I really enjoyed writer Jed MacKay‘s previous work on Black Cat. Those volumes have been fun, sexy, with a certain cool factor. And thankfully, none of that is missed here as Black Cat #1 kicks off a whole new adventure. The new series kicks off as a tie-in to the current King in Black storyline presenting a challenge but it pulls off the unenviable task and does so well. New York City is under attack by the symbiote god Knull and the chaos has caused Felicia Hardy’s latest heist to be interrupted. So, Felicia is out for revenge as the greater battle looks to be lost.

MacKay continues to deliver cool when it comes to Hardy and the series. There’s something very “big screen” about all of this work previously and the first issue does the same. The scenes are over the top in their depiction and the dialogue delivers that solid back and forth banter. Black Cat #1 drops Felicia into the action giving her a good part to play in the overall event. But, it also plays to her strengths and hearkens back to earlier heists. The first issue uses the bigger storyline but at its core keeps Black Cat who she is. She’s not out to play superhero and battle her way through things. She steals stuff and the comic keeps it at that.

There’s also a solid mix of what MacKay does best. There’s some solid action and humor mixed together. But, there’s also Felicia dropped into a situation much bigger than she is. She realizes it and we get an honest assessment of what’s going on. Knull and his symbiotes are attacking New York City and there’s a sense of awe to it all. Felicia is our protagonist but also gives us an average person’s view of what’s going on. She’s both a hero here but also caught off guard fighting at the side of Captain America. She gives us an honest assessment of the reality of it all and something we the reader can relate to.

C.F. Villa‘s art is fantastic. Joined by Brian Reber on color and lettering by Ferran Delgado the art delivers eye popping action with a bit of sexy. There’s something that’s been refreshing about the previous volume and this first issue. It teases the sex of it all. It doesn’t go over the top and allows the reader to use their imagination to really titillate. Where others would have put an “ass” shot, Villa puts it just off the panel with just the top showing. There’s something that’s refreshing about that as it recognizes Black Cat being a sex symbol but also not making that front and center and distracting. There’s also an over the top factor of the action scenes which are all worthy of summer popcorn fun. You can tell the art team, along with MacKay, were having fun with the issue.

Black Cat #1 is another solid start for the series. It doesn’t hold back even when dealing with an event. It takes that aspect and uses it as a launching board in some ways keeping the focus on the character and what she does best. Here’s hoping this volume sticks around for a while because this debut is a hell of a lot of fun.

Story: Jed MacKay Art: C.F. Villa
Color: Brian Reber Letterer: Ferran Delgado
Story: 8.25 Art: 8.5 Overall: 8.35 Recommendation: Buy

Marvel provided Graphic Policy with a FREE copy for review

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Purchase: comiXology – Kindle – Zeus Comics