Catwoman #1-6

I have to say it didn't get off to a very good start. The first issue had its flaws still presented a pretty compelling portrait of Catwoman as a very damaged person, and her relationship with Batman as probably very unhealthy for them both. The ifnal panel especially drove this home. This is entirely undone by the first panel of Issue #2, where they are in a more traditional post-coitus pose with Catwoman draped over Batman like the cover of a fantasy novel as they engage in vapid pillow talk. Oy. I've never seen a comic take an intriguing premise, and do a 180 so fast it's like Stephen Seagal broke its neck. Nothing is more boring than heterosexual vanilla sex between two rich white people, even if one of them is Batman.

This book also didn't take even one more issue to destroy any potentially interesting plot threads of Catwoman wanting revenge against the Russian mob, or having a fence named Lola (who was a showgirl). She manipulates the mob into massacring each other (in a party hosted by Bruce Wayne, no less), but the guys in skull masks pay her friend Lola a visit and kill her off-panel. This is a rare case of fridging to give another woman angst, but I'm still going to count it since Lola was barely around for a single issue. *sigh*

The mobster behind the skull-masked goons is of course himself a deformed skull-faced monster. At first I thought this the new version of Black Mask, but nope, apparently it's some new guy named Bones with severe dry skin issues. The issue ends with him confronting Catwoman over her dead friend. Catwoman tries to fight with Bone's thugs (and harmony), but is quickly overwhelmed both physically and emotionally.

The third issue begins with a flashback to Catwoman starting out in Gotham, learning how to plan a job from Lola. Good we get to see her again, even posthumously. It opens proper with Bone delivering a lecture about how important his things are. If Catwoman had merely taken his money, he wouldn't have cared as much but she stole the physical indicators of his success. The look on Catwoman's face, however, suggests she has retreated to her Special Place and may not be joining us again anytime soon.

Bone takes the villain ball and runs for the end zone as he leaves his men to work over Catwoman, who of course quickly escapes, disables (literally) the goons, and comes back after Bone. She is about to kill him in revenge when Batman shows up to stop her. Her inner monologue implies this too is a dance they go through, as she hurls the mobster off a roof and Batman is forced to save him while letting her escape. However, this time, having lost a friend directly due to her actions, Catwoman is overcome emotionally and collapses into a fetal ball. She pulls herself together just long enough to go back to Lola's apartment and try to clean up any trace of evidence connecting the two of them, but she is sloppy and the police catch her literally red-handed.

Catwoman barely escapes from the cops and runs into an old friend at Lola's funeral. Her friend is also a fence, but Catwoman decides she only works alone now. She doesn't want anyone else to suffer on her account. We area also introduced to a good cop in Gotham named Detective Alvarez who we know is a good cop because he was busted down for accidentally catching the Deputy Mayor doing his best Marion Barry impression. He has linked all of Catwoman's crimes, but none of her biometrics match any database.

Catwoman's first solo gig goes pearshaped immediately when she rips off a small time drug dealer, only to find he was carrying a half million dollars in dirty cop money fit to be laundered, and that there is a metahuman heavy named Reach who sends her a half mile into the air for her troubles. She still manages to beat Reach by the skin of her teeth and escape with the money, but she deliberately ignores her better judgement and starts spending lavishly. We're treated to the first real fanservice in a while as she receives a topless massage with a towel on, shortly before the cops move in with all force. She is captured and worked over by Reach again in lockup, but fortunately Alvarez had caught on to the dirty cops and so helps her escape.

Her escape with the money is halted once more by Batman, who tells her she has to leave it behind. She calls him out on scrubbing her from the criminal databases. They have a fight, and he asks her how much longer she thinks he can cover for her. Catwoman says that she knows he'll let her continue as long as they are having sex, which she seems ready to initiate right there in the alley. Batman refuses this time, and grabs her by the shoulders, finally calling her out on all her self-destructive behavior. He shouts at her "Do you want to die?!" and a tearful Catwoman responds "Maybe I do!"

Batman has no response. He just quietly lets her go and doesn't even try to follow this time. It ends with Catwoman at her friend Gwen the fence's apartment, curled up with her head on her knees, her mask off but the rest of her costume on, and tears on her face. She confesses to being Catwoman, but more importantly, she finally admits that she needs some help.

The tonal shift between the first issue and the following ones is quite jarring. This is not an erotic thriller, nor is it a capricious superhero romp. We are watching a person's self-destruction. Every one of her decisions she knows is wrong and insanely risky, and almost every one turns out badly for her. One after another, Selena pushes away her few remaining friends and allies, while taking more and more risks that only get her deeper in trouble.

In keeping with the shift in tone, the fanservice is far less frequent, and while Catwoman is drawn in a less sexualized manner and aside from the trip to the spa, manages to keep her clothes on for the most part. The second issue was also severely disappointing because of how casually it discarded potentially interesting plot elements. Lola, we hardly knew ye. Bone is, by Gotham standards, an absolutely pathetic mobster, more suited to a Dick Tracey comic than the Bat-Family. His grotesque face and obsession with material things do not set him apart enough from Black Mask or the Penguin and I doubt we'll be seeing too much more of him.

Reach is a slightly more interesting character despite being an almost complete cipher. She resembles a punk version of Korra from Avatar, and there is no explanation given for her powers except "she's a metahuman." Why is someone with gravity control doing grunt work for dirty cops? Who knows. Hopefully she gets elaborated on later. Her artfully torn fishnets provide the closest thing to fanservice for much of her issues, but she otherwise stays fully clothed. She is also quite muscular, a unique visual look for females in comics that contrasts with Selena's voluptuous-yet-still-slender body.

The art maintains its high qualityh. The fight scenes are impressive and often shockingly violent. When Catwoman tricks Reach into getting too close, she bites her ear off in a half-page splash with lavish detail. The same sort of detail is also spent on facial expressions and body language, showing how quickly Selena switches from seductress to a cold, affected mask to scared and vulnerable. She has a habit here of sitting in a fetal position when emotionally overwhelmed for whatever reason, even when alone. IT's a nice touch that lets you know that she is not faking here, that she really does feel scared, depressed, and lonely.

The latter is something that people may find problematic. In previous versions, Catwoman has been seductress, she's been cold and snarky, but she's never really been this vulnerable and psychologically screwed up. Through her actions and inner monologue, her sex appeal is revealed as a tool for drawing people to her physically (where they are vulnerable) while pushing them away emotionally (where she is). Even Batman is not immune, and Selena's declaration of her suicidal intent strikes Bruce particularly hard, and seeing just how desolate he looks standing on that rooftop as she runs away for what could be the last time is heartbreaking even if you can't even see his facial expression. Batman realizing just how unhealthy their relationship is and just what an enabler he's been is something that should be elaborated on, even if he drops out of this book for a while.

Speaking of the men, Detective Alvarez is something of a non-entity. It looks like they are setting him up as a potential love interst now that Batman is going to take some time off, but right now other than being a "good cop" he is quite bland and forgettable.

After reading the second issue I was ready to drop this down, but the last two issues of this arc redeemed it for their emotional depth. I'd actually say it ends better than the first, due to the fanservice getting phased out (unless you count fetal position breakdowns as fanservice, which some people do but I find far too uncomfortable). Overall, though largely on the strength of the last two issues, I give this arc a 4/5.