Scarlet Witch #9: Black Cat, nine lives. Short days, long nights.

What happens when you mix the Black Cat with the Scarlet Witch, and Amaranth, AND Rintrah? This issue. Steve Orlando and Jacopo Camagni are back to deliver this kitschy team up, as the Black Cat plans a heist in Wanda’s vault of mystical and magical trinkets and artifacts, things turn awry, and turns upside down. Which is what you’d think would happen when a black cat crosses your path. So let’s get on with the review.

Who doesn’t want a Cyclops mask?

Steve Orlando continues his run on the Scarlet Witch with Jacopo Camagni, and they decide to give us this fun little romp in Wanda’s mystical catacombs filled with so many fascinating and fantastic trinkets. Felicia meets up with former Doctor Strange disciple, Rintrah. The green bull-like alien from another dimension, who uses some of his magic in order for Cat to break in to this mystical vault  to find is a cauldron of supernatural surveillance. Obviously Wanda doesn’t want Cat to get it, and one thing leads to another, and Wanda’s hex mixed with Cat’s power of bringing bad luck causes a whole load of problems, as the two women’s powers cause chaos from every direction. To top it off, Amaranth uses her vision powers to try to stop Felicia, but as things tend to happen with Felicia, it happens to cause more problems than anything else.

As Wanda and Felicia go about, bouncing all around, until Wanda’s finally to break these spells, Amaranth is drawn to an exceptionally powerful piece of magic that’s guarded by loads of wards and spells. She bipasses the locks with ease, and grabs the Tri-Crown of the Chaos Godhead staff, and that’s when things really start to turn. The issue’s a fun little ditty that really scratched the humor itch I’ve been needing. Steve’s Wanda is full of personality, and has a very dry sense of humor, but when you add a character like Felicia to the story, everything just seems to go from one to one hundred in five seconds flat. She just has that type of energy, and Steve really captured it here. If I had anything to complain about, it would be the lack of Rintrah in the issue. I’m a huge Doctor Strange fan, so seeing his former pupil here, but only having two panels really broke my heart. He’s such a fun, and visually stunning character to read about. Can we trade Darcy for Rintrah in the next volume, Steve?

That’s one elaborate lock

Jacopo Camagni’s art this issue was rather uneven. Rintrah looks like a bear with horns, and the scenes are lacking that certain magic that we’ve become accustomed to in this book. He’s got some very big shoes to fill, after we’ve been spoiled by Sara Pichelli, Russell Dauterman, and even Lorenzo Tammetta, whose work has made leaps and bounds from his turn as a fill in artist on Orlando’s first volume, as well as the Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver mini from last year’s 60th anniversary mini. I’ve followed Camagni since his initial run on the Kelly Thompson Captain Marvel book (ironically when Carol learns about magic arc), so I know what he’s capable of. I’m kinda wondering if he was given this assignment as a last minute fill in, which would explain how rushed and chaotic this story read as. I’m willing to see what else he can bring to the book next month, because I know what he’s capable of.