Reviews del CatWoman #55

http://the-isb.blogspot.com/2006/05/week-in-ink-5-24-06.html
Catwoman #55 : Will Pfeifer and David Lopez have obviously realized that the key to writing good comics is to have Wildcat jump off a building and start busting heads within the first seven pages, and if that little rule isn't written down somewhere, it should be . Anyway, the storyline's been highly entertaining so far, and the Film Freak's continuing to round out as a great nemesis for Holly, but honestly: Selina's baby's only like a week old, and already she's pawning him off on a nanny so she can go run around on rooftops, and that seems a little unnecessary. Seriously, lady: Stay home a while, catch some Baby Einstein videos or something.

http://goodcomics.blogspot.com/2006/05/what-i-bought-24-may-2006.html
Catwoman #55 by Will Pfeifer , David Lopez, and Alvaro Lopez
$2.99, DC
The Film Freak is about to get film footage of two Catwomans. Yes, I said Catwomans. Anyway, that's pretty much all that happens. And who cares? Is there a law that says there must be one Catwoman?
That's kind of a mean assessment of the issue, since as usual, it's not a horrible issue, but it is definitely a treading-water issue. Holly watches Ted Grant beat the crap out of some thieves, Selina has a conversation with Slam Bradley, Selina decides to go out in her Catwoman outfit (which leads to the very funny panel where she can't zip up her suit - kudos to Pfeifer and Lopez for remembering that women who have just had babies don't always get their washboard stomachs back right away), and a guy with a camera gets footage of Selina and Holly chatting. Again, so what? I'm curious where Pfeifer is going with the story of the Film Freak, because he could make some interesting points about our society and how everything is filmed, but the fact that there are two Catwomans isn't really a bombshell. Is it? I suppose if you want to kill Selina and you're trying to kill Holly it is, but other than that, who cares?
Every month this book teeters on the edge. I'm still with it for now. Pfeifer, I think, is better than this.

http://www.comicbloc.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=316&Itemid=57
Catwoman 55:
Written by Peter Hernandez (PMH)
Monday, 05 June 2006
Catwoman and Wildcat have a night out on the town while Selina tries on some old outfits before her pregnancy. Plus two of Catwoman’s biggest fans meet to discuss the future of their favorite feline.
The Story Thus Far…
Selina Kyle (now going by “Irena Dubrovna”) has given up her life as Catwoman since giving birth to her daughter, Helena. But Gotham City’s East End still needs a protector. It needs Catwoman! Fortunately, Selina’s old friend Holly decides to take up the mantle of the Cat. Lacking the years of experience Selina has had, Holly is off to a rocky start as she’s been video taped being unmasked on one of the East End’s rooftops by her soon to be newest adversary, the Film Freak. If that wasn’t bad enough, Selena’s past deeds (the murder of Black Mask) and enemies (Angle Man) are still on the hunt for a Catwoman!
Story/Plot
This issue opens with a flashback to Selina’s last night as Catwoman. While stopping a purse-snatcher the situation becomes a little heated as Selina realizes she is no longer the only one in danger in these situations.
Back to present day as Holly (in her Catwoman outfit) gets in some training time with Wildcat as he stops by to giver her a lesson or two for when she is patrolling the East End. Selina meanwhile has an itch that needs to be scratched and dons her Catwoman outfit once more. If Selina is returning full time as Catwoman remains to be seen. Besides, how much trouble can two Catwomen get into for one night?
Speaking of trouble, Catwoman’s latest foe, the Film Freak gets roughed up by a detective for a copy of Catwoman’s rooftop unmasking. Detective Lenahan may have got what he wanted but he may have also played right into the Film Freak’s hand. Later, Film Freak meets the Angle Man to discuss his role for the final act. But before he can say anymore, Film Freak receives an interesting phone call about Catwoman that may be the twist ending he is looking for.
Pfeifer continues to tell an intriguing tale as he explores both Selina and Holly’s new roles. I was glad to see that one-year later and a pregnancy hadn’t pushed Selina out of the title as there is still a lot of story left in her. At the same time it’s interesting to see Holly as an inexperienced Catwoman helping to defend her city. Plus, there is a chance that Selina’s friends can stop by to help train her, as Wildcat did.
I also like the villains being used (one of Selina’s last villains and Holly’s first villain) teaming up to bring down Catwoman. Hopefully, Angle Man won’t end up just being a sidekick to Film Freak as it could be cool seeing him amped up as one of Catwoman’s main rogues. With Film Freak, I hope we get to see why he is so interested in Catwoman. He makes an interesting villain as he sort of perpetrate the myth that you’re always being watched. Great scene between him and detective Lenahan.
Art
Catwoman may not have the flashiest creative team on the market right now but it is a very talented one. David and Alvaro are a natural fit for this book. Here’s why: the characters express emotion; the characters all have distinctive looks and the layouts are nice and flow well with the pace of the story. However the true star of the book may be Jeromy Cox on colors. The colors haven’t looked this good on the book for a while now. Jeromy is able to provide a vibrant feel to the pages but still keep the mood of the story with his color choices. Jeromy also has an interesting technique where he blurs the background to keep the focus on the foreground. He pulls it off very well; it doesn’t come off looking like a computer trick but as a natural piece of the page. A very talented creative team indeed!
Adam Hughes continues his run as cover artist and provides one of his more stylish pieces with Selina looking out of a diner window as Catwoman is racing across the rooftops. It’s a great piece with nice colors and good composition. I always like to see Adam go for stylish over sexiness on his covers as they usually come out as a stronger piece of art. This is definitely one of Adam’s best.
Conclusion
Selena is a new mom but still has the urge to fight crime. Holly is the new Catwoman still learning the ropes as she protects the East End. Catwoman has a pair of new villains who are just looking to skin a cat. Interesting themes and ideas are being explored within this arc. If you’re looking for a book with smart writing and great art then Catwoman maybe right up your alley.

