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‘Catwoman 80th Anniversary 100-Page Super Spectacular’ (review)

Written by Ann Nocenti, Will Pfeifer, Tom King,
Ed Brubaker, Paul Dini, Jeff Parker,
Chuck Dixon, Ram V., Mindy Newell

Art by Ty Templeton, Jonathan Case, Steve Rude,
Lee Garbett, Tim Sale, Pia Guerra, Kelley Jones,
Fernando Blanco, Robson Rocha, Jim Balent,
Emanuela Lupacchino, Tula Lotay,
Mikel Janin, Cameron Stewart

Published by DC Comics

 

I am happy to see that Catwoman is the recipient of one of these anniversary specials. I am also thrilled that DC took it seriously and decided to have top tier talent on this book. The results are pretty freaking awesome.

Writer Paul Dini and artist Emanuela Lupacchino start the book off. Catwoman is hot on the trail of a stolen white tiger and she will stop at nothing to track it down. This story has great twists and turns. It is also very esoteric for such a short story. It is a great tale to start with.

Writer Ann Nocenti and artist Robson Rocha are next. This is a bit more of an intellectual story and I loved it. It basically deals with two cops on a stakeout. Eventually, they come up against Catwoman. The results are fantastic and smartly handled.

Fans of writer Tom King’s run on Batman will be happy to read his story. It feels like a lost chapter from that run. Even better, the art is by Mikel Janin and it is fantastic. I loved King’s run on that title. Here, he has found his coda.

Artist Jonathan Case and writer Jeff Parker are next with a story influenced by the Catwoman from the 1966 Batman TV show. The story here gets a little too goofy and cutesy for my tastes but it was a nice enough trifle. It just isn’t my favorite.

Liam Sharp writes and Illustrates the next story and it is a bit heavy handed. It shows Catwoman being shot and the story ties into the nine lives of a cat. It was okay but didn’t leave a lasting impression on me to say the least.

I was super psyched to see Mindy Newell write a story that reflects the miniseries she wrote back in the 1980s. This story is one of the best in the issue. It has weight behind it and it is superbly drawn by Lee Garbett. The meeting with Batman and Catwoman in this story is just plain awesome as well.

The next story is truly cool. It teams up classic writer Chuck Dixon with the incredibly talented Kelley Jones. It has Catwoman going aboard a ship called the Pacific Star looking for a bit of treasure. Unfortunately for her, Clayface is on board and the two clash. This is a fun story that is wonderfully and creatively illustrated by Jones. Well done.

Will Pfeifer and Pia Guerra have a cool story where Selina attends “Batcon.” It looks dangerously close to New York Comic Con to me at the Javits, but whatever, I loved this story. The best part of it is when Selina meets some fans. I loved this story, both in the writing and artwork.
Writer Ram V and artist Fernando Blanco have a cool little tale that leads into a future storyline. It is a fun story that takes Selina out of Gotham and across America. I quite enjoyed this and it is superbly illustrated.

Finally, the classic team of writer Ed Brubaker and artist Cameron Stewart give us a wonderful story that harkens back to their classic run. It is great and brought back so many memories for me. I just absolutely loved this story and the artwork.

This is one of the best anniversary books DC has ever put together. I loved, loved, loved this. There are even pinups from classic artists like Jim Balent and Jae Lee and others throughout. This edition is just plain fantastic.

RATING: A+

 

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