samhain's review
4.0
I must admit I feared the worst about this volume, given the huge controversy that took place a few months ago. The fact that I liked it despite going into the reading reluctantly proves that this new version of Catwoman isn't half as bad as it's been said! Sure, some pages are still doing the over sexualisation for the sake of it but, for the most part, it's just Selina using her body as a weapon and that's fitting with her background and way of life. She grew up to know that appearances and sexuality could be used against someone or to someone's advantage and she's using that knowledge. I understand where the controversy's coming from and Judd Winick would do us all a favor by somewhat calming down on the sexual objectification. But apart from that, Selina's portrayal is the deepest one I'v seen so far, in the comics. For once, we're given way more than the usual "she's a former prostitute who steals stuff and sleeps with Bats" and that's great. I love how human she is: her body breaks under pressure and so does she! Special mention for making her cry from physical pain, it's a small detail but it's what makes it realistic. The fact that she displays such a large panel of emotions and that we learn so much about her in just a few bits and pieces of her past are very good points. She's a well-written character and the stories so far are entertaining without feeling too stretched out, it helps in forgiving the (rare) moments of body objectification and over sexualisation which, I'm sure, will stop now that Judd has been informed those things were a flaw in his writing.
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