Catwoman: The Replacements TPB

I never followed Will Pfeifer's run on Catwoman, but I usually enjoy his work, so I started grabbing these trades from my library.

This is an interesting trade. Pfeifer almost writes in Geoff Johns' style. The lead heroes like both Catwomen, Slam Bradley, and Wildcat are all pretty upstanding and good. Heck, Catwoman is "retired" so that she can raise her new daughter. The villains in this thing are pretty foul though. The Angle Man is petty and vicious, his sharp blades are nasty. The Film Freak is worse, he's a murdering psychopath with a severe disconnect from reality. The body count for innocent bystanders is pretty high, the villains are foul, and the heroes are bright. That's the Johns' model for super-hero comics.

I actually found myself rooting for Holly as the new Catwoman. Selina certainly deserves a break, and taking a few months or years for her kid seems like a reasonable request. Of course, Holly is nowhere near as skilled as Selina in the Catwoman role. I don't think this is a "New Coke/Old Coke" thing where DC wants us to appreciate Selina more; this is a character-driven arc that emphasizes what makes both characters so great. How funny was it seeing Selina try to squeeze into the catsuit post-baby?

I'm not sure how I feel about Zatanna coming in and cleaning up the mess that Selina's life becomes. I appreciate the callback to modern DC history and Zatanna's mindwipes, but I never like high-powered heroes coming in and cleaning up for street level problems.

David Lopez's art is great. The streets look grimy and the villains are spooky. He does a great job giving Holly and Selina different looks, even when they have their faces covered in identical Catwoman costumes.

Good