Talisman's Catastic Batcentric Review Thread<3

[Talisman]

Catwoman #4:

Liked: Not a lot. The art brings so much to this story. I enjoyed seeing Selina caught by the police, and sets the building on fire, saving Lola's body. Selina should have showed just a tad bit more grief with the dead body right there, but I digress. Winnick's voice for the characters have been very spot on, and I'm enjoying the consistency for Selina's journey thus far. The good cop, who knows something fishy is going down.

Disliked: Sigh. A lot. Didn't care for the new black chick who's chomping to be the new fence, the funeral scene seemed just a tad bit rushed. Like, maybe this should have been saved for the post 1st storyline wrap up, anyway, it could have been better. There's nothing really grabbing me in this issue. It just seems like filler, even the introduction of the new superpowered villain (who's out of place in this book). And the name, Reach? Really?

Overall, I give this a 4 out of 9 cattails. Bad form, Winnick.

[Talisman]

I'm very curious to see what Melo delivers with the zero issue. I'm assuming she had more time on that, and if she really is going to be the next full-time artist, maybe it will be a better indication of her style instead of a rush-job fill-in. I thought her fill-ins were fairly dull and in no way made her worthy of being the next full-time Catwoman artist. Catwoman is all about style, which Guillem March delivered in spades. They need someone like that. Or at least go in a more street / noir vibe, and go for a Brian Stelfreeze or Cully Hamner type artist.

I am assuming Stelfreeze either can't make monthly deadlines or just does not want to work for DC or Marvel on a regular basis. I love his work so much but he never does interiors. This is an example of his Catwoman:

I'd LOVE to see Stelfreeze on at least the covers. Another artist I'd love to see is Andy Park. His work on the Tomb Raider comic for top cow a few years ago (decade, whatevs) was phenomenal, and he really needs to come back to comics full time.

[Talisman]

BTW, all. I'm back on schedule. I hope to have the rest of this series reviewed by the time the 0 issue comes out this month.

[El Sombrero]

If you got s*** to do by all means do it, don't feel like you have to neglect important things in your life to post Catwoman reviews . I just find your reviews entertaining and I like Catwoman so they're fun to read.

[El Sombrero]

It just seems like filler, even the introduction of the new superpowered villain (who's out of place in this book). And the name, Reach? Really?

Yeah, the villains really killed me in this series. They all felt lame and many of them felt out of place, none worse than Reach. Winick was clearly writing a realistic Catwoman book, with her doing robberies and having to find places to stash cash and sleep each night, etc. To have some superpowered chick shooting lightning bolts and sending Selina up in the sky, almost out of the atmosphere, it totally killed that sense of disbelief and did not fit at all. I disliked Spark for the same reason. Catwoman does not work with superpowered characters unless you make Catwoman herself WAY over the top and campy, which is not what they're trying to do with the character here.

What I ultimately found so frustrating with this series was that I really liked Selina's characterization, most of the dialogue, and the overall tone to everything. And Guillem's art was just sensational. But the plotlines were bad and new characters so poor that it killed it. It could have pretty easily been one of the best Catwoman arcs / runs ever and it blew it.

[tylenoljones]

BTW, all. I'm back on schedule. I hope to have the rest of this series reviewed by the time the 0 issue comes out this month.

Looking forward to it!

[Talisman]

COMING TONIGHT:

Ann Nocenti's Catwoman. My verdict may SHOCK and dismay you!!!

[Talisman]

Catwoman #13 review

What I liked:A lot. I am a huge Nocenti fan, and a theme in her work is that she always tries to put in social commentary with her work, and she writes a dense and fun story here. It's kinetic, and zany in the Nocenti kinda way. She packs a lot of easter eggs throughout the book, like the clothes on the line, the little jokers in the background. Lola makes a cameo, and the symbolism that she puts into all of her work. As a fan of her work, I understood what she was trying to get across with the chess pieces being small children, and the symbolism is very true of today's society. Much like Morrison's current Action run, Ann is focusing on the downtrodden in today's world. And I like to see where she is going. And Rafa, OMG, I didn't think anyone would be able to top March's work on this book, but he may be a contender. Some things need a refining, like her casual wear needs to be glammed up, and she really needs to amp up the awesome of her new fence. Lola was around for a total of 2 issues, and I still miss that character, but I have a feeling we're going to have an amazing run with Nocenti & Rafa.

What I didn't like:Not much. I didn't care for some of the overly zany parts, and the flow needs to mesh better between artist and writer, as some scenes just seem too disjointed. Her dialogue isn't natural, but it's not always a negative when dealing with comic book characters. The costume. PLEASE REDESIGN THIS BEAST. Selena has so much potential, but the headgear and Black Widow get up is growing thin on this book.

Ann is an amazing writer, and if people don't believe me, I ask that they read her Daredevil. All of the quirks are right there, but it's regarded one of the best runs on said character.

[coveredinbees]

I know. I loved this issue. I had to look up the bit with the ballast. It's fun to learn!

Sorry, mate, I like Rafa more than March.