Black Cat, Volume 1

January 9, 2006
Although working within tired conventions, this collection adds up to a surprisingly enjoyable action adventure. Train and Sven are "sweepers," smalltime bounty hunters who survive hand to mouth. Sven is an eye-patched ex-cop; Train is a glamorously mysterious ex-crook. Along the way, the two team up with cute but sneaky Rinslet Walker, who's planning a big heist from a really dangerous master criminal. Readers may be reminded of Cowboy Bebop
and a host of similar capers, but the interaction of these characters is brisk and funny, partly because they feel like such old friends. The dash of novelty is Train's not-so-secret identity as the Black Cat, formerly an unkillable assassin for a worldwide criminal conspiracy. He not only does incredible stunts like any action hero but also looks and behaves like a cat, agile and unpredictably feline: aloof and irritating one moment, then ingratiating and playful the next. He's the kind of hard-boiled manhunter who'd take a criminal on a good-bye visit to his family, while excusing the trip as a chance to sample a new town's famous onion buns. The art is familiar but well executed as Yabuki gives old material an enjoyable workout.