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Black Cat by Jed MacKay Omnibus
The Black Cat is back and better than ever! Felicia Hardy has a taste for the finer things in life and certain skills that help her...procure them. But now Felicia's on the run from the New York Thieves' Guild and their boss, Odessa Drake! Prepare for high-octane heists, thrilling twists and climactic chases across the Marvel Universe! Breaking into Doctor Strange's Sanctum Sanctorum? Done. Crossing Wolverine's path in Madripoor? Check. Stealing Tony Stark's armor? Easy. Proposing marriage to Spider-Man? Wait, what?! Plus: The symbiote invasion of the King in Black! The Infinity Stones are the ultimate score! And the Iron Cat takes flight!
784 pages, Hardcover
First published July 19, 2023
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97 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
September 30, 2023
Black Cat hasn't really had a long running series ever.
Jed MacKay, the man getting ton of fame for his current Moon Knight and now Avengers title. But before all that he was writing a little titled called Black Cat before covid, and even though Covid fucked up his flow and numbering, he still put out a 25+ issue series, newest one being the Iron Cat mini series released just this year.
So what's Black Cat about? Well it's Falicia and her big heist against superheroes and villains. She has a crew, she works swift and clean, and decides to do her best having fun robbing people. The first arc sets her up as a master thief but slowly gives us glimpses into her past, learning about the Fox, her mentor, and just her overall childhood and how she became what she is. Each arc is short, only being 2-4 issues, but all feel completed and fun.
Fun would be the key word here. From the snappy dialogue to the excellent showcase in art and lively tone and mood of the series, we get something a lot of comics sometimes forget to do. Have fun. These aren't super deep stories, and while I thought there was one excellent one that had to do with Cat's mentor, most were fluffy and fun.
I will say the mini series at the end dragged and the final arc of the series was a bit weaker than what came before. But even at their worst they're still solid good time, and that matters.
While not a perfect Omnibus I think it's a ton of fun. Somewhere between a 3 and a 3.5 for me personally. Hard to pin point exactly where I'd rate it on any given day but if you're a fan of heist, fun comics, and a sexy lead, this one might be for you.
Jed MacKay, the man getting ton of fame for his current Moon Knight and now Avengers title. But before all that he was writing a little titled called Black Cat before covid, and even though Covid fucked up his flow and numbering, he still put out a 25+ issue series, newest one being the Iron Cat mini series released just this year.
So what's Black Cat about? Well it's Falicia and her big heist against superheroes and villains. She has a crew, she works swift and clean, and decides to do her best having fun robbing people. The first arc sets her up as a master thief but slowly gives us glimpses into her past, learning about the Fox, her mentor, and just her overall childhood and how she became what she is. Each arc is short, only being 2-4 issues, but all feel completed and fun.
Fun would be the key word here. From the snappy dialogue to the excellent showcase in art and lively tone and mood of the series, we get something a lot of comics sometimes forget to do. Have fun. These aren't super deep stories, and while I thought there was one excellent one that had to do with Cat's mentor, most were fluffy and fun.
I will say the mini series at the end dragged and the final arc of the series was a bit weaker than what came before. But even at their worst they're still solid good time, and that matters.
While not a perfect Omnibus I think it's a ton of fun. Somewhere between a 3 and a 3.5 for me personally. Hard to pin point exactly where I'd rate it on any given day but if you're a fan of heist, fun comics, and a sexy lead, this one might be for you.
January 18, 2025
I’ve been collecting omnibuses for about 2 years now, and I’ve had a bigger (and much heavier) problem where I have so many now, yet most of them are unread. My girlfriend had bought this for my birthday, as it has been one I’ve wanted to read for years.
It was June 2022 and I had not set foot in a comic shop for about 3-4 years. I had been reading collected editions from my school’s library before then, and I hadn’t thought about going in and buying single issues. At the time, I was starting my second summer at the place I’m working at today, and there was this person working there that I desperately wanted to be friends with. He had a podcast where he talked comics, he had been blocked several times over by different creators for his hot takes. I knew a bit about the medium from my years reading collected editions, writing school papers and analyzing comic characters for psychology assignments, but he was always talking about what has just come out. “Oh all the shit that’s good is Indie,” he said, and my dumbass was like “well, perhaps if I go to a Comic Shop, I might find something Indie, there.”