http://www.statueforum.com/showthread.php?t=28960
Catwoman #55
DC Comics
Written by: Will Pfeifer
Drawn by: David Lopez and Alvaro Lopez
Cover by: Adam Hughes
So the Bat-verse is a big freakin’ mess right now. After the events of the “Gang War” crossover, capes are no longer welcome in Gotham city, and the only two who have stuck around are Batman and Catwoman (aka Selina Kyle). Well, Selina isn’t exactly a cape, she of course got her start out as a villain, a cat burglar if you will, and has crossed swords with Batman many times. Lately though she has become the self-declared “protector of the East End” of Gotham, the rough area where she came up in and roamed the streets as a prostitute before she became the highflying Ninja-trained thief Catwoman. She even became briefly involved with Batman, and he revealed to her that he was Bruce Wayne, but alas it was never meant to be and the relationship ended.
Recently in Catwoman the East End has become one big clusterfu$#. Since the Black Mask is now running the City’s underworld, the East End has kind of become a free-for-all zone. With no real criminal claiming stake there, everyone is duking it out to claim the territory for their own, making Selina’s job as it’s protector all the more difficult. Add to the mix Slam Brady’s son Sam, a Gotham detective sent undercover to try and infiltrate the super powered gangs that are vying for control of Gotham’s East End. Yeah, things are probably going to get much worse before they get better (and have been), but Selina has a plan. Eventually that plan whittles everyone away except for herself and Black Mask. While there is that going on, we can’t forget about “Infinite Crisis”, the latest craze that has taken over the DC Universe. Remember in last year’s Identity Crisis when the Justice League admitted to tampering with Dr. Light’s and Batman’s memories? Well, they weren’t the only ones. Apparently the Justice League also tampered with Catwoman’s brain, and according to Zatanna (this happened in issue #50) that tampering is the reason why Catwoman has given up her cat-burglering ways and become a “good-guy” over the last few years. Selina isn’t two happy with this, and in issue #51 she does some soul searching to figure out exactly who she is. At the same time Black Mask decides he is going to strike out at Selina where it hurts her most, her friends, specifically Slam Brady. Where is this leading? To a final showdown in issue #52 between the Black Mask and Catwoman, which brings us to “One Year Later”, which opens with Selina given birth and Black Mask dead (as for how, well read issue #52). Selina has moved way uptown and changed her name, and there is a new Catwoman running around protecting the east end (Catwoman’s young pal Holly whom was introduced to us waaaay back in Batman: Year One). Yeah, we’ve seen Holly receive some training from Wildcat, and we also get a glimpse of her training with Selina herself, and Selina alludes Holly has had other teachers as well.
Issue 55 opens with Holly training with Wildcat, Selina hiring a nanny (?) and some more investigating into the murder of Black Mask, whom Catwoman is wanted for. There is a surprise guest star, and Selina dons the uniform for the first time in a year or so. Yeah, I thought that was kind of weird after all the big “to do” about Holly being the new Catwoman, but it makes sense given the direction of the story. I guess. Anyway, a new Catwoman and a couple of loose ends left over from “one year ago” makes the “One Year Later” Catwoman storyline pretty cool. If you’ve been keeping up with Catwoman thus far, don’t stop now, if you are a new reader, now would be a great time to jump on board.


