Black Cat #8: The Venomous Zone

Black Cat #8 is a decidedly lighter issue than the last, trading any real plot complication or depth for an installment focused on having fun with the dynamic being established between Felicia, MJ, and Venom. On paper, such a tepid continuation of a rock-solid start to an arc like this might be disappointing, but this lighter pacing is necessary given the huge monkey wrench thrown into the story toward the end of this issue—a turn that takes things in a decidedly more interesting direction, made all the better by Wilson having more time to endear us to both the good and bad of Felicia’s philosophy regarding luck.

The extended scenes of MJ and Felicia milling about the Negative Zone are humorous and dialogue-driven, playing off the differences in how these two approach the current situation as well as life in general. Without realizing it, these moments set up Felicia’s impulsiveness leading to her downfall, while also creating conflict with MJ and her more focused, guarded sense of perception. This ties in well with the big narrative shift at the end, which would have fallen flat without everything that came before it. The themes of embarrassment established in the previous issue are enriched as a result, deepening the complexity of why both characters are so fearful of having their image compromised. They are both utilizing certain defense mechanisms in their view on life to protect themselves, and seeing that lead into conflict between the two gives the next two issues more potential weight.

Gleb Melnikov’s art keeps up the pace with frequent yet well-sequenced changes to the framing of each page. The action sequence and double-page spread at the start are charmingly illustrated, with his Venom the perfect mix between a golden retriever and a great white shark. He supports the focus on characterization through the way he depicts body and facial language for both characters, but overall, he falls a bit victim to boring backgrounds and a reliance on whitespace throughout the issue, which loses some of its impact as the pages progress.