Catwoman #20
Writer: Ann Nocenti
Artists: Rafa Sandoval, Jordi Tarragona, and Sonia Oback
Cover Artists: Rafa Sandoval, Jordi Tarragona, and Ulises Arreola
Publisher: DC
Month after month, this series continues to be unimpressive. The issue, dissected into parts, has some good plot threads that could eventually become excellent arcs, however, based on Anne Nocenti’s run, I wouldn’t hold my breath. Overall the issue is as confused and scattered as the rest of Nocenti’s run. The story jumps from plot thread to plot thread, without ever resolving anything. The art, which has been the saving grace for this series, doesn’t do this issue any favors. There are a couple of glaring problems where the art does not match what the story is saying. In one scene, there’s a gang leader teaching two of his minions the proper way to fire a gun, even as he’s illustrated shooting the improper way. At the end of the issue, Catwoman slices the neck of the villain, but the way it’s drawn doesn’t clearly show that. Instead of being an asset, the art in this issue ended up just being detrimental. 1.5/5
Nightwing #20
Writers: Kyle Higgins
Artists: Brett Booth, Norm Rapmund, and Andrew Dalhouse
Cover Artists: Brett Booth, Norm Rapmund, and Andrew Dalhouse
Publisher: DC
The very best word to describe this series is fun. From the very first issue, this series has been very serious, filled with action and drama, with just a bit of humor scattered here and there. However, since his move out of Gotham, and with Brett Booth taking over art duties, this series has taken on a much lighter tone. This was an excellent issue that was well paced with a nice mix of action, humorous character development, as well as a touch of suspense. Kyle Higgins paired with Booth, Rapmund, and Dalhouse make a fantastic team. Together, they’ve reignited this series with a spark of excitement that had otherwise been missing in recent months. 4.5/5
Red Hood and the Outlaws #20
Writer: James Tynion IV
Artists: Julius Gopez and Nei Ruffino
Cover Artists: Mico Suayan and Blond
Publisher: DC
It has been a while now since Kenneth Rocafort left this series, but even now the series continues to suffer from his absence. His art invigorated this title with a youthful, modern exuberance. Not only that, but his art was a perfect match to the fast paced, action heavy story that was being told. And while the art hasn’t been terrible, it’s issues such as this one that would have greatly benefited from his art. This issue was filled with a lot of stuff, for the lack of better words. There were montages, flashbacks, action scenes, basically a whole lot of illustrations all combined, and unfortunately it didn’t look great. The story itself was decent. On the one hand, depending on how permanent Jason’s memory loss is, it makes sense why a new writer would essentially reboot the series, because it gives him a nice launching point. However, like Roy says in the issue, this is something Jason would have never approved of. In any case, while this transition from one writer to another hasn’t been smooth, the final pages left me excited for the next issue. 3/5
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Arnab Pradhan
arnab@comicattack.net
Maybe the gun was drawn the incorrect way on purpose? Ie: he’s teaching him the wrong way to shoot, thinking it’s the “right” way.
Oh, how I wish this series was that smart.
But he actually says that holding it sideways is wrong, and that you should only shoot straight up. Which is great, because Nocenti/the gang leader is right. But then the next panel has him shooting sideways.