Black Cat Annual #1 Review

by Harlan Ivester on November 13, 2019

Writer Jed MacKay
Artists: Joey Vazquez, Natacha Bustos, Juan Gedeon
Colorist: Brian Reber
Letterer: Ferran Delgado
Publisher: Marvel Comics

            I wasn’t super into Black Cat’s solo series when it started. I would normally be willing to give a series more time to find its footing, but my pull was already getting a little big at the time. When I got this lovely wedding invitation in the mail, though, you know I just had to clear my calendar. How could I miss the marriage of my favorite couple in comics?

            In case you somehow missed it, yeah, Peter and Felicia are apparently getting married. Actually, you very easily could have missed it, because I haven’t seen Marvel pushing this one too hard. The wedding itself can feel kind of irrelevant until the end of the issue, but the full reveal is wholesome and feels on the level with their characters. What you should really be reading this book for is, of course, them. I’m happy to say that you will be satisfied. The other stuff just isn’t as interesting, but those pages come and go pretty quickly. They break up the pacing a little bit but they’re not too intrusive. Maybe if I’d been reading MacKay’s Black Cat, I would be happier to see these characters, but that’s just not the case for now. Anyway, he writes Peter and Felicia really well. There’s that bit of flirtatious jib-jab between them that we all love, and the cat jokes are non-existent. Fans of their relationship will definitely enjoy this issue. The plot itself feels just a little finicky, but I think that’s just because of the way the details are revealed to us gradually. I imagine it would feel more fluent on a second reading.

            The quality of the art depends on which character you’re following. Vazquez’s is definitely my favorite. In his sections, both Felicia and Spidey are very expressive. The panels make even the more “mundane” events still feel lively and exciting. Bustos’ is more simplistic, but shows awesome attention to detail nonetheless. Gedeon’s is a little less clean, but still aptly emotional and tense. Through the whole book, Reber’s colors feel a little stilted. Sometimes the lighter hues feel a little disjointed. Other times, his shading is really smooth. It’s not totally consistent and so I think the coloring is the weakest part of the issue.

            Black Cat Annual #1 is a lot of fun. It’s not non-stop, but if you’re like me and secretly favor Feleter over PJ, you’ll definitely enjoy this enough to be happy with the price. The pencils and inks range from good to great, and the colors are mostly solid. If this wedding piqued your interest, you won’t regret checking it out.
 

Our Score:

6/10

A Look Inside