Catwoman #13 – Joelle Jones, Writer; Fernando Blanco, Hugo Petrus, Joelle Jones, Artists; John Kalisz, Laura Allred, Colorists
Ratings:
Ray – 7.5/10
Ray: This Catwoman series tends to waver between moving way too slow and way too fast, and Catwoman #13 – the big finale to the current arc – definitely leans more towards the latter. Selina’s year-long battle with the Creel family has taken many twists and turns, ending in the death of one of the Creel sons, and Raina Creel’s obsession with bringing him back has led to a tense battle for the artifact Selina stole the last issue. Now, her friend Carlos has had his Aunt kidnapped in an attempt to force an exchange, and Selina’s mission to save them is complicated by the presence of her stalked James. While Carlos is being beaten within an inch of his life, Selina is dealing with James refusing to take no for an answer. I’m not sure if James is supposed to be evil – he’s certainly vaguely sinister, but not outwardly malevolent – but Jones absolutely captures the feeling of being unable to shake someone in these awkward segments of dialogue.
Once Selina returns to the scene, things move fast and furious. It turns out that the map contained in the artifact is activated by blood, something the Creels realize when Carlos’ nosebleed hits it just the right way. They don’t have time to look at it before it disappears, and soon the fight is on. Selina gets ambushed by Creel’s zombie son, who stabs and nearly kills her, and James actually proves to be useful for something. But the series still suffers from Raina Creel being a ridiculous one-note villain, as she goes so over the top as to kill her power broker son who is currently running for Governor to get his blood to run the map for longer. That doesn’t seem like smart long-term thinking. The issue ends with Luthor once again showing up to try to recruit Selina for his Year of the Villain games. This is an odd choice as she hasn’t been a villain for decades, but seeing Joelle Jones art again is a plus.
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Disclaimer: GeekDad received this comic for review purposes.
