Catwoman has stolen her fair share of jewels, but it’s not every day that one of those trinkets contains ghosts of the past. Your Major Spoiler review of Catwoman: One Bad Day #1, awaits!
BATMAN – CATWOMAN: ONE BAD DAY #1
Writer: G. Willow Wilson
Artist: Jamie McKelvie
Colorist: Jamie McKelvie
Letterer: Clayton Cowles
Editor: Dave Wielgosz
Publisher: DC Comics
Cover Price: $7.99
Release Date: January 24th, 2023
Previously in Catwoman: One Bad Day: As a young girl, Selina Kyle AKA Catwoman grew up poor, and during that time her, her sister, and her mother were often forced to make sacrifices, regardless of how sentimental they were.
NO SMALL SCORES
Catwoman: One Bad Day #1 opens with Selina prepping for a job. She leaves her house and enters the street where a protest is going on. Things then flashback to when she was a child and her mother is forced to pawn off a broach that she believes is one of a kind, but only gets a couple hundred for it. Back in present day, Catwoman navigates through the crowds and utilizes the protest to sneak into a prestigious auction house that is preparing to put the same broach from her past up for bidding. Once inside she meets a curator who explains the history of the broach to her. After a few shenanigans, Selina is able to make off with the broach. The next day when she tries to fence the broach and make a payday, she is informed that the piece of jewelry is fake. This leads Selina and a certain Caped Crusader to launch an investigation into the truth behind the broach.
DECEPTIVELY COMPLEX
Catwoman: One Bad Day #1 keeps things pretty simple on its surface. The plot boils down to a heist, a complication afterward, and how Catwoman decides to address this hiccup in her plan. On that level it handles things competently, it’s not groundbreaking by any means but it’s entertaining to watch things play out. It’s underneath the surface where this issue shines. There are deep themes going on here revolving around the class divide between the rich and the poor, the reluctance of the state to value anything other than money, worth versus sentimentality, and even the persisting struggle against fascism. The best is when Catwoman has to come to terms with what the broach means to her and her family as opposed to what others deem its value. This is handled with nuance and it’s surprising how conflicted Selina is regarding the sentiment around this struggle. This issue also features one of the best takes on Catwoman and Batman’s relationship. It’s flirty and playful and it strips away a lot of the mystique of Batman. It shows him not being hyper-competent when faced with situations regarding love and being a good partner which is refreshing. While the issue does have a lot of hidden themes going on, some of them feel a bit emotionally manipulative, like tying the history of the broach to The French Resistance from WW2. Symbolically it works, but it doesn’t add much to the plot. Also, the issue wraps up unceremoniously with a limp ending that sort of brushes away any lasting ramifications from the plot.
BOTTOM LINE: A WONDERFUL ONE OFF
Catwoman: One Bad Day #1 might not be destined to be the definitive Catwoman story, but it certainly ranks up there as a solid story in her history. A wonderful mix of surface level action and deeper subtext with an enjoyable glimpse at one of the most famous relationships in comics makes this a great read. It just could’ve ended on a better note. 4 out of 5 stars.
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Catwoman: One Bad Day #1
Catwoman: One Bad Day #1 does nearly everything right by allowing the reader to enjoy it on multiple levels. A couple missteps with tone aren’t enough to diminish what is good here.
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Writing8
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Art8
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Coloring8
At a young age, Jonathan was dragged to a small town in Wisconsin. A small town in Wisconsin that just so happened to have a comic book shop. Faced with a decision to either spend the humid summers and bitter winters traipsing through the pine trees or in climate controlled comfort with tales of adventure, horror, and romance, he chose the latter. Jonathan can often be found playing video games, board games, reading comics and wincing as his “to watch” list grows wildly out of control.