This Black Cat #1 comic review looks at the 2019 Marvel launch that gave Felicia Hardy her first ongoing solo series.
Jed MacKay writes the issue, with Travel Foreman handling the main story artwork.
Black Cat has spent years stealing from some of the most dangerous people in the Marvel Universe.
Now those choices are catching up with her.
The police want Felicia.
The New York Thieves Guild wants her.
And Odessa Drake intends to make sure Black Cat understands exactly who controls the criminal world of New York.
This copy features the Mike Mayhew Exclusive Virgin Art Variant, cataloged by ComicBase as Variant V53. The virgin presentation removes the normal logo and trade dress so Mayhew’s artwork dominates the entire cover.
Comic Book Details
- Title: Black Cat
- Issue: #1
- ComicBase Variant: V53
- Volume: 1
- Publisher: Marvel Comics
- Release Date: June 5, 2019
- Cover Date: August 2019
- Written By: Jed MacKay
- Main Story Art: Travel Foreman
- Colors: Brian Reber
- Letters: Ferran Delgado
- Cover Variant: Mike Mayhew Exclusive Virgin Art Variant
- Cover Artist: Mike Mayhew
- Cover Price: $4.99
- Rating: T
- UPC: 75960609420200146
Marvel launched Black Cat #1 on June 5, 2019 as the beginning of Felicia Hardy’s first ongoing solo title. The exact UPC for this edition identifies it as the Mike Mayhew Exclusive Virgin Art version.
Mike Mayhew gives Felicia Hardy the entire cover.
Without a title logo or standard trade dress competing for attention, the image works more like a character portrait than a normal monthly comic cover.
Black Cat #1 Comic Review: Story Analysis
Felicia Hardy is very good at stealing things.
That has never been the problem.
The problem is what happens afterward.
Black Cat #1 begins with Felicia operating exactly where she is most comfortable.
She is planning jobs.
She is breaking into places she should not be.
She is taking things that belong to other people.
Then the consequences arrive.
The New York Thieves Guild does not appreciate independent thieves operating without permission.
Felicia has ignored their rules.
Now Odessa Drake wants payment.
That gives the first issue a strong central conflict.
Felicia is not trying to save the world.
She is trying to survive a criminal system that believes she belongs under its control.
That is a much better fit for Black Cat than turning her into a conventional superhero.
She has always worked best somewhere between hero and criminal.
Jed MacKay understands that.
Felicia Hardy Takes the Lead
Black Cat has spent much of her history connected to Spider-Man.
That relationship will always be part of the character.
This series gives Felicia something more important.
Her own story.
She does not need Peter Parker to create the conflict.
The police are chasing her because of her own actions.
The Thieves Guild is targeting her because of her own decisions.
Her reputation belongs to her.
That immediately makes the book feel different from a Spider-Man supporting-character spinoff.
Felicia is the center of the story.
Her skills matter.
Her mistakes matter.
Her past matters.
That is exactly what a solo Black Cat series needs.
The Thieves Guild and Odessa Drake
The Thieves Guild gives Felicia a problem she cannot solve simply by being the best thief in the room.
The Guild represents structure.
Felicia represents independence.
She steals because she wants to.
She chooses her own targets.
She follows her own rules.
Odessa Drake sees things differently.
A thief operating in New York is operating inside Guild territory.
That means Felicia’s success becomes an insult.
The better Black Cat becomes, the bigger the problem gets.
This creates a natural conflict because neither side wants the same thing.
Felicia wants freedom.
The Guild wants control.
Art and Visual Design
Travel Foreman handles the artwork for the main story.
That gives the book the speed and movement a Black Cat comic needs.
Felicia should never look heavy or slow.
She climbs.
She jumps.
She breaks into impossible locations.
Her fighting style depends as much on agility and timing as strength.
The artwork allows her to move through environments instead of simply standing in them.
That matters in a comic built around theft.
A heist story needs locations that feel like puzzles.
Doors, windows, security systems, rooftops and guarded rooms all become part of the action.
Felicia’s ability to move through those spaces helps define who she is.
The Mike Mayhew Virgin Cover
The Mike Mayhew Exclusive Virgin Art Variant takes a very different approach from the standard Black Cat #1 cover.
Mayhew removes everything that is not essential.
There is no large Black Cat logo across the top.