Catwoman #55, $2.99 . Written by Will Pfeifer, Art by David Lopez and Alvaro Lopez. So who is the father? Do you know? While Batman is the lead candidate, naturally, it is almost too obvious. But it had better be someone good, else there will be some reader anger! Pfeifer knows better than to toss a random nobody into that role, though, so you can rest easy. This issue deals more with Holly'd training, from the looks of the solicit, so we will have to wait for a while before that question is finally answered. 32 Pages.


http://goodcomics.comicbookresources.com/2006/05/26/what-i-bought-24-may-2006/
Catwoman #55 by Will Pfeifer , David Lopez, and Alvaro Lopez
$2.99, DC
The Film Freak is about to get film footage of two Catwomans. Yes, I said Catwomans. Anyway, that’s pretty much all that happens. And who cares? Is there a law that says there must be one Catwoman?
That’s kind of a mean assessment of the issue, since as usual, it’s not a horrible issue, but it is definitely a treading-water issue. Holly watches Ted Grant beat the crap out of some thieves, Selina has a conversation with Slam Bradley, Selina decides to go out in her Catwoman outfit (which leads to the very funny panel where she can’t zip up her suit - kudos to Pfeifer and Lopez for remembering that women who have just had babies don’t always get their washboard stomachs back right away), and a guy with a camera gets footage of Selina and Holly chatting. Again, so what? I’m curious where Pfeifer is going with the story of the Film Freak, because he could make some interesting points about our society and how everything is filmed, but the fact that there are two Catwomans isn’t really a bombshell. Is it? I suppose if you want to kill Selina and you’re trying to kill Holly it is, but other than that, who cares?
Every month this book teeters on the edge. I’m still with it for now. Pfeifer, I think, is better than this.


http://www.comixtreme.com/forums/showthread.php?t=27788
CATWOMAN #55 REVIEW
Reviewer: Matt DeWoskin mattdew@earthlink.net
Quick Rating: Mediocre
Title: The Replacements, Part Three
Holly trains with Wildcat, while Selina tries on the costume again.
REVIEW: I really wish this title would at least tease the father of Selina's baby. One of the plot developments that made the most sense to me in OYL is Selina having a baby. It just seemed to fit with who she was and motherhood just seemed like the next logical progression for her character. Originally the odds on favorite was Bruce Wayne, now it seems more and more like Sam Bradley is logical choice given that he's the only one of her "suitors" that we haven't seen in the book and her daughter appears to have blonde hair.
This issue with Wildcat and Holly hanging out on a rooftop waiting for some crime to happen. Sure enough, a few random goons decide to swipe some stuff and Wildcat declares school to be in session. After Wildcat finishes, he asks about Selina. Which leads directly to Selina meeting Slam Bradley at a high end Gotham restaurant. Their conversation felt slightly awkward. After the lunch meeting, Selina hires a babysitter because she "works mostly nights." Later, Selina puts the Catwoman costume back on and it doesn't fit quite as well as it used to. Film Freak and Angle Man take in a film and continue to plot against Catwoman. During the movie, they recieve a call from one of Film Freak's spies. He claims to have footage of two Catwomen standing together.
So, we can all assume that the only reason the villains in this are because Will Pfeiffer lost a bet right? He took Seattle and the points in the Super Bowl and now he's stuck using these two clowns, right? I actually really enjoyed this issue. They've set up Lenahan as the new dirty cop in Gotham and I'm really hoping that there's more to him than meets the eye. I'm secretly rooting for a Black Mask connection. Pfeiffer has had a feel for these characters since the first issue he wrote on this title and this issue is no different. The words coming out of the characters mouths' feel like their own. I just wish there was more done to develop the plotline which has been spinning its wheels for a couple issues now.
I'm really digging the artwork on this title. A big highlight of this issue is the Wildcat sequence. It felt exactly how Wildcat described it, "quick and brutal." Lopez just draws faces incredibly well. This is actually a fairly talky book. There hasn't been a ton of action in this. Lopez has really had to focus on story instead of just trying to make the fight sequences look cool and he's done an amazing job. I typically loathe characters in comics speaking on the telephone, but one of my favor sequences in this book is when Selina is on the phone and putting on her costume. The look on her face when she tries to pull up the zipper is priceless.

