By Paul Dini (Writer), Guillem March (Art), and Jose Villarrubia (Colors)
Some Thoughts Before The Review: I thought the last issue of Gotham City Sirens was the best one so far. That’s not necessarily a good thing, however, because Paul Dini didn’t write the book and the main characters were limited to about two pages. What’s that say about the strength of the concept?
The Story: Harley Quinn’s not in the best of positions. She’s unknowingly in the clutches of Hush and also a target of the Joker. Lucky for Harley though, she’s got some backup. She’s just not aware of it yet…
What’s Good And What’s Not So Good: I know I say this in some way for every Gotham City Sirens review, but it is one seriously nice-looking series. From the dynamic scene composition (Joker’s splash page and Ivy’s plant communication scene comes to mind) and storytelling to the character work and action, Guillem March continues to impress. And thanks to Jose Villarrubia’s flawless color work, every panel looks vibrant and feels very alive.
Both March and Villarrubia do wonders for what is, in all honesty, a pretty bland script. While Paul Dini definitely gets across the characters and tells a story that’s decent enough, it all feels somewhat uninspired. That said, I do really enjoy the part where Joker and his thugs play in Gotham City Sirens #4. The thugs because of their fairly smart conversation, and Joker because of his body language (credit to Guillem March for that one) and the way he goes to some interesting lengths to bring down Harley Quinn.
It’s tough to really come down too hard on Gotham City Sirens #4 because it’s, at worst, average. The book certainly gets the job done, yet at the same time it leaves something to be desired. My hope is that eventually, Dini creates some sort of compelling hook that makes Sirens a solid part of my pull list as opposed to a book that’s making the cut solely because of the artwork.
Conclusion: Gotham City Sirens #4 delivers a lot more of the same. That’s a good thing as far as the artwork is concerned. That’s a bad thing as far as the script is concerned.
Grade: C+
-Kyle Posluszny
Filed under: DC Comics, Other, Reviews Tagged: | Batman, Batman, Batman Reborn, Comic Book Review, DC Comics, Gotham City Sirens, Gotham City Sirens #4, Gotham City Sirens #4 Review, Guillem March, Harley Quinn, Hush, Joker, Jose Villarrubia, Kyle Posluszny, Paul Dini, Poison Ivy, WCBR, Weekly Comic Book Review, weeklycomicbookreview.com
Though they sound similar, surprisingly, the two series could not be more different as far as art and writing is concerned. Gotham City Sirens reads very much like a superhero comic that just happens to feature an all female team. It also looks like one (lots of costumes, a dose of cheesecake etc.).
Divas is basically Sex and the City meets the Marvel universe (lots of talking about relationships, what’s in and what’s not etc.) with a splash of effective drama in the form of one of the characters getting diagnosed with cancer. Tondi Zonjic’s art in Divas is much more understated and very fitting for the way the series is being handled. Outside of the covers, there’s nothing cheesecakey or exaggerated about the way the characters look.
Thanks for the question. I hope I cleared things up for you.
-Kyle Posluszny
So is this the DC equivalent to Marvel Divas?