No, reader, I didn’t (except for image, but that’s not what he meant). I, instead, picked up “Iron Cat #1” and a couple other things, and here we are today, with 6 or 7 full short boxes of comics in my house, and I’m working on yet another one. I go and pick up singles every week. Nonetheless, my love for Omnibuses and this way of reading them is probably my second go-to. And that guy that I wanted to be friends with? Yeah, I don’t hear from him. But I picked up a nice addictive collecting habit from the whole ordeal.
Enough prefacing and storytelling like this is some cookbook recipe for “Grandma Coal Miner’s Chicken and Dumplings” — how is the book?
It’s fun! If I could do half stars, it’s a 4.5/5. Felicia Hardy gets the short end of the stick in main Marvel Canon. I think about her discussion in the original MJ Black Cat book during “Beyond,” where she’s telling MJ about how Gwen is remembered as the one that died, Mary Jane is the good one meant to be for Peter, and Felicia? She’s the villain, the Femme Fatale without a heart, hellbent on breaking the Spider’s heart any chance she gets. That book was also written by Mackay, who very clearly has a love and appreciation for this character, as he builds upon her mythos and offers a ton of background to her and her allies.
The initial 12 issue run is written with a cliche premise akin to Mission Impossible or Ocean’s 11 set in the Marvel Universe: Black Cat and her mentor, the Black Fox, reunite to do the biggest heist known to man, stealing from the NY Thieves Guild and their god that they worship. It’s full of fun Marvel stuff, as the heist preparations involve getting into it with the Fantastic Four, the Iron Fist, Doctor Strange, and Iron Man.
However, the Black Cat Omnibus suffers as most Marvel and DC books do whenever summer comes around: it needs to tie in with the big event. Oftentimes, a whole story and its arc get disrupted because Knull has come to Earth, Thanos has snapped his fingers and people have become amalgamations of different marvel people (IE Moon Spider), or Vampires have overtaken the world. After the end of her initial 12, we get 3 issues surrounding Felicia during the “King in Black” event. Then for the next 2 issues, she’s doing something else, and then for the remaining 5 she’s caught up in this thing where the Infinity Stones (or Gems?) have taken Human Hosts, and she needs them for a heist (which, ultimately ends in a really heartfelt way).
Besides some annuals and giant-sized one offs (all 3 of which are super fun standalone stories), the final story, “Iron Cat,” and the reason why this was my white whale for the longest time, kind of lacks the je ne sais quoi of the previous volumes. It’s “Batman: Hush” but we learn who Hush is under the mask. Then it becomes something about fighting an AI. It still plays on the heist stuff, but it’s not really the same as the other ones.
The various artists here have made their rounds throughout Marvel and DC, and for good reason — they get action, they understand anatomy, and they really, really understand facial expressions. Felicia is one of the most expressive Marvel characters I’ve seen, and it’s because artists like C.F. Villa, Pere Pérez, Joey Vazquez and others all really know their stuff. It’s such a fun book to read but also to look at. And the panel work at times reminds me of why I love this medium so much. I love that thing artists have done lately where it’s a splash double page, and the character is running through a building, and by following the speech bubbles and navigating left to right, right to left, left to right again we see the character engaging in flips and jumps and whatever. “Nightwing” does this, and “Black Cat” has a couple moments like this. It’s always so fun.
I want to give major props to Jennifer Grünwald and Daniel Kirchhoffer, the Collection and Assistant editors, respectively. Last year, when I read about 6 omnibuses, I had quickly learned that how these tomes are collected can make or break the book and the pacing. We get issues collected (IE 1-12), then two annuals, the FCBD special, then the remaining 2 collections.
