Sometimes even the glamorous life of Marvel’s foremost thief can be a bit tedious in places. She has to spend time with her mother, which is stressful enough without having to go into an operation with a colleague who keeps trying to get her to join up with a villains syndicate that she’d rather not be a part of. Things get weird from there in the latest issue of Black Cat. Writer Jed MacKay is joined by artists Dike Ruan and Annie Wu in another witty and entertaining chapter in the ice of Felicia Hardy. MacKay’s fusion between humor and action continues to make this series one of Marvel’s most satisfying. 

Black Cat and the Beetle are breaking into the offices of the Rand Corporation. It’s an intimate, informal, little operation. (Black Cat keeps referring to Beetle by her real name: Janice. It hasn’t been a great day for Felicia. She’s had to convince her mom to get out of town and go on a cruise. Her mom knows her all too well: asked her what the deal was. The usual sort of mother/daughter drama complicated by the fact the daughter in question is about to do something very, very dangerous, and illegal.

The script is a mixture of casual personal interaction between two characters cast against a larger tapestry of larger-than-life Marvel Universe adventure. It’s a contrast that has been done well by other writers. MacKay has his own style about it that has a clever rhythm to it. Like any good thief, MacKay does a brilliant job of distracting attention from the main action of the presentation for just long enough to lower the trap and reveal the bigger, more explosive things going on in the center of the story. MacKay takes the story of the Rand Corporation break-in as a cunning opportunity to give this trick another successful trip between the covers. 

Ruan and Yu take over the art this issue with a reasonably deft poise. The conversation between Black Cat and the Beetle has a great deal of personality in dialogue alone. Rather than attempt to amplify this personality, Ruan and Yu find a way to deliver it visually in a subtlety that feels nuanced. Try too much with the visual execution of a simple conversation during a break-in, and the artist runs the risk of overpowering the central conflict. Ryan and Yu do a very sharp job with the rest of the issue as well.

MacKay’s time with Felicia reaches a bit of a crescendo here that feels like it might be heading somewhere. The little side elements of Felicia’s personal and professional life provide opportunities to take her life in various different directions once this central arc finally plays its way through throughout the next several issues. The culture of low-level criminality in Marvel Manhattan continues to be a fun setting for a truly novel new Marvel title. MacKay has a lot to play with her, and he’s not trying to cram too much into any one issue, so he clearly knows the importance of taking his time with the thief.

Grade: A