Marvel Comics' ongoing Black Cat series has been placed on hiatus as of this week's Black Cat #12, which concludes Felicia's heist of a suit of Tony Stark's armor and subsequent fight with Iron Man. The issue ends with the promise "To be continued…" and a full-page ad, seen here, stating "Black Cat will return in King In Black."
However, despite the promise that the character Black Cat will continue, issue #13 of her series has yet to be re-solicited from its original June release date which was scuttled when the comic book industry went on hiatus due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
"Lily Hollister has been through a lot. Her dad was district attorney, she was engaged to Harry Osborn, she found her future father-in-law's Goblin stash and accidentally turned herself into Menace, sided with the Green Goblin and his Goblin Nation and ended up with amnesia and a leased super hero identity, 'Queen Cat.' Whew. Like we said, a lot. But she’s turning over a new leaf," reads the indefinitely postponed solicitation for Black Cat #13.
"Queen Cat is a super hero, and every good super hero needs an archenemy," it continues. "Her target? Felicia Hardy, A.K.A. the Black Cat."
Series writer Jed MacKay addressed the series continuation on Twitter, stating that the Black Cat title will be "on break for a (long) bit," but that the series will eventually return.
"Alright gang, so Black Cat #12 is out today, which means that the little book that could has cracked a real milestone - a year's worth of issues and an annual! So what's next? Is Black Cat canceled?" MacKay tweets. "No! We've still got scams to pull and loot to grab, and the vaults of the Thieves' Guild aren't going to crack themselves!
"I can't go too deep into the weeds before there's an official announcement from Marvel, but I can tell you this: We're on a break for a (long) bit, but we're back in black for a little something you may have heard of – King In Black," Mackay continues, referring to Marvel's upcoming Venom-centric crossover in which the dark god Knull arrives on Earth.
"Felicia and friends are going to be in peril up to their eyeballs - so stay tuned. Beyond that? Like I said, I can't get into it before Marvel give the official word, but again, stay tuned. We've got nine lives, gang. A couple months off is nothing."
King In Black kicks off in October with the Web of Venom: Empyre's End #1 one-shot.
