Absolute Catwoman #1 Review
One of the early descriptions of the Absolute Universe‘s rendition of Catwoman was how she was more of this universe’s Batman – in the sense that she had the money and the cool toys (in relation to Absolute Batman being more of a working class fighter). This Absolute Catwoman’s appearances in Absolute Batman further solidified this. She was showing up with high tech gear and travelling the globe while Batman was just making do in Gotham.
Of course, her story wouldn’t end there. Last year at New York Comic Con, DC announced Absolute Catwoman by Che Grayson, Scott Snyder, and Bengal. It seemed so obvious, she’s so fun in the book, and for me specifically, I’m a big fan of Bengal’s artwork, so of course I had to be there.
What immediately stood out to me from my first read was the visual presentation of it all. There’s obviously a lot of (mainline) Catwoman DNA in this, but there’s a lot of Absolute Batman‘s DNA in this too with the panel layouts, which I thought was awesome. Dragotta’s art in Absolute Batman has a lot of sharp edges to it, conversely, Bengal’s Absolute Catwoman is rounded and softer. At the same time, both are very fluid, very kinetic, but the distinction allows for a very interesting visual style. The page we’re all going to be talking about is the double page with the De Luca effect, and that one is a stunner, but Bengal makes sure to not hold onto that one as a crutch. Instead, he opts for sequences where you can almost feel the camera moving, zooming out and in, walking around instead of just shot-reverse-shot that I thought was really cool. Giovanna Niro brings this all together with a lot of warm and cold hues that are used effectively to portray shifts in beats, and I can’t wait to see what this art team continues to cook up through the rest of this miniseries.
Narratively, it seemed to me that Che Grayson was clearly steering the Wildcat while Scott Snyder was there for assists (but that’s just an assumption, we don’t know for sure). I really enjoy how this book is written, and again to compare to Absolute Batman, it’s Selina who’s narrating here as opposed to someone else (like how Alfred is the narrator in the former). What I find really fun is the focus on how this rendition of Catwoman is a mix of what we expect from mainline Selina Kyle, but also Batman, from the toys to the training, it’s fun and keeps her distinct from her mainline counterpart.
It’s paced really well, it’s really snappy. I appreciate that in one issue, Grayson and Bengal have really given me a lot of interiority into Selina as a character, not just narratively but also visually, there’s lots of little quirks here that I’m a fan of and can’t wait to see how it all comes together. The opening gag being similar to one of the gags in Absolute Batman #1 made me chuckle, and the last page reveal definitely has me curious.
Overall, Absolute Catwoman #1 is a treat. I’m looking forward to seeing where it goes, and wondering if this is going to get the 12 issue treatment instead of just the 6!
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