Catwoman #11 Review

Things don’t go to plan for Catwoman as she attempts to stop The Dollhouse.

Catwoman #11

Failure is always an interesting hurdle for a hero to face and after this issue we will get to see the fallout from Selina’s latest problematic antics. But before that we get the pride before the fall issue, which really hammers home how good Winick is on this book.

As with every issue of Catwoman since its new 52 relaunch Winick puts Selina’s character development first. But this isn’t to say that it is to the detriment of the narrative. Winick manages to make every event of the story impact Selina, which is why she is such a well-rounded character. This issue is no different. Her confidence in her plan is almost palatable and that is why when it does fail, even if it is a little cliché, you care. Winick continues to make Catwoman confident to the point of leaping first. It is a great part of her character and has been there since day one.

This time around though there are a few problems that seem more obvious with the knowledge that Winick is leaving the book very soon. Her time with Spark does seem to be in there for the hell of it. Their scene together is there to expand upon their relationship of course, but the more interesting plot point of Spark playing Selina isn’t even touched upon. Also Detective Alvarez seems a little quick to anger, which makes the opening more extreme than it should have been. Granted their scuffle is fun, but it does seem out of character. Even with all the great work done on Selina this issue as Winick sets her up for another fall, these minor flaws in the narrative stand out.

As for The Dollhouse, it continues to be an interesting idea. The villain looks menacing (One assumes he’s called Dollhouse from the front cover) and he is a colorful addition to Gotham’s rogue’s gallery. He is an enemy that has emotional ties to Selina, granted her motivation for dealing with him isn’t really mentioned this issue either.

Adriana Melo is back after Guillem March’s departure last issue. March is a hard to fact to follow as he has defined the visual identity of the book, but Melo does an admirable job. Her action beats are frenetic and the backgrounds keep in line with the dank and dirty milieu of Selina’s world. However her character work is inconsistent. Her characters are often expressive, but they also seem a little ugly in places. This inconsistency in the facial features of Selina and the rest of the cast does distract.

So, even though this is another solid issue with a lot of character work done on Selina it still has problems. This maybe due to the fact that Winick is moving on from the title, but even though they are small problems they do detract from the overall issue. The art also being a little problematic lessens the entertainment value of the book. But it is still one of the better titles on the stands this month.

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Tags: Catwoman DC Comics New 52 Reviews Guillem March Judd Winick