Graphic Novel Reviews: Catwoman 020

Warning: The reviewer was driven momentarily insane by the contents of this book. What follows is the sum of all his vitriol. Take it with a grain of salt, since he has some bias of his own, but yes, the book was just about that bad.

The Story
I'm not even going to try to and summarize what happens in this book. Does it fit in with what is happening in Justice League of America? Absolutely not, but why bother complaining about it, clearly nobody actually creating these books cares about continuity.

The Review
I've been hanging onto this series for a while. At first it was because I wanted to have all the issues. I was waiting for things to get better. But clearly that's not going to happen. Instead we'll continue to get this mess of terrible characterization, awful continuity, shoddy art work, and just plain worthlessness. I was hoping that things would get better. I continued to review this series because bad reviews are entertaining. But enough is enough. This is the book that caused me to drop this series. It's not worth my money, and the reviews for this series just don't get enough views to make it worth the three bucks I spend on this series. Apparently Justice League of America is the only series I can count on for characterization of Catwoman that isn't awful. And if what I've been hearing about the future of that series is true then I'm going to be sorely tempted to drop it too.

In case you want details about what makes this book so awful, besides the general terrible structure, writing, and art, then I suppose I shall humor you for a few paragraphs.

First of all, I've gotten tired of the idea that Catwoman would ever work with a fence. I think she's been around long enough that she knows who to sell her take to. Why on earth would anyone ever think she needs a fence? Why would anyone think she'd put up with such a small take even for a moment? In fact, why does she even trust whatsherface? What on earth happened to her good supporting cast? Someone, please, bring back Slam and Holly. But not Sam, he can rot for all I care.

Please, stop it with the supernatural elements. This is Catwoman for cripe's sake! One of the supporting characters for Batman. They tend not to be well known for their involvement with the supernatural. And if you think she needs supernatural elements to make her book interesting, then you clearly do not have the chops needed to write this book.

And the art looks like it didn't even bother to read the script, can't say I blame him. The scene where the gangster tels the kids not to hold their guns sideways is just atrocious. "Why?" You may ask. Because in the following panel not only are some of the kids still holding their guns sideways, with their arms bent in the worst shooting posture I've ever seen, BUT THE GUY TELLING THEM NOT TO HOLD THEIR GUNS SIDEWAYS IS HIMSELF HOLDING HIS GUN SIDEWAYS!!! Is some kind of editorial oversight beyond the competency of the editorial department? Or have they completely forgotten what their actual job is, in favor of spending all their time controlling every aspect of what happens in the story? If you cannot even be bothered to tell your artist, "Yo, this looks like shit, dude," then perhaps you need to rethink your career choices!

Nobody should be buying this book. Batman fans should not be buying this book. Catwoman fans should not be buying this book. Shippers should not be buying this book. NOBODY should be buying this book. I repeat. Not a single. Solitary. Sentient being should be wasting their money on this garbage. REVIEWERS should not be wasting their time. Anyone with a functioning brain cell can tell this series will not improve under the current "creative" team.

I will not be buying this book again. Until I hear that the entire creative team has been disbanded and replaced by people that actually care about the character. So, in other words, please don't talk to me about this series until Paul Dini is writing it. Maybe, just maybe, I'll come back for that. But I'd rather see the book cancelled than the continued abuse the character has been undergoing. Actually, that might be better, maybe then Scott Snyder can use her as a secondary character in Batman.

The Grade

0/5

If you liked the review, and for some reason didn't quite get why I hate this book so much, consider picking up the trade:
Catwoman Vol. 1: The Game (The New 52)
Catwoman Vol. 2: Dollhouse (The New 52)
Catwoman Vol. 3: Death of the Family (The New 52)

Though, if you don't want to support the kind of garbage DC has been shoveling us with the current book, I'd recommend the first couple books of volume 3:
Catwoman Vol. 1: Trail of the Catwoman
Catwoman Vol. 2: No Easy Way Down