Catwoman: Replacements (A One Year Later Story) (Catwoman)

Although the initial premise left me a little unsure if I would enjoy this, namely that Catwoman now has a daughter, the execution by Will Pfeiffer and David Lopez was nearly flawless. Pfeiffer has a great handle on Selina’s character, and juggles a strong supporting cast very well. His writing seems deceptively simple, but actually has a lot going on. Lopez is the perfect artist for this book, and the colouring is fab.A fun book, well written and drawn. Recommended.

This is one of these happy occasions when I feel fully qualified to talk about a genre of which I know very little, and this is because quality reigns throughout this particular book, so much so I won't be able to write clearly on another project until I have written this.It's been a very, very, long time since I looked into the DC worlds, so I know next to nothing about this particular's quarter-century of the adventures of Catwoman, but the sight of an uncertain young woman stepping blindly off a high ledge was such an arresting cover I just had to read on.So I am in a film-noir world where The Catwoman, Selina Kyle has just had a baby and a chosen replacement's lack of experience is showing, but she is lucky to have one of the lower profile more practical heroes Wildcat as a truly great mentor. Coupled with that we have a the concept of a Super-Villain down on his luck trying to make it back with a Revenge-Plot, aided by a standard fair unhinged obsessive (in this case Films) also troubled cops and PI finding life hard. On the whole a very worthwhile mix of flawed characters; ideal for Gotham City. Batman's appearance is well positioned too.The beauty of this book is although I knew nothing about the Whats, Whys and Whens of Catwoman's world thanks to the excellent story telling, mixing a current narrative with easy to follow flashbacks I was able to follow the tale and by the end of the book knew what had been going on in Selina Kylie's life. The positioning of the dialogue in relation to the artwork is quite frankly sublime as is its conciseness. I simply have to buy next the next volume, and daresay the following and proceeding ones.Some favourite lighter moments; Batman's self-conscious holding of a Teddy Bear present for the new arrival, Selina finding she's can't quite fit into her Catwoman outfit, Wildcat out of uniform meeting up with Slam Bradley, I'm not going on in case I spoil any surprises for new readers.Recommended several times over; story, artwork, cover, overall content, positioning in the DC World...time to stop and take a long cold drink.

"Catwoman, Book Five: The Replacements"Written by Will PfieferIllustrated by David Lopez(DC Comics, 2007)-------------------------------------------------The creative team of Ed Brubaker and Darwyn Cooke, the driving force behind the previous four volumes of "Catwoman," are a hard act to follow. Indeed, they transformed Selina Kyle from a B-list superhero character with lots of built-up mystique into a full-fledged graphic novel heroine, the star of one of the best comics that DC had produced in years. Pfiefer and Lopez do okay picking up the threads of the Brubaker-Cooke storylines -- it's nice to see the spotlight still on Slam Bradley, and the training of Selina Kyle's replacement, Holly, as the new Catwoman, is kind of fun. (Nice to see Wildcat back in action, too!)On the other hand, Pfiefer doesn't seem to have a solid grip on Selina's personality, and she begins to recede into stick-figure territory; similarly, the villains of this episode, the Angle and some pasty-faced, goth-y uber-film buff who is making his own criminal life into some sort of meta-reality show, reek of the tedium of DC's Vertigo imprint, full of simplistic "dark" "twisted" plot points whose trip-you-out tropes are by now quite well-worn and tiresome. Brubaker's approach, keeping Catwoman closer to the Batman/Daredevil crimefighter/noir traditions was a better idea. I might check out the next volume, but I suspect that may be about it for me. I'd give this one a 3.5, if I could. (Joe Sixpack, ReadThatAgain book reviews)

Comic-book readers often must suffer through a "New Coke" phase in their favorite titles. Heroes as iconic as Superman, Batman, Green Arrow, Green Lantern and, as of this writing, Wonder Woman have been killed or otherwise disposed of while a younger, fresher and, almost certainly, inferior substitute takes their place. In most cases, the publisher eventually recognized the error and brought the classic version back to the fore.Now it's Catwoman's turn and, as usual, it's probably a mistake.In what will probably turn out to be a plotting catastrophe, writer Will Pfeifer decided it was time for Selina Kyle to get pregnant. With a baby on the way, Selina decides it's time to give up her roof-hopping and crook-kicking ways, and she passes the costume and whip on to an unlikely successor: Holly, former-prostitute-turned-lesbian sidekick.A crash training course doesn't really prepare Holly for the job, however, and right out of the gate she runs afoul of several large problems. It's hard to imagine which is worse, the film-obsessed villain who wants to kill Catwoman or the tireless cop who wants to arrest her for murder.Of course, it's not long before Selina is forced back into her costume (which, given her recent pregnancy, doesn't fit quite like it used to). And it's not long before her baby is put at risk because of her nocturnal outings -- and, let's be honest here, the sight of a maternally outraged Catwoman is a treat.But New Coke never satisfied the thirst like Classic Coke does, and Holly as Catwoman is equally unsatisfying. She lacks both skill and motivation, and it appears her future must involve either an unrealistic upgrade in abilities or her constant use as a foil to bring Selina back into action and save her. Either way, I'll sip the new formula grudgingly until DC brings the real deal back to the shelves.by Tom Knapp, Rambles.(n e t) editor

Pregnant handover.Another part of the One Year Later stories, and an odd one. They've taken the femme fatale, and had her drop the bundle offscreen so to speak. So will Selina is ensconced at home looking after the kid, her protege takes over the Catwoman leathers. While she might fill them out aesthetically reasonably well, tactically, logistically and skillfully? Not so much, given she is having severe problems with just one killer and just one cop.3.5 out of 5