Review by Ian Keogh
In Jed MacKay’s Black Cat series there was a point where she needed to engineer an armoured suit, and where better to do that than with Tony Stark’s technology? You can read about that in Black Cat: All Dressed Up. Throughout that series MacKay bolstered Felicia Hardy’s past, establishing the now elderly Fox as her mentor and surrogate father figure, culminating in his eventually overstepping a boundary leaving Felicia with no choice other than dealing with him.
That has consequences in Iron Cat. The first surprise is that this not being a reprise for Felicia using the cat armour, at least not at first, as it’s occupied by a friend not seen for some time, one who doesn’t know why Felicia would have to deal with their old mentor. Tamara Blake is extremely dangerous and extremely vengeful.
MacKay’s run on Black Cat started beguilingly, but declined, losing the vital spark, but that’s reignited in Iron Cat. It’s stressed early that Felicia’s reason for thieving is greater than a means of acquisition. She takes a joy in her achievements, in outwitting security and the impossible escape, and MacKay uses that in a succession of encounters.
He’s also blessed with Pere Pérez as artist, someone far more imaginative and dynamic than most artists MacKay worked with on Black Cat. He brings a magnificent sense of composition to every page, brings the people to life, invests fight scenes with power and energy and even uses different styles to distinguish between past and present as seen on the sample pages. This is virtuoso superhero art.
It’s pretty good writing as well. Stark transmits well as both himself and Iron Man, and the initial revenge plot credibly turns into something far bigger using someone with a grudge against Stark. Perhaps it’s slightly disappointing that so little is seen of Black Cat’s henchmen, but that’s being really picky when considering the excitement on offer.
Iron Cat can also be found in the hardcover Black Cat by Jed MacKay Omnibus, where that Pérez art looks even better at a larger size. And MacKay still hasn’t finished with Black Cat as we have Mary Jane and Black Cat to follow.
