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CATWOMAN #1
"Anodyne Part One of Four"
Recommended (8/10)
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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 |
Brubaker and Cooke knocked my socks off with their four part "Search for Catwoman" backup in Detective Comics, so I was expecting the same sort of gritty crime drama in their Catwoman series. What I got instead was a story that attempts to redefine the protagonist, something she is sorely in need of after almost a hundred issues of her own series and probably five different versions of her origin. Cooke's art is gorgeous as always, although I have to admit that Allred's inks make it look quite different than it looked in Detective, and I didn't like the
change as much as I had hoped to. Brubaker's script is a pretty impressive piece
of work as well, an examination of the many roles and histories Selina Kyle has
had and a setup for a new status quo that doesn't rely too heavily on someone
knowing her past, but doesn't give the feeling that it's all been chucked out
the window either.
I have the advantage of
knowing, at least in broad strokes, where Brubaker intends to go with the
series, and so I can sort of see the shape of the series already in this first
issue. Giving Selina someone to care about besides herself is a pretty important
step to making her a sympathetic character again, and I like that Brubaker has
turned the clock back a little to the Frank Miller days, making her a little
dirtier and scrappier, and less a debutante who's in this strictly for the
thrills. Having something drive her besides greed and a taste for adventure is
pretty important.
Selina Kyle becomes a much
more sympathetic character in this issue. Her talk with Leslie Thompson is a
clever way to introduce us to some of her inner demons and recent past, and
having her chat with Batman was also a good way to give more information as well
as to explore the relationship she has with him at this point. Throughout the
issue, Brubaker is setting up the new status quo for Selina even while he
defines her character, and he balances those two needs pretty effectively.
Darwyn Cooke's work here is stunning, and that's no surprise. While I missed the grittier and rougher qualities of the Detective backup stories, I have to
admit that the beauty of it all is still there. He manages to give Selina a
strong beauty without making her into a supermodel, giving her a down-to-earth
quality that is really important as well. And his work on Gotham City, its
citizens and buildings and costumed characters, gives it the same timeless/1940s
look that the animated series did so well. Cooke does some particularly nice
work when Selina is suiting up or jumping off into the night after speaking with
Batman, conveying a certain wildness to her when she's in her costumed persona.
From the start, Catwoman has mostly been about a girl who wanted to help
herself. She wanted to steal, she wanted to get back at someone who had wronged
her, she wanted to work for the government to get out of trouble she was in,
etc. She hasn't really been shown to care about anyone else, or to be working
for any larger goal. Brubaker hints in this first issue at that sort of larger
purpose, and if he can deliver on that subtle but important change, I expect my
appreciation for the book to grow with time.
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