Catwoman: Lonely City #3 – Cliff Chiang, Writer/Artist
Ray – 9/10
Ray: It’s been a while since Cliff Chiang’s future-set Catwoman saga released an issue, and the conclusion won’t be released till August. That’s a common pitfall of these Black Label books—sometimes the best titles lose momentum due to lengthy delays for the top-tier art to be ready. With Chiang doing literally everything on this book, it’s not a surprise he needs his time—and it’s also not a surprise that it’s worth the wait. Catwoman and her motley crew of retired villains including Riddler, Killer Croc, and Poison Ivy are planning a major heist that involves a break-in to the Batcave, and a flashback to her time in prison shows how Selina became so hardened. This issue makes great use of some supporting Bat-characters like Leslie Thompkins and Barbara Gordon, who slowly start filling in the blanks about how Selina wound up in this twisted version of Gotham ruled by an increasingly fascist Harvey Dent.
People will notice a lot of real-world parallels in Dent’s rise to power and how he keeps his grip on it. Real issues go unaddressed, people react with anger, and the government responds by tightening its grip. As a heist goes wrong, we see one member of the team fall in a surprisingly affecting scene—and one that starts to drive a rift between Selina and her partners as she wonders just how the government always seems to be one step ahead. While Two-Face seems to be slipping back into madness, one of the most surprising things about this issue is just how human the rest of the Gotham rogues feel here. The one element I’m not sure works quite as well is the inclusion of magical elements in this issue, as Selina seeks out Jason Blood for help obtaining a magical artifact that massively changes the balance of power in Gotham. It’s a huge swerve that massively complicates what’s to come in the grand finale.
To find reviews of all the DC issues, visit DC This Week.
GeekDad received this comic for review purposes.
