It's not easy being a thief in Gotham City and Catwoman can attest to that fact. After being put through a series of trials at the hands of the Joker, she unknowingly releases demonic energies during a caper to acquire a mystic jewel from the vaults of A.R.G.U.S.
Catwoman Volume 3: Death of the Family collects issues #13-18 and #0 of Catwoman, written by Ann Nocenti and illustrated by Rafa Sandoval.
After a year on Catwoman, Judd Winick was replaced by Ann Nocenti as the book's writer. As a former Spider-Woman scribe and the creator of Typhoid Mary, Nocenti seemed like a great fit for the title. Her first assignment on Catwoman was to give her a new origin story and provide a narrative to tie-in with the Batman event Death of the Family. Truthfully, Nocenti had a lot of fantastic ideas for her first few issues. Sadly, the execution of these ideas was all off.
The first arc of this collection sees Catwoman facing off against the Joker, as she is put through a gauntlet of harrowing trials she is barely able to survive. Intended as the book's tie-in for Death of the Family, the story provides an interesting dynamic between Batman's two most famous antagonists. The Joker uses Catwoman as a pawn in his game to rid Batman of his emotional attachments. What is so fascinating is that Catwoman states that it is the Joker that loves the Dark Knight and denounces her own feelings towards Batman. Tragically, these are the only highlights of the arc. It is otherwise very jumpy and transitions oddly between events. There also isn't enough contextualization going on, which means the reader might be a little confused by the premise of the narrative.
The second arc present in this volume sees Catwoman breaking into A.R.G.U.S.'s vault and accidentally unleashing demonic energies. In doing so, Selina's darker impulses are brought to the surface. In theory, it is a very fascinating premise and had a lot of potential. Sadly, it is squandered by much of what troubled the preceding storyline. The tone is inconsistent and the events are extremely hard to follow. If that weren't enough, Nocenti fails to provide the necessary exposition to explain what A.R.G.U.S. is and what the Black Diamond is that Selina is tasked to steal. She also introduces a male scientist for Selina to play off of, but he's sadly one-note and seems unnecessary to the overall scheme of things.
Thankfully, the collection picks up steam towards the end. Issues #17 and 18 are particularly strong, with the latter being particularly impressive for its interactions between Catwoman and Batman. We're seeing more of a conscience developing in Selina and it makes her seem more grounded than before. The origin story present in issue #0 is also worth mentioning for both its positive and negative qualities. It helps to provide some necessary background information about her past and kicks the door open for a mystery regarding her heritage. Sadly, Nocenti plagiarizes the infamous scene from Batman: Returns wherein Selina is pushed off of a building by her boss and is seemingly resurrected by cats. It feels incredibly out of place and places an element of unoriginality to her origins.
Where Catwoman: Death of the Family is concerned, it is equally as good as it is bad. The pacing is all off and the difficulty with which it takes to follow the story is a major obstacle for this collection. Still, there's no denying that Nocenti had some really interesting story ideas. For this reason, the story is actually that much more palatable. It also helps that the art is actually quite stunning. This volume's greatest redeeming quality is Rafa Sandoval's gorgeous art. His composition is impeccable and his sense of style is very unique. He's truly one of the best artists to work on the Feline Fatale in a long while.
Rating: C+
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