Future State: Catwoman #2 – Ram V, Writer; Otto Schmidt, Artist
Ray – 9/10
Ray: Ram V wrote Catwoman before Future State and will write it after, which means he doesn’t have much to set up here. That works to his advantage, as he can just use this tie-in to tell a tight, thrilling story paired with the excellent art of Otto Schmidt. When we last left off, Selina had set up a massive train robbery to intercept a train carrying hundreds of kids and teenagers as political prisoners—as well as some VERY high-profile detainees. While her Alleytown team is organizing a strike that will give Selina seconds to work in a middle of a darkened tunnel with no power, she’s assembled her own unlikely team on board. This team includes Talia Al Ghul, the serial-killing supervillain Onomatopoeia, and surprisingly the presumed-dead Bruce Wayne. This story takes place after the events of Dark Detective, which is this event’s one weak spot—the timelines are all over the place, in both big and small ways.
But it really doesn’t matter, because this story is so fast-paced and entertaining that you get swept up in it easily. The Magistrate’s loathsome commander on the train makes a hate-able villain, and all the heroes and antiheroes get to shine. Selina in particular is a more gritty, ruthless hero here than she normally is—she takes some serious hits and dishes them out in close quarters, in an issue that often feels more inspired by “The Raid” or “John Wick” than any of her other comic book runs. The BatCat content in this issue is strong, but doesn’t take over the issue—read Tom King’s work if you want a more in-depth look at them. This is Selina’s chance to shine, and aside from Barbara Gordon in this week’s “Batgirls” story, I don’t think any Gotham vigilante has struck a more impressive blow against the Magistrate. Highly looking forward to what V does with Selina in the main run once it resumes.
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GeekDad received this comic for review purposes.