I own (and read) the Flashpoint Omnibus, one of four omnibuses that are “Event books” that I own (the other three being 52, Amalgam, and Dark Phoenix), and it does this thing where it features the first main line flashpoint book, then a handful of the spinoffs, then the next, and the following issues to those spinoff books, rinse and repeat. In that way, you loose track of what’s going on. I’m glad that the Annuals acted as a buffer, to show the passage of time after those initial 12 issues. Had they put those annuals in around the chronological time they released, it would’ve been pretty frustrating for me to keep everything straight.
I think I’m going to start reviewing the omnibuses I read this year alongside all the other stuff I’ve been reading. These things take time. I started this in August and got really distracted, but normally these things take about two or three weeks to read. You’re collecting 30-50 issues at times… it’s a lot to digest.
Will definitely return to this.
Thank you for reading my review!!
It was June 2022 and I had not set foot in a comic shop for about 3-4 years. I had been reading collected editions from my school’s library before then, and I hadn’t thought about going in and buying single issues. At the time, I was starting my second summer at the place I’m working at today, and there was this person working there that I desperately wanted to be friends with. He had a podcast where he talked comics, he had been blocked several times over by different creators for his hot takes. I knew a bit about the medium from my years reading collected editions, writing school papers and analyzing comic characters for psychology assignments, but he was always talking about what has just come out. “Oh all the shit that’s good is Indie,” he said, and my dumbass was like “well, perhaps if I go to a Comic Shop, I might find something Indie, there.”
No, reader, I didn’t (except for image, but that’s not what he meant). I, instead, picked up “Iron Cat #1” and a couple other things, and here we are today, with 6 or 7 full short boxes of comics in my house, and I’m working on yet another one. I go and pick up singles every week. Nonetheless, my love for Omnibuses and this way of reading them is probably my second go-to. And that guy that I wanted to be friends with? Yeah, I don’t hear from him. But I picked up a nice addictive collecting habit from the whole ordeal.
Enough prefacing and storytelling like this is some cookbook recipe for “Grandma Coal Miner’s Chicken and Dumplings” — how is the book?
It’s fun! If I could do half stars, it’s a 4.5/5. Felicia Hardy gets the short end of the stick in main Marvel Canon. I think about her discussion in the original MJ Black Cat book during “Beyond,” where she’s telling MJ about how Gwen is remembered as the one that died, Mary Jane is the good one meant to be for Peter, and Felicia? She’s the villain, the Femme Fatale without a heart, hellbent on breaking the Spider’s heart any chance she gets. That book was also written by Mackay, who very clearly has a love and appreciation for this character, as he builds upon her mythos and offers a ton of background to her and her allies.
The initial 12 issue run is written with a cliche premise akin to Mission Impossible or Ocean’s 11 set in the Marvel Universe: Black Cat and her mentor, the Black Fox, reunite to do the biggest heist known to man, stealing from the NY Thieves Guild and their god that they worship. It’s full of fun Marvel stuff, as the heist preparations involve getting into it with the Fantastic Four, the Iron Fist, Doctor Strange, and Iron Man.
However, the Black Cat Omnibus suffers as most Marvel and DC books do whenever summer comes around: it needs to tie in with the big event. Oftentimes, a whole story and its arc get disrupted because Knull has come to Earth, Thanos has snapped his fingers and people have become amalgamations of different marvel people (IE Moon Spider), or Vampires have overtaken the world. After the end of her initial 12, we get 3 issues surrounding Felicia during the “King in Black” event. Then for the next 2 issues, she’s doing something else, and then for the remaining 5 she’s caught up in this thing where the Infinity Stones (or Gems?) have taken Human Hosts, and she needs them for a heist (which, ultimately ends in a really heartfelt way).
Besides some annuals and giant-sized one offs (all 3 of which are super fun standalone stories), the final story, “Iron Cat,” and the reason why this was my white whale for the longest time, kind of lacks the je ne sais quoi of the previous volumes. It’s “Batman: Hush” but we learn who Hush is under the mask. Then it becomes something about fighting an AI. It still plays on the heist stuff, but it’s not really the same as the other ones.
