“I shouldn’t have kept it.”
“I don’t want it.”
“Feels like stealing. Probably why I kept it.”
Keep reading for a quick review of Batman #78 and Catwoman #15.
Batman 78
Despite the dramatic headline on the cover “Reunited! Rekindled! And ready for REVENGE!” this was actually a calm, introspective, interlude of an issue; yes there was a major event at the end (major as far as I’m concerned anyway) but most of it was Selina and Bruce sipping drinks on the beach (ginger ale for Bruce of course) swimming, training, talking to each other from separate rooms in their hotel, and basically circling around their feelings until they finally got to the point. No tears, no yelling, and the only time Selina started to get angry was when Bruce had the nerve to say he understood why she did what she did, because how dare he assume he knows what she’s thinking? (He does, though. Of course he does.)
(Minor spoilers for this part.) I’ve been waiting for this conversation since the Wedding That Wasn’t. Bruce takes some of the control and accountability of the situation away from Selina, saying that she only made the decision to leave because that’s the decision he wanted her to make. At first that bothered me, but I decided 1) he’s probably right, a happy marriage isn’t something the Batman would do well for long, and 2) she took control of the situation away from him first, when she left him at the altar with just a note, assuming she knew what was best for him.
I won’t say how the conversation turned out in the end, except to say it wasn’t exactly surprising, but I was fine with it and I’d guess a lot of readers will be too.
Clay Mann’s art is really lovely this issue, a very realistic style without being too realistic: no ultra-defined teeth or lines in the face, but the contours and shadows on muscles and skin were really well done. Paired with Tomeu Morey’s colors (especially the beautiful, warm tropical lighting) I really enjoyed it. (I did get a laugh out of Bruce’s fake mustache, but I think I was supposed to.)
My only two quibbles: I understand that in a long conversation you’re going to want to space out the text with a lot of panels, but the one shot of Selina by the fire, where you can see just one of her eyes behind Bruce’s silhouette, was used five times in the issue and it started to feel awkward. However, production deadlines can be hellacious, and if that’s what was needed to have time to do such a good job on the rest of the art, so be it.
And also: I was reading from a review copy, so I’m hoping the last page of my copy wasn’t how it actually went to print, because my copy had credits over almost all the panels of the final page. It was supposed to be a dramatic moment, with some beautiful art, and it ended up like the post-commercial credit scene of a sitcom, all “this isn’t really important so we’ll cover it over with some text.” Is that what DC is doing lately? The creators absolutely need to get some recognition for their work, but I thought they were putting the credits on the final panel? Are they not doing that anymore? Is that what everybody else got in their copy too?
Catwoman 15
I’ve fallen behind on reading Catwoman, though not intentionally; the stories and art have looked interesting, I’ve just been procrastinating. (Though I have missed Joëlle Jones’ work on the book.) So I researched the recent storylines and jumped back in this month.
On a different timeline from the Batman book, Selina’s taken a beating lately (literally) and is ready to start some payback. There’s some over-the-top monologuing by one of the bad guys, some “witty” one-liners (even a one liner about not having any one-liners left), an entitled rich woman eating ortolans who got to eat her own words (even if we found out later that she wasn’t what she seemed) followed up by a little smug speechifying from Selina that doesn’t go too far overboard.
It was a straightforward “anti-hero is tired of being kicked around and shows the bad guys who’s boss followed by some foreshadowing of a future plot” kind of story, which means if you haven’t been keeping up with the book, this is a good place to jump in.
I thought the art was very well done, the only “flaw” I saw was Selina’s mouth in the largest panel of the second page looked a little awkward, and gratuitous thigh-gap is gratuitous, but both of those are nit-picky complaints. All the expressions and poses were excellent. Due to manga influences in Mirka Andolfo’s style, Selina looks a little younger than I’m used to this issue, but not annoyingly so. The fight scenes were all very dynamic, and Arif Prianto’s colors are gorgeous.