Black Cat #9 // Review
Felicia’s just sprung a baby supervillain out of stasis. She’s stolen her. That’s what Felicia does. She’s the best thief in the Marvel Universe. That baby supervillain only happens to have the power to manipulate reality, though. Felicia’s got her hands full in Black Cat #9. Writer Jed MacKay manages a surprisingly enjoyable issue that revolves almost entirely around Felicia’s powers...of negotiation. It’s an audacious way to frame an issue that works quite well, thanks to the work of artist C.F. Villa and colorist Brian Reber. MacKay’s gamble works out. Negotiations with a young godling is remarkably appealing.
Ripley Ryan is waking up on a strange couch. She’s waking up in costume as the supervillain Star. She’s a little disoriented. There to greet her with champagne and a roast beef sandwich is Felicia Hardy. She’s got a proposition for Ripley that involves her curing someone’s cancer. (It’s okay. Ripley can manipulate reality, so it shouldn’t be a problem.) Why would someone with that kind of power help out a thief who just happens to be working for the metal-masked emperor of Latveria? Felicia has a few incentives at her disposal that just might turn out to be serious motivating factors.
They’re talking. They’re just talking. Two people talking in a room for like...seven pages. Granted, there IS a sniper’s bullet involved, but that just hits a champagne glass. Typically this sort of conversation would happen largely between the panels, but MacKay makes it really entertaining. It scarcely seems like a waste of the ENTIRE first third of the issue. Stealing a completely different godling with control over time? That ends up being the rest of the installment. MacKay stylishly has a beautifully confident thief exploiting the weakness of great power in a thoughtfully crafted chapter.
A good portion of what makes the first third of the issue work is Villa’s art. Felicia’s stylish confidence looks positively radiant in Villa’s hands. Ripley might not seem nearly as disheveled as it should for someone who just got rudely pulled out of suspended animation. Still, she DOES have the power to manipulate reality, so she can be forgiven for looking glamorous. Reber’s work on this issue is particularly stunning at night when Felicia and her accomplices catch someone with the ability to manipulate time. The hallucinatory vision of an angelic Felicia is positively gorgeous, thanks to Reber’s work.
Two issues in, and the Infinity Score storyline is proving to be a lot of fun. MacKay has had enough time with Black Cat that he’s able to play a little bit with the relationship he’s developed with her. There seems to be an areal connection between artist and writer that allows for some really fun energy. Once again, it is becoming very apparent that Black Cat is one of the most appealing characters in the whole of the Marvel Universe, thanks to MacKay. The Spider-Man’s girlfriend of the past is solidly in the rearview. She’s her own person, and that person is a hell of a lot of fun to hang out with for 20 minutes per month.