The various artists here have made their rounds throughout Marvel and DC, and for good reason — they get action, they understand anatomy, and they really, really understand facial expressions. Felicia is one of the most expressive Marvel characters I’ve seen, and it’s because artists like C.F. Villa, Pere Pérez, Joey Vazquez and others all really know their stuff. It’s such a fun book to read but also to look at. And the panel work at times reminds me of why I love this medium so much. I love that thing artists have done lately where it’s a splash double page, and the character is running through a building, and by following the speech bubbles and navigating left to right, right to left, left to right again we see the character engaging in flips and jumps and whatever. “Nightwing” does this, and “Black Cat” has a couple moments like this. It’s always so fun.
I want to give major props to Jennifer Grünwald and Daniel Kirchhoffer, the Collection and Assistant editors, respectively. Last year, when I read about 6 omnibuses, I had quickly learned that how these tomes are collected can make or break the book and the pacing. We get issues collected (IE 1-12), then two annuals, the FCBD special, then the remaining 2 collections.
I own (and read) the Flashpoint Omnibus, one of four omnibuses that are “Event books” that I own (the other three being 52, Amalgam, and Dark Phoenix), and it does this thing where it features the first main line flashpoint book, then a handful of the spinoffs, then the next, and the following issues to those spinoff books, rinse and repeat. In that way, you loose track of what’s going on. I’m glad that the Annuals acted as a buffer, to show the passage of time after those initial 12 issues. Had they put those annuals in around the chronological time they released, it would’ve been pretty frustrating for me to keep everything straight.
I think I’m going to start reviewing the omnibuses I read this year alongside all the other stuff I’ve been reading. These things take time. I started this in August and got really distracted, but normally these things take about two or three weeks to read. You’re collecting 30-50 issues at times… it’s a lot to digest.
Will definitely return to this.
Thank you for reading my review!!
August 26, 2023
Jed MacKay gets to explore a range of scenarios and adventures with Felicia Hardy aka The Black Cat in this omnibus. However, as fun as the story is and as with all Marvel comics that go past 5 issues, the turn in to a cross over slows the title down. Hardy is written as capable, dangerous and fun throughout and really does lean in to the trope of a femme fatale. That said MacKay does give her more depth whilst still retaining a lot of fun. Be it collecting and using the Infinity Stone, battling ancient Symbiote gods or becoming the Iron Cat this is a good read for someone looking to spend some time with The Black Cat.
3/5
3/5
September 2, 2023
Smart, action reads at the pace of the story. Like any big comic publisher, the dialogue is a little bit hackneyed but really this is one of the stronger stories one can read in the recent Marvel universe. Intriguing and entertaining throughout. The strong female protagonist is a little sexualized but it’s not over the top, and there is an LBGTQ+ component without being overly pandering or insulting.
January 18, 2025
I had a great time reading this. Granted, this was the first Marvel comic I've read. I'm a big DC fan, and decided to branch out to find more good reading material, so started with a character I liked.
MacKay did not disappoint, this was a page turner I got through in two days (I had some spare time), and the crossovers and other characters I didn't know didn't hinder my enjoyment. A few people said this was beginner friendly, though I doubt they meant beginner to the whole universe, but it explained everything very well.
I can't say how accurate characterisation was, but I loved Felicia, and how well the humour and serious parts of the book were balanced. The overarching plot is great, and I love how each individual job was handled differently. This has the Black Cat steal and be a thief rather than a secondary love interest.
I'd recommend this to anyone interested, not every single bit is perfect, like the Korean story bored me, but very good in general.
MacKay did not disappoint, this was a page turner I got through in two days (I had some spare time), and the crossovers and other characters I didn't know didn't hinder my enjoyment. A few people said this was beginner friendly, though I doubt they meant beginner to the whole universe, but it explained everything very well.
I can't say how accurate characterisation was, but I loved Felicia, and how well the humour and serious parts of the book were balanced. The overarching plot is great, and I love how each individual job was handled differently. This has the Black Cat steal and be a thief rather than a secondary love interest.
I'd recommend this to anyone interested, not every single bit is perfect, like the Korean story bored me, but very good in general.
