Catwoman #4
Story:
Art:

Written by Ed Brubaker
Art by Darwyn Cooke & Mike Allred
Colors and Separations by Matt Hollingsworth
Lettered by Sean Konot

Published by DC
Price: $2.50

My Verdict: Shows promise.

There was something crazed and lame about the way the last series ended. Catwoman gets psychologically smacked and smacked well by The Scarecrow, ending up lying broken and messed up under Gotham. After a backup story in Detective, she's back and trying to do "the right thing" rather than just score a better scam.

This new series manages to take this turn for the character and make it work. Why in the world would Selina Kyle of all people decide to start taking some kind of positive action? In the past, it was only when she felt like it or when she had no other choice. But Brubaker picks up the pieces of Selina and, upon putting her back together, makes this just a well-thought-out next step in her evolution. This issue, finishing up the first story arc, sets up the cementing of her resolve and gives her an "eye on the street" to help her out. How funny that this book will probably end up being the only Bat-book I keep paying for after the combined inanity of Last Laugh and Bruce Wayne: Murderer.

Also of note is the total change in artistic style. Under the pencil of Balent, Selina was always running around in her purple catsuit, sporting huge....tracts of land. The book seemed to exist only to get those tracts on the cover in order to make more fanboys pick it up. Here, the costume is eminently practical, fits the character and the situation a lot better, and if I had any ideas that Warner Brothers had their shite together when it came to creating the feature film starring the character, I'd cynically say that the movie was the impetus for making this change. But, I can't say that, so instead I'll merely give a nod of the hat to Cooke and Allred for providing this new look. Here's hoping that Brad Rader and Armando Gil, who take over next ish, will keep up the good work.