A Game of Chess
I have liked this series of Catwoman overall so far but the last issue by Ann Nocenti wasn't great, and this issue isn't much better. Judd Winick wasn't necessarily the best writer Catwoman has ever had but he did do a better job than Nocenti has done so far. I will however wait and see what she does in the next few issues before I make an overall judgement, as it's only her second issue and it's not always easy jumping onto a series especially during a storyline like Death of the Family. I have to say though I like Rafa Sandoval's art and it's been and it's been probably the best besides Guillem March's.
This issue sees Catwoman chasing a shadow around Gotham whilst finding toys that belonged to her deceased friend Lola. She then get's an assignment which involves a deadly game of giant chess, with has people inside the chess pieces. Catwoman is tasked with moving the pieces to certain places so that the client wins. She finds out later that the chess pieces have explosives in them and the people inside are in danger.
This issue was not bad but a bit confusing. I liked the concept of a giant game of chess with people inside the chess pieces but there are things in this issue that ddidn't make sense. I don't know why Catwoman would agree to do something as ridiculous as moving giant chess pieces if it wasn't about the money. I also don't understand why she didn't ask more questions, like why is this game happening, what's so important about it, ect. I also found it strange and slightly annoying how Catwoman didn't question or try to investigate how all of Lola's toys started showing up all over the place. I also don't see how there is any connection to the Death of the Family storyline in this, as even though it is a prologue there is not even any mention near or at the end. I did like how we got to see some flash backs with Lola at points though which was a nice touch. I will finish the main part of my review by saying although I have a lot of complains about this issue it was interesting. I just think it would have been better split in two with more explanation on each part.
Final verdict. A curious issue but has a lot of confusing points. I would recommend it but if you are only looking for Death of the Family tie in material leave this issue, as it doesn't really have anything to do with the story line.
Rating: 3/5
