The thrills of being Selina Kyle is what Catwoman is all about.
What They Say:
Meet Catwoman. She’s addicted to the night. Addicted to shiny objects. And addicted to Batman. But most of all, Catwoman is addicted to danger. She can’t help herself, and the truth is–she doesn’t want to. She’s good at being bad, and very bad at being good. Find out more about what makes Catwoman tick in this new series from writer Judd Winick (BATMAN: UNDER THE HOOD) and artist Guillem March (GOTHAM CITY SIRENS)!
The Review:
Catwoman is one of those characters that definitely made an early impact on me when I was a child. Back before I got into comics with the Star Wars comics, I ended up with a handful of Batman comics in the mid to late 70’s. It was a typical Joker story that involved Catwoman that wasn’t all that memorable. Yet it was the character of Catwoman that appealed to me more than anything else in it, as she had that lengthy skirt, the mask, the whip and the purr that you could just hear coming off the page. I never got into the TV show from the 60’s at that age or beyond, but that cemented my love for the character through nearly (but not quite, thank you Halle Berry) all of her incarnations since then. But time to read Catwoman comics wasn’t really there until the relaunch and getting the books easily through digital means, so now I get to explore the latest take on her.
With Catwoman being a character that’s likely around since the early days of Batman in this re-aligned reality, there isn’t exactly a huge introduction to who she is, but the iconic aspects are certainly there as she talks about risks at the start, how it’s what motivates her and makes her feel alive. Even if you go in cold, you know a lot about her drive from the first few pages and that certain things seem to happen to her, like her place being blown up after some goons come in looking for something she probably stole. It’s standard plot point stuff, but it puts Selina on the move and meeting up with one of her few real friends, Lola, who she amusingly points out really was a showgirl. Long before she became a fence and something more. Lola’s not traditional comic book women fare, making her all the more appreciated, as she’s more real woman and a contrast of normality against the ultra sleekness that is Selina Kyle.
The opening issue for Catwoman thrusts her into making a little money right off the bat, though she has secured a temporary place for the time being that is all about her high class lifestyle that she enjoys faking her way into. But money is always on her list and that has her taking a gamble by infiltrating some Russian mafia group at a party so she can try and find some way of making money, and it’s a pretty solid little experience, showing the way she analyzes a situation, deals with avoiding the whole groping nature of it and that she definitely screws up when she gets involved in a side plot for a few panels that has some significance to her past, which isn’t exactly detailed but we’re given more than enough to make the logical leap with. And that’s what works here, we’re not getting it all spelled out, but the pieces are there and putting it together over the course of the book makes for a fun read. It’s narration box heavy, but that’s because we’re getting things from her head as she goes through her life. And getting into Selina’s head is a whole lot of fun.
Though the last couple of panels with Batman start off forced, but shows he’s interested in getting into more than her head. And I definitely appreciated that they went there. It’s wholly appropriate to the character, the book and the style of it. And that’s something that the artist, Guillem March, really did a fantastic job with. Selina is supposed to be this slinky, cat-like creature that moves in the night and while there may be moments that make you do a light double take for how a body can curve, it works for her because that’s her skill. March really brings us a great looking book here with a whole lot of style, though it could have used more scenes with Selina sans mask as she’s definitely got a good looking going on. And he nailed Batman’s look as well, giving it the right bit of darkness and fear that it should generate.
Digital Notes:
This Comixology edition of Catwoman contains the main cover as seen with the print edition with no variants or other extras included.
In Summary:
Catwoman is one of the titles that I was really keen on with the relaunch to see what she’d be like and Judd Winick and Guillem March essentially nailed it for me with just about every panel. While the story isn’t deep here, it’s the start of things and we get to see Selina coping with a new change in her life and simply rolling with it as she is likely to do. There’s a certain happy go lucky attitude to her that should always be there, a carefree kind of person who gets a thrill from the risk, and that’s captured through the writing and the artwork. It’s a great looking book and one that’s a fun read that keeps you paying attention to it. It has a great energy going on here and you can get caught up in Selina’s life easily even with as little as there truly is here with twenty-one pages. But it’s a good, fun read and gives me exactly what I wanted out of a Catwoman book.
Grade: B+
