Catwoman (USA) di Ann Nocenti

[Shimamura81]

In effetti credo che sia la più contestata della batfamily, fin dal numero 1...

[Azrael]

Despite being a massive Selina Kyle/Catwoman fan, I've never been a fan of any of the character's "origin stories" as they've all be relatively cliché as far as I'm concerned. They've also never seemed well considered enough for what a character of Catwoman's caliber deserves. That said, this blend of origins -- taking her orphan/foster home thing, the Tim Burton revived by cats after pushed from a window/roof thing and adding a secret Russian identity thing (what?) -- is a horrible mess that makes no sense. It's a nearly offensive blend of nothing good combining into something even worse.

I have trouble blaming Ann Nocenti for this nightmare. As a brand new writer for the series, it's hard to imagine Nocenti had much control over something as big as Catwoman's New 52 origin. However, the writing here is not particularly strong either. The plotting is terribly confusing as the book unnecessarily jumps back and forth in time, and Selina's characterization is dreadful. This is not a Selina I recognize in any way shape or form. She cries constantly, which seems decidedly un-Selina. Repeatedly in this issue, men are her only guidance and inspiration as she tries to develop into a competent thief and con artist. It just feels wrong on every level.

Adriana Melo's art does not help. It's far too cartoonish for the story being told and it's wildly inconsistent from panel to panel and page to page. Selina, who truthfully doesn't look like any version of the character I've ever seen, only remotely resembles herself when fully in costume at the end of the issue. She also alternates between looking about 20 and 45 years old, neither of which seem like the correct age. Both the action and the character acting are frequently laughable and tonally at odds, and the storytelling is hard to follow throughout.

However, the inconsistencies and lack of precise details in the art aren't the biggest problem, especially with Nocenti's script bouncing back and forth in time as it does. It's hard to know not only "when" we are, but also who all these random characters are. There are multiple blonde men in the book who I believe are all supposed to be different characters, but are completely interchangeable and thus leave me unsure.

I've been excited about a new creative team on this book, and since Melo is not going to be the ongoing artist, I suppose I will give issue #13 a chance to see if Nocenti can do something with present day Selina, but this is a really bad start. I shudder to think of someone that enjoyed Christopher Nolan and Anne Hathaway's great take on Selina in "The Dark Knight Rises" picking up this issue in the hopes of finding a good jumping on point. I can't imagine that person ever picking up a Catwoman comic ever again if this was their first taste.

1/5

CBR

[Azrael]

CATWOMAN #16
Written by ANN NOCENTI
Art and cover by RAFA SANDOVAL and JORDI TARRAGONA
On sale JANUARY 23 • 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US • RATED T+
• Catwoman is possessed by the power of Eclipso!
• Selina may be able to fight her way out of the Black Room, but what will be left of her soul if she does?
• And find out the shocking identity of the person who hired Catwoman to steal the diamond in the first place!

[Azrael]

Preview: CATWOMAN #13

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[Azrael]

Catwoman is reminded of her friend Lola, and takes on a very bizarre new job.
The Good
I know I've had a lot of criticisms of the 'New 52' CATWOMAN series since it's launch, and that might just be because I like the character so much that I just want to see her done a little bit of justice. Well, the first real issue into Ann Nocenti's run on CATWOMAN (following her disastrous #0 issue) starts out pretty well. The story opens with Lola, which is something I always stressed we should have seen more of. If you haven't read the series from the start, Lola was Selina's most trusted confidant and dearest friend. At the start of the series she was killed by a thug named Bone due in part to Catwoman's recklessness and irresponsibility. Here, we not only get flashbacks featuring her character, but we also get to see the repercussions of her death manifest in Catwoman's reaction. Lola was her best friend, and her death would have hit Selina pretty hard. We see glimpses of that here when someone (who clearly knows a lot about Catwoman/Selina) presents the character with items that once belonged to Lola. This is a great scene.

There are moments that indicate Selina has matured. She's surveying her surroundings and deducing what her next step should be. I think this is important to note because it shows that she's planning her moves and not throwing herself into a situation she can't get out of irresponsibly.

The story here is interesting, and definitely not what I was expecting. Catwoman has taken a job that involves moving giant chess pieces. What she doesn't realize, however, is that there are some serious repercussions to her actions. When she agrees to help a man with a "score," she didn't intend for it to involve the murder of innocent people. In this case we have Catwoman being a little bit reckless, and not very responsible; but not only that. We have Catwoman as the victim of a crime -- she's being taken advantage of. The result is a story that leaves the reader with a lot of unanswered questions and a piqued interest.

The Bad
I admit I rolled my eyes at lines like "what's a hot blooded girl to do?" As funny as they are, this is Catwoman, not Mae West in 'She Done Him Wrong.' I half expected to see Catwoman say "come up and see me some time," in the next panel. A lot of the dialogue is a little silly, and I wonder if Nocenti has a hard time finding Selina's "voice." The result is conversation that feels a little bit forced and campy.

