Catwoman #7 Review

Cat Bird

Writer: Joelle Jones
Artist: Fernando Blanco, Elena Casagrande
Publisher: DC Comics
Release Date: January 16, 2019

Cover Price: $3.99

I like this book and am glad it has gotten out of the shadow of Batman a bit more since Joelle Jones started it in July.  That said, the first arc kind of ended on a whimper so I was looking forward to seeing what we would get at the start of this one.  Was it any good?  Let's find out...

Let me start by telling you all that this is a very quick read.  That can mean a lot of things, some negative some positive...here it is pretty positive.

The issue opens with Selina "checking out" some jewelry while monologuing a bit about her past and how she learned to be the badass she is.  It's a very Pretty Woman type scene but Selina didn't need Richard Gere to put the exclamation point on it...she did so herself and it ends with her strutting her stuff down the street.  It might have been a low key scene on the page, but it had me pretty fired up!

We continue with another extended scene, but this time with the Penguin.  Yep, Oswald is in town (with a few days to kill?) and while he sits quietly in a cab, the tension builds until BLAM!  It all threw me off at first, but Jones sets up that whatever he is in Villa Hermosa for, it sure ain't small talk!

After a quick and disgusting look at Raina, We see that Selina kept her word to Maggie and then see more evidence that the Penguin is not playing around.  It leads to Catwoman kicking mucho asso in a cool action movie like set-piece before coming face-to-face with Oswald.

I really liked this issue and while there may not be a ton of meat on the bone here, it is tasty all the same.  I liked the fast-paced nature of it and after being disappointed that some of the characters in the first arc weren't developed well enough, having the familiar face of the Penguin show up was a welcomed surprise.  Joelle Jones has been at her best with character heavy issues, but this is the best mix of character and action this series has seen so far.

The combo of Casagrande and Blanco are like chocolate and peanut butter...two great tastes that go great together.  The book looks great and while we already knew that either is a great choice to fill in for Jones, we see that together works out well too!

Bits and Pieces:

This is a quick moving issue that is equal parts action and character work and it just might be the most balanced in this series so far.  The art is also really good and I can easily recommend this issue to anyone who has even a slight interest in what Selina has been up to since the kind of wedding.

8.8/10