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Catwoman
Fire With Fire
25/JAN/2004
Publisher: DC Comics
Writer: Ed Brubaker
Pencils: Paul Gulacy
Inks: Jimmy Palmiotti
Colors: Laurie Kronenberg
Letters: Clem Robins
Price: $2.50 US/R16.95 SA
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As Catwoman returns to the East End of Gotham City
after a long road trip a lot has changed. One of these changes is
that she isn’t the same person she was before her trip away.
The last sentence may sound cryptic in it’s notions but the
truth is it’s actually far from it. Catwoman has essentially
changed before our eyes as the old art styles of the book have left
and been replaced with the new, as Paul Gulacy
[Reload] takes over the pencils for the feline
fatale.
On returning to her beloved home in the East End
Selina finds out that gangsters have been vying for power in the
neighbourhood during her absence. When a local store owner is brutally
beaten to death and his store burnt to the ground it’s time
for Catwoman to find some answers and send the criminals a message
they won’t forget.
Ed Brubaker [Gotham Central, Sleeper]
continues to write a well rounded book with a great balance between
character, story and action and this issue has a piece of each.
It might not be his best work to date on Catwoman, especially following
his brilliant job on the last arc 'Wild Ride' ,
but it’s solid work nonetheless and a nice set-up issue for
what look likes another promising Catwoman storyline.
As mentioned above, the major change that has taken place with this
series is on the artistic front. Catwoman had become known for its
different artistic style and this had added an original and special
feel to a book that managed to stand out from the crowd in mainstream
comics. Unfortunately that’s all in the past now as the powers
that be have decided to shift the art back to a more ‘normal’
superhero/action style. Maybe it’s for the upcoming movie
push or to try and reach more generic superhero fans, but I for
one am very disappointed that it had to change.
Paul Gulacy is by no means a ‘bad’ artist but he is
not necessarily the best of the bunch either. His action scenes
seem a bit generic and flat when compared to previous Catwoman artists
like Cameron Stewart and Darwyn Cooke
[DC:The New Frontier, Catwoman:Selina’s
Big Score]. The dynamic panel work and vibrant action scenes
we were previously blessed with are just not around anymore.
The major point I have to pick with Gulacy’s art would have
to be his renderings of the major characters. Slam Bradley
just doesn’t look good and is drawn incredibly inconsistently.
In one panel he will have a rounded face with a slight double-chin
and ruffled features. In the next he has sharp cheek lines and a
perfectly triangulated and clean jaw line ala Superman.
The end result is that the character ends up looking like two different
people. This inconsistency is also marred by some bad facial tone
work by the colourist Laurie Kronenberg. She manages to use strange
soft brushwork on some of the characters faces that leaves them
looking like new-born babies. Where’s the grit, wrinkles and
stubble for Slam? Why is Catwoman carrying a whip in one panel and
nothing in the next? Inconsistency mars this from being a good artistic
book and that’s a great shame because it used to be one of
the best.
A disappointing artistic choice is held together
by another solid issue’s writing by Ed Brubaker. The art is
not shockingly bad but it is inconsistent and a far cry from the
high standards that regular Catwoman readers are used to.
Score
6/10
Reviewed By:Iain Duncan
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Comic Reviews
