The Marvel Rundown: BLACK CAT #1 is a stylish debut

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It’s a hard life as a hero, but it’s an even harder life for a thief who wants to be left alone to live her life. At least, it is if you ask Felicia Hardy, the Black Cat! This week, the Marvel Rundown shines a spotlight on Marvel’s finest not-quite-hero with the debut issue of her new series by G. Willow Wilson and Gleb Melnikov. But that’s not all! We’ve got our usual lightning round of reviews including All New Spider-Gwen: Ghost Spider, Exceptional X-Men, Godzilla Destroys the Marvel Universe, and Marvel All In One!

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BLACK CAT #1

Writer: G. Willow Wilson
Artist: Gleb Melnikov
Color Artist: Brian Reber
Letterer: VC’s Joe Caramagna
Cover Artist: Adam Hughes

Hopes were high for this series on the strength of its creative team. G Willow Wilson, Kamala Kahn cocreator and architect of the critically acclaimed reinvention of Poison Ivy over at DC alongside a personal favorite, “Big Gleb” Gleb Melnikov on art duties was tantalizing. Felicia Hardy is the kind of unpredictable character who can be put just about anywhere and add a dash of fun and spice. Is she good? Is she bad? Or a secret third thing? She lives by her own rules and it makes her one of the few Spider-Man supporting characters that can actually anchor their own spinoff books.

This first issue lives up to my high expectations. This book has all the fun, action, humor, and glam that Black Cat should have. Willow’s script includes all kinds of smart moments that flesh out Felicia Hardy beyond her looks and theft. This is a character who is as obsessed with the artifice and projection of wealth and taste as anything else. How the Black Cat projects herself to the world is part and parcel with the thieving. The compulsive need to steal, to put herself at risk and play flashy games is just another way, along with expensive hair appointments and intensive workouts, that she pushes the world a safe distance away. There is nothing authentic about Black Cat except that she desperately wants to be seen as glamorous and effortlessly charming. Though she’s had dalliances with heroism, Felicia is more concerned with her own comfort and the comfort of those close to her than any larger altruism. To be a black cat means to be aloof, after all. But when her glam life of leisurely crime become too complicated thanks to neighborhood criminals going unchecked due to Spider-Man’s preoccupation with Hellgate and other existential threats in the Amazing Spider-Man, Felicia finds she has no choice but to do the right thing, image be damned. Wilson’s Felicia is well defined out of the gate. I could’ve done without the framing device of Felicia narrating directly to the audience but there is a certain 80s movie charm to it.

Gleb Melnikov’s linework is expressive and dynamic. The range of facial expressions Black Cat displays throughout this issue are delightful. The tone of Wilson’s script is light and breezy, and the art is a perfect match. With his big expressive eyes, the characters have a vulnerability that invites readers into their minds. The fluidity of the brush strokes gives motion and life to the figures while the panel layouts are as good at pacing action as selling a gag. And thought there is some cheesecake here and there it never comes off as gratuitous or exploitative. Combined with Wilson’s script this feels like a fully empowered woman who despite her hang ups and need to project a certain lifestyle, knows who she is and what she is capable of. It’s hard to balance action and humor in a comic book without undermining the latter but Melnikov’s use of panel and page transition has the same sensibility for a punch line and a punch which keeps the book feeling consistent. It helps that the characters feel so alive and distinct in their design and in the way they move and emote and how they are presented on the page. The Lizard is big and monstrous here and totally overwhelms every panel and page, emphasizing how physically outclassed Felicia is. But then, Melnikov flashes a close up of Felicia’s determined or sarcastic face and you believe she can handle anything with her wits and charm.

Brian Reber’s colors are a bit too muted and murky for the tone of the book. The depth of shading and desaturated palette would be more at home in Batman or Punisher. It gets the job done but is a bit at odds with the lighthearted caper tone and Melnikov’s cartooning. As always, VC’s Joe Caramagna is a solidly reliable letterer who is capable of subtle enhancements to the words and balloons that breathe life into the dialogue. Marvel is fortunate to have him.

VERDICT: A fun crime caper romp with a likable character and solid art. BUY.

