POBB March 25, 2021

Pick of the Brown Bag

March 25, 2021

by

Ray Tate

Welcome to the Pick of the Brown Bag.  It just hit me.  I could have called this group of POBB reviews Infinite Madness or March Frontier Madness, or some kind of Madness.  You know, for the basketball.  Oh, well.  This week I examine Catwoman and Wonder Woman.  You can also find capsule snap judgements on Twitter: #PickoftheBrownBag 

Catwoman begins a new story, while tying a few loose ends.  Apparently, a lot happened between Joker War and Future State.   Writer Ram V makes it pretty easy to catch up.  Although I do have a few questions, just not about the plot.

How big is Gotham City? We discover another corner of undeveloped Gotham from whence Catwoman now operates.

  

Calling her building The Nest doesn't make a whole lot of sense given Catwoman's sobriquet.  I would expect Robins or Owls to nest.  Surely Cradle would have been a better designation.  

  

Catwoman now runs a group of Irregulars to better her schemes.  I hesitate to refer to them as a gang.  Since the Bronze Age of comics, Selina has always been more Sherlock than Fagin.

When the reader reacquaints herself with Catwoman, she finds the femme fatale lounging in the sun, along with her sister Maggie.

This is artist Fernando Blanco's sharpest contrast to what you're about to experience.  The scene exemplifies Blanco's ability to illustrate jet set elegance and tasteful anatomical beauty.  Jordie Bellaire accompanies Blanco with bright, warm colors, which will strike against the noir and eerie hues to come.

Those surprised to see Maggie up and about should check out the Catwoman 80th Anniversary Special.  The short story by Ram V and Fernando Blanco foreshadows what's seen here.  

Those who were unaware of Catwoman's sister need not go any farther than "yes, she has a sister."  Maggie's life wasn't pretty, and it's not to be revisited by those with weak stomachs.  

See.  That's how a rational person introduces a character.  Unlike James Tynion and his new pet thug Ghost Scouser.  Now, what's Detective Hadley's relationship to Catwoman?

Why thank you.  That clears up everything.  On the other hand, I don't understand this.

So, Lucius Fox embezzled Bruce Wayne's fortune? Catwoman set the money free to be adopted by needy Gothamites?  I don't think that's quite what happened, but it doesn't matter because the tale doesn't really pertain to any of that.  Whatever that is.

Hadley leaves a file with clues that lure Catwoman into a mystery that involves the Riddler, a second surprise Batman-Catwoman character and this new assassin.

Previously Ram V inveigled Catwoman in several pulpy heists for inventory issues during the Joelle Jones run of the series.  This is his first turn to write Catwoman as essentially a super-hero.

I know what you're thinking.  She hasn't any superpowers.  Neither does Batman.  A superhero partially can be defined by the company he keeps.  Nine times out of ten, Selina's hanging with the Batman Family, if not contributing to it.  Superheroes fight super-villains.  Selina battles a super-villain to keep the Riddler alive.

She has no rationale for the risk, other than she doesn't want to see the Riddler killed.  That's very Batman.  Furthermore like the superhero genre, Catwoman crosses into science fiction.  The assassin is more than just a Ninja with an odd dress sense.  She packs some strange tech, best not spoilt here.

Now that The Joker War is over, Ram V with the superb artwork of Fernando Blanco appears to be ushering in a new era of easy-to-comprehend, entertaining Catwoman stories.  Subscribe.  

In the Infinite Frontier, Wonder Woman appears to awaken in....  

I know what some of you may be thinking.  Is this a Marvel/DC crossover? Nah.  Norse Mythology is public domain.  Thor may show up in Wonder Woman, but he'll probably look more like this guy.

Thor and the Midgard Serpent (by Emil Doepler, 1905)

In any case, Thor is not accompanying Wonder Woman in battle.  The dusky-skinned warrior is none other than...

Siegfried is mostly known from Wagner's Ring of Nibelungen.  Wagner, a racist, would probably have done a spit-take upon seeing artist Travis Moore's and Tamara Bonvillain's gorgeous Moorish version of the legendary figure.  Suits me fine.  

Siegfried and Diana battle on the fields of Asgard, and as the saying goes, when you're dead, you're...

Some may balk at Diana dying so easily, but she's nor all there in this story.  Her memory is hazy.  Her powers halved at the least.  So the magical deaths are allowable in my opinion.  

As the story unfolds, we discover that Diana may or may not actually be in Valhalla.  When slain, or when recovering from a hangover, Diana experiences visions, memories or an altered state.

That figure looks a lot like the classic Ray Palmer Atom, but that's only an educated guess based on scant evidence.  Read on.  Diana meets a Norse Squirrel Girl cast-mate and other Viking figures of myth.  Soon she discovers that within Valhalla, something is amiss.

In addition to the central theme of Wonder Woman clashing with, fighting alongside of a different pantheon, Becky Cloonan and Michael Conrad fill the tale with character and humor.

Wonder Woman also features a backup story by Bellaire that's sound and pretty.  The aesthetic is courtesy of Paulina Ganucheau and Kendall Goode.  Older Wonder Woman fans will get a kick out of the Kanga returning as part of Amazon culture and discover the Amazons' surprising relationship with sharks. 

This type of story depicting Young Diana is a staple of Wonder Woman comics.  After William Marston and H.G. Peter left the series, Robert Kaniger and Ross Andru took over to present the modern romance between Diana and Steve Trevor as well as the adventures of teenage Diana as Wonder Girl and toddler Diana as Wonder Tot. Even if you find this short a little too childish, subscribe for the artwork and the more mature main attraction.