Tuesday, September 1, 2009

Catwoman...starring in Action Comics Weekly #614

It's time for another installment of our review of Action Comics Weekly #614. It seems like we've been plugging away at this book for way too long, but we still have two more stories to go.

I'm hoping to finish it up by tomorrow, as I'm ready to get to the big 25th issue review extravaganza. That's right, with the next pick we'll have reviewed 25 random issues and I'm looking at doing something a little different. It will still be random, so no worries there.

But we have two stories left within this issue, so let's not get too ahead of ourselves.

This installment is a Catwoman tale, and features some early work by Barry Kitson. Let's check it out...

The Tin Roof Club Part Four
  • Mindy Newell
  • Penciller: Barry Kitson
  • Inker: Bruce Patterson
  • Letterer: Carry Spiegle
  • Colorist: Adrienne Roy
  • Assistant Editor: Dan Raspler
  • Editor: Dennis O'Neil
We catch up with Catwoman in the middle of a stakeout, as she perches on a flagpole outside a high-rise building.

Inside, hotel security has arrived outside of one room, escorting a young lady who has reported a break in. I'm assuming the break in had something to do with Catwoman in one of the previous chapters, but it's never made clear.

The man whose room was broken into assures the security officers that he doesn't want any trouble and would rather have this whole problem disappear, which the officers are happy to oblige with, for a price.

The first officer goes into the hotel room to look for something worth his while, while everybody else waits outside. Unlucky for him, however, Catwoman is waiting for him as he nears the window and is pulled out through the window to the ground below.

Who knew that Catwoman was so ruthless back in the day?

After a few moments, the second officer heads in to check on what is taking the first one so long. This leaves the two tenants outside alone, where we find out a little more back story. They are lovers, and have got themselves in a bit of sticky situation as the man has killed his wife. There is also some stolen jewelry mixed up into this affair, but it's hard coming in at this point to figure out exactly what's going on.

The second officer soon meets the same fate as the first, leaving Catwoman alone in the hotel room. She takes a small cat statue from her belt and places it in the top dresser drawer, and then disappears out the window.

Outside in the hall, the two lovers finally get the nerve to go back in their room to see what the officers are up to, since they have been quiet for so long. As soon as they enter the room, however, the real cops show up. After all, it's not like random people falling out of the window is going to go unnoticed.

It doesn't take the cops long to find the statue that Catwoman has planted there, leading them to be arrested on suspicion of murder. How this all ties together is never made entirely clear from reading just the last part of the story.

Later on, we catch back up with Selina Kyle who's pleased with herself and her recent job. She's having a drink, and is soon approached by a police detective. Again, there's some history between these two that we're just not privy too and their all-to-clever dialogue just falls flat.

SO, WHAT DID WE LEARN...

Not every story works well coming into the fourth and final part without reading the other chapters first. A good story will bring you up to speed without sacrificing too much of the story.

This one didn't give us much help, and definitely fails the "every issue is somebodies first" rule of thumb. The story may very well read better when read all together, but I have to confess on the strength of this part, I'm not all that eager to track 'em down.

The art by Barry Kitson was pretty uneven as well. There was occasional flashes where you could see the talent shine through that would eventually make him a sought after artist. At the end of the day though, he just doesn't have that much of a dynamic script to illustrate and you can only do so much with talking heads.

Next up...Black Canary!

All characters and artwork reproduced are (c) DC Comics

Related links for your surfing pleasure...
  • The official website of Barry Kitson

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