DC’s best ongoing continues (Sorry B&R doesn’t count as an ongoing since it’s almost sure to relaunch or change amazingly in a few months when Bruce Wayne comes back).
Summary: Catman’s childhood is revealed, with an abusive father and his trophy mother. Meanwhile, Catman sets about torturing and killing those who have his son, while the rest of the team (Deadshot, Scandal, Black Alice, Ragdoll) chase after him. Bane, meanwhile, unites a new, more evil Secret Six with the banshee, Dwarfstar, Giganta, Lady Vic, and King Shark. Catman kills the second man who kidnapped his son, who reveals the man who shot himself that commanded the kidnapping is still alive. Black Alice, after getting the team close to Catman, decided Scandal is trying to be with Ragdoll, so she turns into Etrigan to fight her.
Thoughts: The Catman as a child stuff is almost cliche enough to be trite, but very well handled by Simone, so lifted to something acceptable. Still, that’s more of a backdrop for the issue, and the core team chasing Catman is extremely well handled. Deadshot’s concern over his friend becoming too dark is particularly touching, as is the love-triangle-that-isn’t between the other three. Clearly the whole Etrigan thing is to make it take a bit longer for them to catch up to Catman, but it’s an interesting aside that really gets over how unstable Alice is. Catman, meanwhile, becomes a darker character for thoroughly understandable reasons, and seeing how this will affect him going forward is going to be extremely interesting.
Rating: 7/10 – As a middle chapter, nothing huge happens, but this remains a fast-paced, character driven book that hits all the right notes. If you aren’t reading this book, you should be.