January 7, 2024
The first 2/3 of this are near perfect. The latter third is still good, but you feel the wheels spinning. Cheers to Jed Mackay for this great long-game story; and cheers to the multiple artists who take great care to make Felicia beautiful, glamorous, and even “sexy” without being overtly sexual and gross. Apart from the J Scott Campbell covers (who is notoriously and perpetually 13 years old), Felicia does not feel drawn through a male gaze.
December 17, 2023
It's a fun superhero crime romp, with more heart than I was expecting.
March 29, 2024
This was such a fun read and omg it was enormous but actually the stories read so fast and I love Mackay's writing, he has become my favorite writer in recent times. His writing for Felicia was spot on with the way he gave her a solid crew and they are well explored too and I love the clash of personalities and then the history with Black fox but what I think helps this comic more is the guest stars and how fun its made and the addition of events and big stakes really make the story feel epic and I love the cohesiveness of it all.
So yeah fun ending overall and I really liked it, how it all came together and really explores the world of Black cat and gave her so many cool heists and supporting cast and she is tested in so many great ways and how she overcomes the challenges made her such a compelling character after this run! The art was pretty good throughout and there were some which were just gorgeous and omg so many covers!
So yeah fun ending overall and I really liked it, how it all came together and really explores the world of Black cat and gave her so many cool heists and supporting cast and she is tested in so many great ways and how she overcomes the challenges made her such a compelling character after this run! The art was pretty good throughout and there were some which were just gorgeous and omg so many covers!
May 12, 2024
I wanted to enjoy this more, but it never truly clicked. First few issues were really strong, setting an intriguing heist plotline, with dynamic action scenes, but over time it just got kinda... stale. Black Cat is no mere mortal, she will basically own anyone and anything, be it god, sorcerer supreme or tech genius. It mainly comes down to a dwindling sense of urgency and without even an illusion of suspense, it's hard to stay invested in the story.
November 12, 2023
It was a fun read, but didn't really stick out for me. I don't know if its because Black Cat needs Spider-Man for a fun dynamic, or because some of the stories just didn't knock me away. If you like the character you'll enjoy it, I did, but there's definitely some mediocre stuff.
December 13, 2024
The lettering in this book is awful
March 1, 2025
black cat i just simply love you do much
April 15, 2024
i bought this book for the wolverine issues. sadly those ended up being mid, but the other black cat issues and this omnibus thus far is quite good.
Update: i'm half way through and i'm feeling that this is a 5 star book. takes a minute to get into it, but i there and wanting more.
must read for black cat 8-10 (2020): Guardians of the galaxy annual 1 (2021), Heroes Reborn (2021)
Also reading Kelly Thompson's Captain Marvel and star mini series is also important to read but not necessary.
Update: i'm half way through and i'm feeling that this is a 5 star book. takes a minute to get into it, but i there and wanting more.
must read for black cat 8-10 (2020): Guardians of the galaxy annual 1 (2021), Heroes Reborn (2021)
Also reading Kelly Thompson's Captain Marvel and star mini series is also important to read but not necessary.
December 7, 2023
This was another omnidog recommendation and will be part of his top reads of 2023. It’s great to see black cat get a solo title run that’s not just an event tie in or Spider-Man miniseries. This is a fun action packed crime thriller that has black cat taking on some wild heists. I even really enjoyed the king in black crossover issues that didn’t manage to derail the series. An unexpected fun read.
Read
October 22, 2023placeholder voor verschillende Spider-Man gerelateerde runs:
- Silk (2015) 1-6 door Robbie Thompson
- Silk (2016) 1-19 door Robbie Thompson
- Black Cat (2019) 1-12 door Jed MacKay
- Black Cat (2020) 1-10 door Jed MacKay + Black Cat Annual (2021) en Giant-Size Black Cat Infinity Score (2021)
- Silk (2015) 1-6 door Robbie Thompson
- Silk (2016) 1-19 door Robbie Thompson
- Black Cat (2019) 1-12 door Jed MacKay
- Black Cat (2020) 1-10 door Jed MacKay + Black Cat Annual (2021) en Giant-Size Black Cat Infinity Score (2021)
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
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