THE RAPID RUNDOWN

All New Spider-Gwen Ghost Spider #1
- Despite what must be the one of the longest titles for an ongoing Marvel book, All New Spider-Gwen Ghost Spider #1 does what any proper first issue should do. Writer Stephanie Phillips sets everything up so that any new reader can. So if you had no idea how convoluted things were for Earth-65’s Gwen Stacy since her debut, this issue helpfully explains all of that and then gets into her new status quo on Earth 616. Phillips script gets into the issues that come with setting down roots in a new home with Gwen trying to start a new band and figuring out her relationship with the current Black Tarantula. This makes for fun character moments (Cindy Moon on bass!) with a mystery set up by the end that certainly creates compelling drama. What’s frustrating is what a poor match artist Paolo Villanelli and colorist Matt Milla seems for this character. For a character whose costume is one of the more colorful Spider-Folks, the heavy use of negative spaces in Villanelli’s style and Milla’s murky color palette seems more in line with horror comics. This works in the sequences that involve murder and monsters. Again though we’re talking about an ongoing book with a lead whose costumes famously employ bright pinks and aqua blue. Seeing her throughout in a costume made of a duller magentas and light blues feels disappointing. At least Milla uses kaleidoscopic colors in the band gives that page life. But really a lot of the frustration in this issue lies with Villanelli’s poor storytelling and character acting. His figures frequently pose too stiffly with expressions that seems to only express shock at everything going on. Key storytelling moments confuse more than they should. Take the opening scenes which is a training fight between Gwen and Black Tarantula. The splash which introduces Gwen has her swing into… a space before getting attacked. Sure it’s a surprise attack but there isn’t a real establishing shot. A reader isn’t given a sense of geography or a clear idea of fight choreography between the two figures. Similarly when a blonde stranger gets absorbed, the scene is meant to hint at a potential threat. Instead Villanelli makes it look like an ocean came out of nowhere to attack this guy. These artistic choices only overcomplicate a story that clearly is meant to draw new audiences for such an iconic character.- DM
Exceptional X-Men #12
- After 12 issues, Kitty and Emma’s team of young mutants have received their first solo mission as they are tasked to go back in time to rescue Kitty, after she had fallen into a time warp in the previous issue. Exceptional X-Men #12 begins to pay off on some of the longer running threads with Bronze’s crush Reggie revealing himself to being a mutant. This allows for not only some fun interaction between the teens and Reggie but also gives us a fun albeit brief look at Emma’s teaching style. I will admit that after reading the Giant-Size and Marvel adventure these last couple months, I am a bit weary at time travel to the X-Men’s past. I do think pre-Dark Phoenix Saga Kitty Pryde could be interesting and Kitty is a natural fit for a time travel story, but I am just expressing time travel fatigue at this point. No knock on Eve Ewing as her writing continues to be some of the strongest character driven work in the X-Line as each member of the cast gets moments to shine all while keeping the plot moving at a brisk pace. Artist Fedrica Mancin’s stint on art duties continues this issue and does a solid job with the issue overall. The two page “danger room” style spread is a bit wonky to follow but otherwise the layouts are tight and well constructed. The body language is well done overall. Their rendition of young 13 ½ years old Kitty Pryde is spot on to John Byrne’s model and quite distinct from her adult design. This is going to be helpful if future solicits are anything to go by. Overall this is shaping up to be a fun arc of my favorite team book and I hope this series will continue post “Age of Revelation.” -JJ
Godzilla Destroys the Marvel Universe #2
- Godzilla Destroys the Marvel Universe #2 gives the King of Monsters more time to shine against Marvel’s greatest and Marvel’s worst. Written by Gerry Duggan and with art by Javier Garron, Paco Medina, & Juann Cabal. Starting with a tragic flash forward into the year 2099, where Godzilla’s rage is still running rampant and teasing readers into what kind of horrors it’ll inflict on the Marvel Universe. The rest of the issue doesn’t match the tone of this opening. However, it still instills a sense of hopelessness as Godzilla rampages through New York and makes a mockery of the street-level heroes like Spider-Man and Daredevil, though how Daredevil didn’t immediately die is shocking, and that might be the issue with this issue. Characters bounce back from attacks, stompings, and bashings from Godzilla in a way that reads more comedic than serious. Take, for example, when the “Bar with No Name” is destroyed by Godzilla’s foot. Instead of crushing characters like the Vulture, Shocker, and more under his extreme weight, most, if not all, the villains get back up for a swing at Godzilla. Even something as horrific as the idea of Godzilla being venomized is played for laughs. In some instances, it works, but at one point, there’s such a vast amount of Marvel Characters fighting Godzilla that it leaves you thinking, “Okay, but one of them SHOULD die, right?” But the issue ends before any of the real drama can happen, and makes me wonder if Godzilla is going to destroy the Marvel Universe at one point or inconvenience it. While I’m not rushing to see Spider-Man get killed, it does pull me away from the story when I see characters surviving incidents they should have died in, especially in a book like this. – LM
Marvel All in One #1
- The one shot Marvel All in One: Thing Versus The Marvel Universe follows in the tradition of Thor #380 and Superman #75. This issue is told entirely in splash pages! Full page illustrations depict Ben Grimm fighting his way through evil robots replacing every Marvel hero and villain. The first volume of the Ryan North Fantastic Four run became known for its single issue stories that often featured a unique storytelling devices. This story seems like an idea that never found its way into that volume but honestly, having it as a one shot works better. This kind of story is an artist showcase in a way that Marvel doesn’t make room for anymore. Something that might have been in an annual or an issue of Marvel Fanfare. So if you want to show off an artist, you can’t do much better than Ed McGuinness (with inks by Mark Farmer), one of the most dynamic superhero artists of the 21st century, draws this unique story. No offense to North’s other artistic collaborators on that first volume but none of them were quite on McGuinness’s level. Honestly that he hasn’t already drawn a story that is all splash pages seems surprising. The way he draws characters with thick lines and massively built figures lend themselves well to extended fisticuffs. Ditto to his dynamic panel compositions. He’s an artist that knows how to depict a ridiculously overpowered punch. So seeing Ben Grim punch, smash, and destroy his way through the Marvel Universe becomes an absolute joy. If McGuinness needed a showcase on why he’s one of the best to ever do it, these 22 pages are certainly one. – DM