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CATWOMAN #3
"Anodyne Part Three of Four"
Highly Recommended (9/10)
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DC Comics
Writer: Ed Brubaker
Pencils: Darwyn Cooke
Inks: Mike Allred
Colors: Matt Hollingsworth
Letters: Sean Konot
Editor: Matt Idelson
Price: $2.50 US/$4.25 CAN |
DC did itself a huge favor by relaunching this series at #1, because Brubaker, Cooke and Allred have transformed the poorly-written T & A Catwoman into one of the slickest looking and best
written noir books on the stands. I'm reminded of the early days of the Batman
animated series, when that look was so new and fresh, and I'm amazed at how well
this creative team has translated that style to the page, all the while adding a
bit of a grown-up flavor to it. Catwoman is a more interesting character than
she's been in years, and thanks to Cooke and Allred, she and her city look
better than they ever have as well.
It's impossible to talk about
this book and not just marvel at the storytelling of the art team. Darwyn Cooke
knows when to use big flashy panels and when to cut the story into numerous
small panels. He's got a visual style that is remarkable and unusual, and he's
able to do straightforward storytelling as well as using flashy tricks like
viewing Holly from the point-of-view of Selina's sleepy half-closed eyelids.
Allred's inks give the whole thing a smooth and bright quality, and
Hollingsworth does some amazing work with the color. The opening sequence, a
dream full of grays and reds, is very powerful, and I love that Hollingsworth
can convey the grimy setting of Gotham without always having to rely on just
using darkness to do it.
This story also has the
benefit of featuring the best Selina Kyle I've seen in a long time. She's had a
hard life, and that harsh reality that she lives in is visible in the way she
interacts with the world. However, for all the illegal things she's done, Selina
has an idealistic streak as deep as the one that runs through Batman, as shown
with her interactions with Leslie Thompkins and Holly or her panic when she
realized she might have lost the killer by not being observant enough. While
other writers have portrayed Selina as unbelievably damaged or, on the other end
of the spectrum, incredibly shallow, Brubaker mixes her idealism and
practicality into a believable and very likable character.
While I expected great work
on Selina, however, I am surprised to see Leslie Thompkins serving as a
supporting cast member. Given Leslie's role in the Batman books, it's a great
choice, and I enjoyed seeing the insight into what drives Leslie in the
beginning of this issue. In addition to giving Brubaker another interesting
character to play with, it gives Catwoman a tie to legitimate crime fighters
like Batman and Oracle without straining credibility, given her own criminal
nature.
The mystery of the story
deepens this issue, and I'm quite anxious to see the finale next issue, where we
learn what's been going on. I had thought, based on the clues we got, that the
killer might be an established Batman villain with shapeshifting powers, but I'm
not sure that's the case now. In any case, given how entertaining the series has
been so far, I'm anxious to see the revelations behind the mystery and how that
will affect Selina in the next issue.
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