Catwoman #1

Here's a title I picked up based solely on the writer. I've always been a HUGE fan of Judd Winick's work, and if not for him being the writer here, I'm not sure if I'd be all that interested in reading a Catwoman solo series. As such, this is one of those series I'd be willing to drop if it doesn't wow me within the first three months...

Catwoman #1:

What Happened: This issue begins with some goons breaking into Catwoman's apartment and blowing it up. Catwoman, who managed to escape with her cats just before the goons entered, is obviously a bit perturbed by that turn of events and heads to a friend of hers for some information on a place to stay as well as any jobs to rake in some money. CW's friend tells CW about a penthouse apartment that would be vacant for two weeks, as well as a meeting of drunken Russian mobsters where CW may overhear some juicy info. CW goes to the meeting in disguise, hears about a painting that she could steal and sell to the mobsters for big money before running across some man from her past(I think?) who was supposed to be locked up. CW confronts the man in the restroom and beats the ever-loving hell out of him before escaping from the angry Russians. She goes back to the penthouse where Batman is waiting for her. Bats wants to know why her apartment was blown up, but instead of answering CW gets frisky and the two wind up getting intimate on the floor.

The Good: I like the way Winick portrayed Catwoman here. The mystery of CW's apartment being destroyed could have some legs.

The Bad: The flashback scene didn't tell us who this Russian guy was or why Catwoman hated him... Did he shoot her friend? Sister? Mother? Who knows. Surprisingly, the story wasn't particularly interesting. Catwoman and Bats being an item with no backstory kind of annoys me.

The Verdict: And the above average comic reading streak comes to an end at 8... This wasn't a horrible comic or anything, it just didn't hold my attention. It was just a bunch of loosely connected stuff. Oh look, CW's apartment blew up. Oh look, CW's in disguise beating some guy up for some reason. Oh look, CW's on top of Bats. Speaking of Bats, I could have done without a Batman appearance here. Having him show up this early in the series takes something away from Catwoman and her story. That's what I liked so much about the Nightwing series, it focused ONLY on Nightwing, not Bats or the other Bat-family members. I'll stick with this series for one more issue, but the clock has begun ticking...

Score: 6 1/2 out of 10.Yeah! Kick that guy's ass for some reason!!