The Purple Catwoman is back! The Purple Catwoman is back! The Purple Catwoman is back! But is the issue any good?
CONVERGENCE: Catwoman #1
Writer: Justin Gray
Artist: Ron Randall
Colorist: Gabe Eltaeb
Letterer: Pat Brosseau
Editor: Marie Javins
Publisher: DC COmics
Cover Price: $3.99
Previously in Convergence: Do you really care? Does any of this make sense? Hey, look! Pre-Zero Hour Metropolis, and it has Catwoman in it… because… REASONS!
THE MOST DANGEROUS GAME
Hey, you know what would make us have faith in humanity? NOT HUNTING THEM FOR SPORT!
This issue starts out in what is left of Suicide Slum with a bunch of military Dude Bros who are out hunting humans for sport. Catwoman takes them down, and the remaining residents are safe. As I’ve stated more than once in my reviews of this series, I want to know who was in control of the series bible, and who thought hunting people in a part of Metropolis that has gone all Escape From New York was a great idea.
While the Shadow of the Bat tie-in dealt with Tobias Whale trying to control food distribution, this issue gives us a look at Intergang and Bruno Mannheim taking control of the drug supply (legal and illegal). If the other issues in Convergence have shown cities working together, or the positive elements that can come from being under the dome, Catwoman turns the attention to the criminal element, and reminds all of us that even when we should be coming together, there are going to be those who want to tear it all down.
Catwoman’s involvement with Intergang comes front and center when she has to rescue a kidnapped chemist that Intergang has been kidnapping in order to keep drugs in circulation. Lots of fighty-fighty ensue, with Selena barely escaping. Then the dome goes down and Batman finally shows up… or rather the Batman from the Kingdom Come city shows up.
Justin Gray is a solid writer and the story presented is well written, with characters working through the situation, instead of the situation being crafted for the character. While I really don’t care to see the horror of hunting humans for sport, or Intergang disposing of their enemies in a tank of piranha, I see why these elements were in the issue. We do need to be reminded that deep down we are not all good. People will take advantage of a situation to gain more control, and while the city is full of superheroes (even if they are depowered), the criminal element is still running rampant.
FAMILIAR ART
This week’s Convergence books really rely on the nostalgia factor to work. In the art department, seeing purple Catwoman brought back a lot of memories of what worked, and what didn’t work with the character, but best of all, the art took me back to that small apartment I occupied in 1992, where reading comics like Catwoman kept me from wondering why the furnace didn’t work, but I got dizzy every time I sat close to it. The art is really good in this issue, with very dramatic poses, great use of the panel, and color that pops off the page.
BOTTOM LINE: IT IS WHAT IT IS
I really don’t like the opening scenario in this book. I want to see the best in humanity, but that isn’t what the dark and gritty side of the street looks like from ten stories up. I like the situation Catwoman has been forced into, and nothing felt overly forced. The issue of dome continuity still bothers me, but at least the art is spectacular. This issue isn’t necessary to understand the whole Convergence storyline, but if you are a fan of Purple Catwoman, then you’ll want to pick this issue up. The Pre-Zero Hour Catwoman was at her most conflicted between doing good and being bad, and this issue shows us both sides of Selena.
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