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billyjepma's review
adventurous
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
I went into this with some trepidation because, despite my affection for Chiang's art, I wasn't sure how he'd manage a Catwoman story, especially under the premium Black Label format, which has been incredibly inconsistent at best. But lemme tell ya, he killed it. After the visually appealing but narratively predictable first issue, things picked up in all the ways that count. Chiang settles into a unique vibe that plays like a weird and delightful mixture of golden-age comics and an HBO drama. His storytelling isn't remarkable, necessarily, and Chiang's plotting can be a little clunky and/or crowded. But I'm pretty forgiving with the plot when the character work is this strong, with only minor a few minor exceptions.
I don't think Chiang's interpretation of these characters is all that surprising, but I consider that a positive, especially considering how many of these Black Label miniseries' have struggled. Having four issues to work with versus the usual three also helps and should definitely be the standard the label uses moving forward. I respect that Chiang kept his iterations subtler, as it allows him to piggyback off what we know of these characters, which also helps his characterizations feel more organic. That's a lot of words to say that I loved a lot of what Chiang did here.
His art is also reliably excellent, the coloring especially. His illustrations strike a good balance between playful and mature, but the colors make the book's visuals soar. There's so much volume to the pages Chiang turns out, from the vibrantly dense environments to the specific expressions of the characters—this is a gorgeous book. Consider this a 4.5-star book and one I can absolutely see myself revisiting.
I don't think Chiang's interpretation of these characters is all that surprising, but I consider that a positive, especially considering how many of these Black Label miniseries' have struggled. Having four issues to work with versus the usual three also helps and should definitely be the standard the label uses moving forward. I respect that Chiang kept his iterations subtler, as it allows him to piggyback off what we know of these characters, which also helps his characterizations feel more organic. That's a lot of words to say that I loved a lot of what Chiang did here.
His art is also reliably excellent, the coloring especially. His illustrations strike a good balance between playful and mature, but the colors make the book's visuals soar. There's so much volume to the pages Chiang turns out, from the vibrantly dense environments to the specific expressions of the characters—this is a gorgeous book. Consider this a 4.5-star book and one I can absolutely see myself revisiting.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Blood, Police brutality, Violence, Cursing, and Death
Minor: Fire/Fire injury
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