Catwoman 13
Ann Nocenti, Rafa Sandoval
Death of the Family Prologue
Spoiler alert! You have been warned!
The newest issue of Catwoman is lofty in its goals, but has a couple near fatal flaws before it even begins. Most of all, the plot is choppy. In essence, it is simply another mediocre issue by Ann Nocenti. I already miss Judd Winick, but I feel like his tenure as head writer had ultimately reached its end, so I’m going to give Nocenti a few more issues. The art is different, but I like it. Though I love the bad girl art of Guillem March, I feel Rafa Sandoval is more appropriate for a more action-packed version of the character. But I can go on for hours about artists I like and artists I hate and so on and so forth, and it wouldn’t change a thing. The art is only half the battle in funny books. The story needs to be great as well.
But this one is just sort of flat. There are two stories going on simultaneously in this issue. One about a creepy guy throwing broken toys from Selina’s past at her (literally) and one about some sort of heist and murder game involving chess. Both seem underdeveloped and a bit rushed, but intriguing nonetheless. The flashback sequences are confusing, and I wasn’t sure what was going on at times, but I’m still interested to see where it will go and how it will connect.
Onto the questions I have after this read. The mysterious guy in the shadows, who is he? Where is the Joker? Is the shadow guy the Joker or are we in for a surprise twist next issue? Why and how exactly was this a crossover if this isn’t the Clown Prince of Crime? Like the crossover issue of Batgirl, this seems to be a rushed prologue that pretty much is two stories combined into one mess of a ride. That being said, I still can’t help but wonder what will happen next. Until next issue, I will remain cautiously optimistic for the future.
I liked the thing with the toys I guess, this was actually only the second new 52 Catwoman I read (the zero issue being the first) and I was kinda just like what's going on here, why do I care again?
In all honesty, I miss the most recent pre-Flashpoint interpretation of the character the best, so I was hesitant with this newer, sexier version after the reboot. But I was pleasantly surprised with the first twelve issues of the Judd Winick and Guillem March run. It seemed hyper-sexualized and a little bit over the top at moments, but I feel like they really "got" the character. I think them leaving might kill the book. But who knows, maybe DC would do the unthinkable and kill the book on purpose, via the Joker? Certainly would make it worth reading then!