There is no normal trade dress competing with the artwork.
Felicia is the cover.
That works especially well with Black Cat because the character already has such a recognizable visual identity.
White hair.
Black costume.
Black mask.
Fur trim.
A strong Black Cat image does not need a title to explain who the character is.
The virgin presentation takes advantage of that.
It gives collectors the artwork without interruption.
For buyers who collect cover art as much as the comic itself, that matters.
Mike Mayhew and Collector Appeal
Mike Mayhew has produced numerous character-focused comic covers, and his style works particularly well with Black Cat.
Felicia is a character who depends heavily on attitude.
She has to look confident.
She has to look dangerous.
She also has to look like she knows something everyone else does not.
Mayhew’s cover leans into that personality.
The result feels more like a finished art print than a standard issue sitting on a newsstand.
That is one reason virgin variants can appeal to cover collectors.
The comic itself has not changed.
The presentation has.
This edition allows the artwork to become the collectible feature.
A Variant-Heavy First Issue
Black Cat #1 received a large number of variant covers.
Grand Comics Database catalogs more than forty alternate versions of the first issue, including regular variants, retailer exclusives, virgin covers and convention editions. The Mike Mayhew Exclusive and Mike Mayhew Exclusive Virgin Art versions are cataloged separately, with the virgin carrying UPC 75960609420200146.
That matters when evaluating the book as a collectible.
The word “variant” alone does not make a comic rare.
Collectors need to know exactly which version they are buying.
For this copy, the important identifiers are:
Mike Mayhew. Virgin Art. UPC 75960609420200146. ComicBase V53.
Those details separate it from the Mayhew trade-dress version and from the many other Black Cat #1 covers.
Collectibility and Market Significance
Black Cat #1 has several things working in its favor as a collectible.
It is issue #1.
It launched Felicia Hardy’s first ongoing solo series.
It features one of Marvel’s most recognizable Spider-Man-related characters.
It also has an enormous variant-cover lineup, which created a collecting market around specific artists and versions.
The Mike Mayhew Virgin Art edition appeals primarily to collectors who want this particular cover rather than buyers simply looking for the cheapest reading copy.
That distinction is important.
A standard Black Cat #1 and a retailer-exclusive virgin variant contain the same story.
They are not the same collectible.
Collectors interested in Mike Mayhew, Felicia Hardy or virgin covers may specifically seek this version.
At the same time, the large number of Black Cat #1 variants means buyers should focus on exact edition identification rather than assuming every exclusive is automatically scarce.
Black Cat’s First Ongoing Series
The historical importance of Black Cat #1 comes from more than the number on the cover.
Marvel promoted the 2019 series as Black Cat’s first-ever ongoing solo series.
That gives the issue a legitimate place in Felicia Hardy’s publishing history.
Black Cat had existed for decades before 2019.
She had appeared in Spider-Man comics.
She had appeared in limited series and team-ups.
But this series finally allowed her to carry an ongoing title under her own name.
That makes issue #1 a natural book for Black Cat collectors even before variant covers enter the discussion.
Final Verdict
Black Cat #1 succeeds because it understands what makes Felicia Hardy interesting.
She is not simply a Spider-Man supporting character.
She is not a traditional superhero.
She is a thief who wants to control her own life.
Jed MacKay builds the opening issue around that independence and immediately gives Felicia an enemy that wants to take it away.
The Thieves Guild and Odessa Drake create a conflict that fits Black Cat naturally.
Travel Foreman gives the main story the movement and energy a heist comic needs.
The Mike Mayhew Exclusive Virgin Art Variant adds a separate collector appeal.
The lack of trade dress lets Mayhew’s artwork stand on its own, while the exact UPC and ComicBase V53 designation help distinguish this copy from the large number of other Black Cat #1 variants.
For collectors interested in Felicia Hardy, Mike Mayhew or exclusive virgin covers, this is one of the more distinctive editions of Black Cat’s first ongoing-series debut.
Recommended for Black Cat fans, Felicia Hardy collectors, Mike Mayhew collectors, virgin-cover collectors, Spider-Man readers and collectors interested in key first issues from Marvel characters.
Black Cat #1 V53 Mike Mayhew Exclusive Virgin Art Variant is available from Razmataz Comics & Hobbies at razmatazcomics.com while supplies last.