Catwoman: Judd Winick, Guillem March, Tomeu Morey, Carlos M. Mangual

Nooooo!!! I knew this was going to happen! Gah, I wanted so bad for this NOT to happen! Just what exactly am I talking about? Well, back in a previous Catwoman review, I had reservations about a certain character that came aboard (please note, there have been 2 or 3, so don’t think I’m spoiling anything!). I was concerned about loyalty, and well it turns out I was right in fearing the worst!

Man, Catwoman just never catches a break! It’s really kind of sad! But that’s part of the allure of the character. When she makes it, she makes it big. When she fails, she fails hard. It’s kind of like Spider-Man.

So Catwoman’s been tailing this grungy dude with dreadlocks who’s been kidnapping street kids and prostitutes for who knows why. She’s been at this for a couple weeks now, actually. So there’s a bit of a time gap between last ish and this one. Catwoman finds and attacks dreads, but has to be saved by Spark.

Spark doesn’t understand Catwoman’s drive to help these people, when they’re just street trash, and Catwoman admits that she wants to help rescue them because nobody came to rescue her when she was taken back when she roamed the streets. Interesting. I like this addition to her story. I knew she was a street urchin, possibly a pros., and we knew she watched her friend get murdered. Is this part of that incident? Or something else?

We find out that dreads has been taking kids and stuff so that he can “clean” them. Get rid of the sickness and addiction. Give them a fresh start out in the world. At first, I’m like, “Oh cool! What a benevolent guy! …Who…carries assault rifles…” Yeah, come on, this ain’t flying.

And sure enough, there’s a much more sinister and disturbing truth to what he’s doing. The only thing I was confused about was whether or not they’re still alive. Or if they’re all standing still. One of them looks like they’re performing an action, with the badminton racquet, but it could just be a pose. What do you think? You’ll know what I’m talking about when you see the page.

I’m so glad Guillem is still drawing this book. It’s wonderful. There were a couple issues where he stepped away and that seriously made me sad, guys. The way he draws Catwoman is spectacular. The inking is wonderful, and Morey’s colors are expert-level colors. Look at the cover for an example…the lighting effects on Catwoman’s latex/leather costume. It’s perfect. Simply put.

The other thing that kind of blew me away, and I don’t know why my eyes were drawn to this part of the page, but when the pros kid is talking about not wanting to get into dreads’ van, he’s got his arm up a little bit. He can not only admire the cool tattoos March has drawn, but the armpit hair is there, and looks pretty realistic, I’d say. Again…dunno why I went there…but at least it’s there, and it looks good. It lends to the realism.

Something more, it’s nice to see the other storylines developing finally. It feels like we were introduced to the dirty-cop plot a good number of issues prior, and nothing’s really developed on that yet. Well, things definitely get moving here. And there appears to be something on the horizon for Catwoman and a certain spunky cop. I can dig it.

Catwoman #10, the verdict: Another outstanding issue from the team, and - actually - a great jumping-on point for new readers to the title! The character continues to entertain, and display not only a rich history on which we readers can have our fill, but a full range of human emotions and motivations that make her more than just a character in a comic book. They bring her to life. Who’d have thought a man could right Catwoman so well? And that’s not be being sexist, I’m just really impressed! I know I couldn’t write a female character, get in her head, and realistically have her relate to the world around her! (And that’s also not to say that other, female writers haven’t done her justice in the past)

(Photo Source: iFanBoy)