 launches a bold new ongoing series for the kitty cat from G. Willow Wilson, Gleb Melnikov, Brian Reber, and Joe Caramagna.

Thank goodness we’re getting another Black Cat series. The previous volumes are some of my favorite books that Marvel has put out in the modern era. As soon as I heard about this book and the creative team, I was sold.

Felica is a character who walks between the lines more often than not. A master thief willing to steal everything but often doing the right thing (even if for self-preservation reasons at times). Her connection to Spider-Man rubbing off on her more than she might admit. She’s finding a path between the light and the dark, or the rough and the soft.

Melnikov was a great artist to tap for such a series. There is a texture that lends itself to a rougher side mixed in with wide bold art that feels lighter. It gives off a really fun, almost whimsical, sort of vibe without losing any of that edge. Blending the two vibes goes smoother than one might think possible.

Giving the action sequences really kinetic bouncy stylings, thanks to a lot of great panel choices. One can’t forget the emotional substance on display. Characters’ feelings are etched into their facial and body expressions, telling us everything that the words don’t need to say.

It was good to see a familiar name in the Black Cat space, as Reber returns to doing coloring for this character he worked with the last time around. There is a slickness that was similar to what Reber brought in the prior Black Cat books but it’s different this time, because there is a larger amount of colorful saturation on the page as the brightness pops a bit more. This adds to the whimsical nature of what is on the page. There are plenty of natural backdrops with toned down palettes are used to set the overall mood and familiarity.

Thus, allowing the more outlandish beats to get that extra little push in the popping department.

I’m really glad to see Wilson handling this character and book.

I’ve been reviewing her Poison Ivy book for the distinguished competition for years now. A lot of the same character-building sensibilities are here, but that’s where the similarities end. Rather than a powerful eco horror book, this is a powerful chaotic heist meets let’s be a hero sort of vibes. Spider-Man being a harmful version of himself (see Amazing Spider-Man for why) is putting the villain game out of whack. Felicia seeing an opportunity to play the hero and reset the balance to make things fun again … Yeah, that tracks for her.

Wilson does not miss an opportunity to dabble in the Marvel Universe as a whole with the various characters appearing in smaller and larger roles, nor does she fail to inject plentiful bits of humor along the way that all land perfectly. Like a cat on their feet.

Legend Caramagna keeps doing what he does in these parts, delivering lettering that speaks volumes. Giving the characters their intended voices with all the requisite tones, volumes, and powerful energy they demand. This keeps it smooth in delivery, letting the bubbles and text do their work, including the in-your-face SFX that dot the various pages with their intensity and structure. I’m especially digging the Lizard’s combination of hissing bubbles and green translating caption boxes.

So what if normally the Lizard does speak in an intelligible voice. This is just more fun and I’m down for that.

Black Cat #1 is now available from Marvel Comics.