It’s a great time to be a Black Cat fan. Sure, her ongoing series has been cancelled, but it looks like she is becoming a player in. the Amazing Spider-Man book, has a decent little mini series in Iron Cat and an up and coming mini series with Mary Jane Watson, itself spawned from the very fun same named one-shot.
Marvel it seems is aware that certain creators work best with certain characters. Hence, Dan Slot is back on Spider-Man as is Mark Bagley and of course we all know how well Kelly Thompson writes Captain Marvel. Step up. Jed MacKay who has more than legitimised Black Cat as a player in the Marvel Universe. This fifth and final of issue of the Iron Cat run sees Felicia doing what Felicia best; distract, confuse, loves and being a smart ass whilst doing it.
Felicia and Tony Stark have made it to their target site in order to make their final stand against Madame Menace. The cost of this plan has already cost Felicia Tamara Blake; what more could she and Tony lose in this clash between software and hardware?
I have been a fan of Jed MacKay’s since picking up the Black Cat #1 volume one a few years back. Part of it was my curiosity for the cat who would surely jut be. Catwoman clone of sorts. MacKay didn’t disappoint then, as he brought to bear everything that made Black Cat a fun foil to the always serious Spider-Man, in a fun light hearted way. A far cry from DC’s feline fatale. MacKay keeps the pacing moving, perhaps too quickly; I am not sure where the armour came from that Felicia uses. May be its a hang over from last issue? I also understand that there is a need for closure between Tamara and Felicia, but I agree with Tony; is the battle the right time and place? Anyways, the dialogue is snappy and fun, loved the Machine Man shout out, surprised Madame Menace didn’t bring up Jocasta.
Pere Pérez, always a pretty damn good artist on Batgirl, and solid on Spider-Woman has excelled in this mini-series, capturing the sass and attitude of both Felicia and Tamara, the whole love-me, hate-me back and forth running well throughout all five issues. Pérez does well with the pace, dropping some dynamic poses and camera angles that accentuate the action elements of the book well. Further complimenting the action are the facial aspects that show genuine emotion. Frank D’Armata’s colors are perfect, with darker colors contrasting well with the pseudo-tech environments. VC’s Ariana Maher provides the letters, differentiating between the various characters and their perspectives, though apparently not well enough to get cover credit. Yes letterers not getting cover credits is still a bug bear for me.
Never being much of an Iron Man fan, I was unsure how much I would enjoy this book. For me, I would have preferred more Tamara and Felicia; with the inclusion of the Iron Cat armour Tony was bound to be involved. With the main crux of the story being the tension between the ladies, Tony should have been a modus operandi; instead, I sometimes felt that Black Cat was a guest star in her own book. Hopefully this balance will be redressed in the aforementioned Black Cat Mary Jane mini.
Writing – 4.5 Stars
Art – 5 Stars
Colors – 5 Stars
Overall – 4.5 Star
Written by; Jed MacKay
Art by; Pere Pérez
Colors by; Frank D’Armata
Letters by; VC’s Ariana Maher
Published by; Marvel Worldwide Inc.