I can almost understand Selina forgetting to ask questions about why these strange chess pieces needed to be moved in the first place; but what I don't get is why she would keep these strange dolls that once belonged to Lola. In this instance it would have been smarter to investigate where these items are coming from. Instead, she seems to sort of brush them off and disregard them when she can't find the person chasing her in the start of the issue. I'm sure this will end up being explained later, but it is a moment that makes her look bad. Why would she keep these tokens that belonged to Lola? Why wouldn't she investigate further to see where they are coming from? Particularly after one of them made its way across her apartment in the middle of the night. Her character doesn't seem to be thinking logically.

The Verdict
I really like the art in this issue. I think that Rafa Sandoval does a fantastic job penciling this comic and doing so in a way that is really clean, not at all cheesecake and still feels a little bit sexy. It's also just really pretty.

For the most part the story is interesting. It's definitely mysterious and there is enough in this issue to pique my interest. However, there are moments where I think Catwoman doesn't appear to be as intelligent as she is. She probably shouldn't have taken the toy bear that belonged to Lola home, but she did it anyway without really asking any questions. Again, she doesn't seem to be taking precautions here. However, it's not as though Selina isn't taking any precautions at all. One of the best moments in this issue are when she's surveying her targets from a short distance, analyzing them. That's smart. She needs to do that when she's going up against more than one thug at a time. I mean she's strong, but she's not that strong.

Overall, a better start to Nocenti's run than I expected. The issue is well organized and the writing isn't that bad. Really pretty art too.

3/5

CVine

[Azrael]

It's never easy to follow an amazing act. Judd Winnick was able to do something really special, and controversial, with DC's New 52 reboot of Catwoman. However, Ann Nocenti does just that in this prologue to A Death in the Family. Nocenti and artist Rafa Sandoval keep the pace set by Winnick and March and keep Selina Kyle swinging. Dipping into the cat burglar's past from issue #1, Nocenti establishes a story that is equal parts history and setting the tone going forward. The character is still the same after the creative team switch up which means more of what fans love about Selina Kyle. Jump on for the Joker story arc, stay for the awesome creative output by Nocenti and Sandoval.

8/10

Newsarama

[The Dark Knight]

Cioè questa nuova Catwoman ha le origini di

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Già

A te piace come scelta?

Curioso che abbia fatto questa scelta, che l'abbia fatto per

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A me no. 

[Azrael]

Cioè questa nuova Catwoman ha le origini di

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Già

A te piace come scelta?

Curioso che abbia fatto questa scelta, che l'abbia fatto per

Spiacente, ma non sei autorizzato a visualizzare il contenuto degli spoiler.

A me no. 

Perchè?

[The Dark Knight]

Avrei preferito che continuassero con la gestione Winick e con quella Catwoman. Un reboot di Selina fatto in questo modo non mi ispira molto. Inoltre Ann nocentini da quello che mi risulta non ha fatto molto bene su Green Arrow.

[Azrael]

I'm not afraid to give creators another chance, so even though Ann Nocenti's take on "Green Arrow" is leaving me cold, her taking over "Catwoman" with Rafa Sandoval sounded like it had some potential. Based on this issue, I'm intrigued.

There are really two different stories interwoven here; there's a tie-in to the upcoming "Death of the Family" event in the Batman family of comics, and also a new heist for Catwoman involving a massive chess game being played across all of Gotham City. I suspect people are going to buy it for the former, but it's the latter that is much more interesting.

The "Death of the Family" tie-in plot feels a bit weak, with (presumably) the Joker taunting Catwoman by attaching toys of a deceased friend of Catwoman's to helium balloons and floating them up next to her. If you think this sounds ridiculous, trust me: it is. In a comic company's line that revels in the fantastical, this still somehow feels absurd in its execution, and on multiple levels. None of it holds together, and it doesn't fit in well with the rest of the story.

That plot, where Catwoman's been hired to move the chess pieces of her employer's opponent so he'll lose the game, is also a little nutty but here it's fun. I like the larger than life aspect of the game, and I'll give Nocenti credit that I didn't see the 11th hour twist of what else was at stake in the game even though it now seems obvious. It's a nice shift away from the normal "Catwoman steals jewels or artifacts" story that you see running rampant in stories about the character, and it's an imaginative step forward that makes me curious to see what else Nocenti has in her bag of tricks.

Sandoval's pencils are a good match for "Catwoman" with their curvy but energetic nature. Watching Catwoman climb up the side of a building or leap through the air feels alive, and even a twisted shadow on the wall ends up looking intriguing. Sandoval is good at backgrounds, too; every page is bursting with them from the skyline of Gotham to curls of smoke and glass going everywhere. Guillem March's art defined the first year of "Catwoman" but it's Sandoval that I'm finding myself far more intrigued by if he can keep this level of detail up.

"Catwoman" #13 feels like a good start to the pairing of Nocenti and Sandoval. Uninspired crossover plot thread aside, this feels like a nice direction for the book, with an inventive main story that avoids the same old stuff. I'll be back next month for more.

3.5/5

CBR

[Azrael]

Catwoman #17

[Walter Kovacs]

Catwoman #17

Ma che moto è? 

[Azrael]

Ma che moto è?  

La Cat-Moto  

[Azrael]

PREVIEW: CATWOMAN #14

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[Shimamura81]

Ottimo lavoro della sandoval alle matite e la storia non mi è sembrata male... oddio, i tie in ancora non mi hanno dle tutto convinto, ma questo volume è carino.