Felicia Hardy has gained immortality and lost everything else. The entirety of Manhattan has been claimed by an ancient entity of great power the dwells in a magical space below Manhattan. (Not the MTA lines.) She’s looking to regain everything, but she’s going to have to stare down a god in Black Cat #7. The series continues in a story by Jed MacKay brought to the page by artist Michael Dowling. MacKay’s story continues to delve into the deeper aspects of Felicia’s personality in intriguing ways. Another genuinely fascinating chapter in the life of Marvel’s greatest thief. 

The Black Fox had chosen a name for himself out of respect for a creature that was able to save its life by gnawing off one of its own paws. He’s understanding the significance of that these days but missing the bigger picture. It’s one thing to sacrifice a part of yourself for your own life. It’s another thing altogether to trade the whole of Manhattan to an ancient Gilded Saint in exchange for immortality. Black Cat was given immortality in the process; she doesn’t want it; it hasn’t been earned. Now she’s on her way to confront the Gilded Saint with the only thing she has left to barter. 

MacKay sets up the showdown with the Gilded Saint in a way that feels suitably dramatic without compromising action. The intrepid, heroic adventuring illuminates deeper aspects of Felicia’s psyche without slowing the narrative momentum at all. It’s a remarkably well-constructed script that fits quite nicely into the larger picture of MacKay’s long run with the character. She’s launching herself in a noble direction that feels very firmly rooted in who she is as a person. The character development is refreshingly based on actual events that the reader can see playing out directly on the page.

Dowling has a strikingly clever way of directing the action across the page. Close-ups give way to wider shots that fluidly grant those close-ups the kind of perspective that allows for an admirably kinetic sense of action. Relatively static moments of drama hit the page with clever shifts that allow the narrative to vividly dive into more wistful, soul-searching moments. Dowling is a master of mood the seventh issue, from a brilliant homage to Friedrich’s Wanderer above the Sea of Fog at the entrance of an unearthly vault to a tearful good-bye on Coney Island at night to an embrace on a rooftop with the glittering Manhattan skyline in the background. It’s not just that Dowling has a perfect sense of execution in a range of different moods--it’s that he’s also able to switch gears from idle moments to moments of quicker action with a classy, smooth sense of rhythm. Issue seven might feature some of Dowling’s best work on the series thus far. 

Once again, MacKay has managed a very well-orchestrated chapter in Felicia’s life that fits perfectly into the larger picture of a series he has been working on for quite some time. His sense of pacing with the overall series has been exquisite. The reader has been offered an opportunity to get to know Felicia quite well throughout MacKay’s run with her. It will be interesting to see where he goes with her in the issues to come.

Grade: A+