Black Cat, Vol. 5, 5

Creed has been plotting and scheming for about four volumes now, and as of volume five of "Black Cat" he finally gets things moving. But don't worry, the comical sweeper-side of things hasn't abandoned Kentaro Yabuki's series, since this volume also involves cold-blooded assassins, impostors, and the undesired rivalry between Train and Eve. The first half is pretty bloody and flash-bang-wham violent, but the second half is an entertaining round of comedy and straightforward action. Creed summons all of his Tao-practicing Apostles together, and reveals that the time has come for them to attach Chronos openly. On the day of an international summit between Chronos leaders, the Apostles of the stars begin a bloodbath of secret service, police choppers, and anyone else who gets in their way. To take Creed down, the elite Chronos numbers want one of their former members to take care of it -- namely Train. Speaking of Train, he is issued two challenges -- one from an increasingly grumpy Eve, and one from the cold-blooded killler Lugart Won. But when Eve and Train have a little contest, they find that the criminal has already been captured... by a man calling himself the Black Cat. Unfortunately, this impostor learns that the life of a sweeper/former assassin isn't all fun and games... The fifth volume of "Black Cat" returns that darker undertone to the series -- the bad guys' surgical strike means that now there's open warfare, and Creed's continued obsession with Train means that our heroes are still involved. And rather than covert little jobs, Chronos is now openly bidding for Train's services as a sweeper -- this promises to be interesting. There's still plenty of Yabuki's humor, action and sweeper-biz, including one amusing moment where Sven wonders how Train could be so feared as the latter happily yells, "Look, I found a penny!" The entire plot about a Black Cat impersonator is full of comedy, especially since said impostor doesn't clue in about just who the spiky-haired sweeper in front of him is. But there's also a lot of violence and action -- helicopters bisected, cop cars exploding, people impaled and shot. I do wish the coup had taken a little longer, and had a few more obstacles. Everything just sort of slams by in a couple chapters. Train gets some time to shine in this volume -- we get to see him fight in ways that don't involve gunplay, learn how he felt about Saya, and how he feels about killing. Eve is slowly becoming more assertive, especially since she now openly regards Train as a rival for Sven's affection. And we get to see more of the Numbers, and the actions they regard as a necessary evil. The fifth volume of "Black Cat" spins by too fast, but has plenty of action, death and comedy to keep it interesting. And it promises to keep being interesting.