By: Peter Calloway (writer), Andres Guinaldo (pencils), Bit (inks), JD Smith (colors) & Travis Lanham (letters)
The Story: The Sirens respond to an emergency that is a trap for one of them. Guest starring Zatanna and Talia Al Ghul.
What’s Good: This series works best when it revolves around Selina Kyle/Catwoman. Of the three sirens, she is the strongest & best character. Some folks may dispute that, but Catwoman has been able to carry her own ongoing titles much better in the past and has a much more interesting character than either Poison Ivy or Harley Quinn.
So, it is good news that this issue uses Selina to best effect. It plays off her heroic-in-a-pinch nature by sending her to deal with a problem that none of the other Bat-family members has time for, but then pulls a switcheroo by having the ultimate bad-guy plot linked to her relationship with Bruce Wayne. The whole thing is very nicely done with well-executed, in-character supporting bits from Ivy and Harley. Ivy and Harley are nice characters, but if you need them to carry your comic title for an extended period of time…you might have a problem, so background is a perfect place for them.
This issue also gets bonus points for good use of two other Batman-associated ladies: Zatanna and Talia Al Ghul.
The art is well done from a compositional and coloring standpoint. The panels are generally very nicely laid out and feature good use of background (or not as the case may be).
What’s Not So Good: However, the art is not all good. The faces are a little problematic. It is tempting to blame the inker because Guinaldo has had much better showings on this title the last several months, but it is honestly hard to tell what the problem is. There is also a general problem with Selina looking awfully mannish. That is an odd problem for the art team to have because many artists illustrate as if they learned to draw as kids by drawing pin-up style women. The whole thing was a little off-putting.
Conclusion: A strong entry for a series that had been having trouble doing better than “average” for several months. Shame about the butch Selina Kyle.
Grade: B-
– Dean Stell
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