Catwoman #19 Review

Series writer Ann Nocenti has struggled to find Catwoman's voice and in issue #19, she gets closer to discovering it, even if she isn't there just yet. This issue sees Catwoman infiltrating Arkham Asylum as a part of a JLA mission but it's an interesting premise that doesn't quite live up to its promise. Nocenti fails to establish what's at stake in a way that would grant the story a much needed sense of urgency or significance. That being said, Nocenti uses the Arkham mission as a backdrop for exploring the character's troubled psyche in the issue's most interesting tête-à-tête between Selina and an Arkham shrink who finds her brain isn't as easy to pick as he might think.

Rafa Sandoval's art is competent if not particularly groundbreaking. The visuals are almost perfunctory and it would be nice to see a little more oomph in the inks and colors to make them pop the way a character as vibrant as Catwoman deserves.

After several issues in which Selina Kyle's characterization has felt inconsistent and inauthentic, Noceniti seems to be finally getting a grasp in what makes this character tick. Catwoman has been desperately amateurish in Nocenti's hands but she's beginning to develop into a character who is capable and confident. What makes Catwoman fascinating -- and always has, no matter how many reboots, relaunches, and reimaginings she's been subject to -- is her moral ambivalence.

She isn't a hero, though she can be heroic when she chooses to be. Nor is she a villain though she does enjoy stealing from people who have far more than they need. Catwoman has her own moral compass that she follows even when she's the only person who can read it. Nocenti dabbles in these shades of gray and for the first time in her run, Selina feels like Selina.

Melissa Grey is a lover of all things cats, comics, and outer space. She can be found on MyIGN at MelissaGrey or lurking on Twitter @meligrey.

Source : ign[dot]com