http://www.comicsworthreading.com/2006/05/28/dc-this-week-catwoman-55-birds-of-prey-94-supergirl-the-lsh-18-justice-league-unlimited-20/
CATEGORY: Superhero Reviews
AUTHOR: Johanna
POSTED: 2006-05-28 2:03 pm
Catwoman #55 (written by Will Pfeifer, art by David Lopez and Alvaro Lopez) is the only “One Year Later” title I’m bothering to follow (and I sampled them all). It’s not very involved with all the continuity crud that subtitle implies (and thank goodness for that) — the jump forward has instead been used to put the characters in interesting new situations. Selina, the former Catwoman, is now a single mother, adjusting to her new responsibilities and facing life with new attitudes due to those who depend on her, while the current Catwoman is her former assistant Holly.
These changes are executed with a character-based focus, lots of revealing scenes driven mostly by dialogue. There’s some kind of crime-based conspiracy, for those who don’t want to go without their adventure, but regardless of the situation, the writing shines. I was struck by the scene of Selina trying to step back into her old life, where she faces a challenge every woman knows but few authors would think to include. I also liked the way the point was made clear through the art without being overplayed or exaggerated.
This issue is a particularly good one to sample, since it begins with a flashback demonstrating why Catwoman made the decision to retire. Realistically, it wasn’t any one thing, no life-changing dramatic trauma, but instead a combination of factors. Meanwhile, Holly is training with Wildcat — I know he’s got his fans out there who might appreciate seeing him guest-star. The book ends on a high point that leaves the reader asking “what next?”, just what should happen in a serialized periodical.
(For some reason, the cover shown at DC’s site isn’t what actually shipped; the real one is much more mood-inducing and graphically interesting.)

http://byrnerobotics.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=12224&PN=1&TPN=2
CATWOMAN 55 - I don't hear too much buzz about this book and, quite frankly, I don't know why. I really enjoy it. I'm curious to find out what happened in Selina's life in the "missing year" because this is one of the only DC titles to really take advantage of the gap to create some interest in what happened to the lead character. Pfeifer is doing some of his best work on this title, same with Lopez on the art side, and the Adam Hughes covers are to die for.


http://www.superherohype.com/forums/showthread.php?t=233251
Catwoman 55 - Two catwomen now and that movie guy's getting closer to their secrets. Enjoying the story, but really, can't wait for all the prior years to be filled in so I can fully grasp the events transpiring in all of OYL.

Zona Negativa
Will Pfeifer está sabiendo sacar partido de One Year Later . Perdido el lastre de la etapa anterior, ahora nos reencontramos con una Selina libre de responsabilidades que no sean su hijita. Y gracias a sus últimos actos, la nueva Catwoman tiene un East End mucho más limpio del que cuidar, así que todos contentos, o casi…
Poquito a poco van apareciendo problemas que era inevitable que apareciesen… Por un lado, el crimen perpetrado por Catwoman en el último número pre-OYL no puede quedar impune, y el agente Lenahan estrecha su lazo, esta vez llegando hasta Slam Bradley . Claro que todo esto supone un doble problema, ya que ahora mismo la persona que viste el traje de Catwoman no es la que buscan. Esto no puede acabar bien… El Hombre Ángulo ataca, un cabo suelto de una vida pasada, pero hoy Holly se las apaña bastante bien contra él. Por desgracia para todos, hay alguien más que está interesado en volver a ver a estos dos peleando.
En este número David López se ha hecho definitivamente con la colección. Si en el anterior número no pasaba de correcto en este está impecable. Sus dibujos expresan con soltura las emociones necesarias de cada momento, eligiendo con mucho gusto el enfoque de cada uno. La serie no decae, así que es otra por la que alegrarse.