Black Cat #11 – Back to Old Tricks

Felicia Hardy took a run at being a hero. For Black Cat, it backfired spectacularly. After an encounter turned her into a brief hero, a court case involving vampires, and being hated by basically everyone in New York’s underworld, she found a chance to truly help. Her friend Mary Jane Watson, now Venom, needed her help. After a quest to the Negative Zone to recover an audition tape, Felicia is back and wondering if returning to her old ways might be the best option for Black Cat.

This review is brought to you by Nerd Initiative’s Shawn!

Check out my review for Issue 10!

Creative Team

Writer: G. Willow Wilson
Artist: Andrés Genolet
Color Artist: Brian Reber
Letterer: Joe Caramagna
Cover Artist: Adam Hughes

Writing

I love the idea of pairing up Felicia and the Punisher, but I didn’t know how much I would like it after the MJ and Felicia arc. I should have known better than to have any questions. G. Willow Wilson absolutely crushes it. The Punisher is on the hunt, and more than once, Felicia never saw it coming. I really loved that Wilson captured Frank’s this is personal attitude. It’s a unique take on a character that, for most of his history, is strictly all business.

Speaking of business, Marvel needs to sit down and sift through the art and writing on Black Cat and start cranking out posters. It seems like every single issue of this series, Wilson has given readers a poster-worthy quote to hang on the wall. Pair that with at least two or three amazing poster-worthy panels per issue, and Marvel may be sitting on a gold mine. “It’s because of the consequences I’ve faced that I live the way I do” is the quote for this issue. This was simply a fun and, at times, silly issue that leaves me wanting more.

Art

Andrés Genolet, Brian Reber, and Joe Caramagna did an amazing job on this issue. I once read where G. Willow Wilson said she always tries to write so there’s one panel that the artist could turn into something to sell, and there are quite a few of them in this issue from this creative team. Genolet takes over as artist for this issue and jumps right in. He perfectly captures the playfulness and attitude of Felicia. Heck, Genolet even managed to craft a face that even Castle couldn’t say no to.

Brian Reber continues to do an amazing job with colors in this issue. Black Cat #11 features a scene in which Felicia is in a room with little light, and the colors perfectly capture the warmth leaking into the room from the little light present. Reber also did a really great job with the colors in making sure that while there are silly moments, you realize this is a serious issue with serious implications for Felicia. Joe Caramagna shifts emphasis in the fonts just enough to make sure you know exactly how the characters are feeling and what’s coming next. The panels are easy to follow and flow smoothly thanks to Caramagna’s work.

Final Thoughts

This is a great start to a new arc. As I said earlier, I’m intrigued by the Punisher and Felicia together because, at the end of the day, they aren’t as different as they pretend to be. This continues to be a fun and surprisingly deep series. Wilson and the rest of the creative team continue to mold Felicia into a character with depth and worthy of more issues.

Overall Grade: 9.8 / 10

What do you think of the new story arc? Let me know in the comments