Catwoman #31 Review And Thoughts
Ocean’s El-Ivy-en.
The solicit reads:
“CATWOMAN #31 written by RAM V, art by FERNANDO BLANCO, colour by JORDIE BELLAIRE, cover by ROBSON ROCHA, variant cover by JENNY FRISON
Catwoman and Shoes have crashed Mr. Roy’s home art gallery opening, but they aren’t there to nick a Klimt or a Monet. No, they’re after the newest addition to Mr. Roy’s esteemed collection: a large test tube containing Poison Ivy! But how did Pamela get in this predicament in the first place, what was done to her, and why does she seem…different?”
Usually heist stories use the countdown narrative technique. There’s a timer until a safe is locked or there’s a time limit before the police arrive. This technique is utilised so that the reader or viewer feels the continuously restrictive pressure of time, pumps up the adrenaline in movies and is a good way to lead into action scenes when the countdown ends.
For this issue Ram V does a “Usual Suspects” thing and presents us with the aftermath of a heist, in media res with a heavy action scene and Catwoman explaining how “The Cat stole Ivy” from mr Roy with the help of her Alleytown friends.
Heist stories are always fun and Fernando Blanco and Jordie Bellaire’s art is flattering a script that combines action and strategy, a heist and an ongoing mystery (that - some spoilers here - ties the book both into Swamp Thing and the current Bat books storyline as well as Future State).
There’s a cinematic quality to the art and for the first half the tone is quite lighthearted with heavy emphasis on reaction faces before the tone shifts (with a BANG I might say) in a darker territory.
Since this is a Poison Ivy focused blog I’m gonna go into some spoilers here but most readers should have probably figured them out since the story ties in with the ongoing Swamp Thing book.
In Jody Houser and Adriana Melo’s Harley Quinn and Poison Ivy book it was revealed that Poison Ivy has been split into 2 different beings. In Joker War we found out the “evil” version of Poison Ivy - imagine a “plant Carnage” calls herself Queen Ivy, has stayed underground and plans to destroy Gotham. The “good” version of Poison Ivy (which is closer to her modern depictions) now calls herself Ivy and has been M.I.A. In Swamp Thing it is revealed that both consciousnesses exist in the Green and the Ivy held prisoner is the “good” version of Poison Ivy.
Unfortunately there are no answers given on multiple questions about Poison Ivy that have been piling up the last five years and the current arc adds even more questions. I always enjoy a good mystery but the development of Poison Ivy has been frozen since the Everyone Loves Ivy arc in Tom King’s run of Batman and there are only sparse breadcrumbs given for the character and even these are fragmented into multiple books.
On top of that now we have two versions of Poison Ivy that give a solution to the “Poison Ivy problem” as mentioned by multiple comic sites and fans: There’s a growing number of fans who grew up with the more heroic, queer coded version of Poison Ivy, her relationship with Harley Quinn, her friendship with Batgirl, being twice a member of Birds Of Prey, saving both Gotham and the planet in the Detective Comics, Justice League and Batman, fans of the animated shows like DC Superhero Girls and Harley Quinn. In short, fans of a heroic Poison Ivy.
And there are people who enjoy her being a villainous zealot. I’m not judging and I understand that this is a way for DC to please both groups.
BUT
It’s yet another reset/reboot of the character and we had multiple of them the past years. It’s time for the character to actively be used in a story. So far she appears to be more like an object for other stories to move forward.
Well written stories of course. There’s no complaining here. Ram V is a very good writer that treats the character right (so far) and the artists collaborating for both Swamp Thing and Catwoman are amazing. The problem is that Ivy as a character is cursed with being stuck in a reboot/reset hell with nothing really sticking. I hope this overarching story leads to some good things about the character but it needs a faster pacing.
I can wait for answers. Been waiting for almost ten years but I’m not an average fan.
Ram V managed to breathe new life into the Catwoman book. It reminds me a bit of Ann Nocenti’s run which is one of my favourites. He introduced a “family” for her, people to care for, old and familiar faces. I worry a bit about tying the book to the main Bat plot. I understand the logistics of comic publishing and why books tie into each other but personally I prefer more standalone books.
I’m looking forward for the next issues, both Swamp Thing and Catwoman and hope that Pammy can stay a bit with Selina.
Catwoman #31 is out now. Please support the Creators and their work.
Reviewed by IvyGirl RosenRose
on
May 18, 2021
Rating: