Gotham City Sirens #16 – Review

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.

Gotham City Sirens #15 – Review

By: Tony Bedard (writer), Andres Guinaldo (pencils), Lorenzo Ruggiero (inks), JD Smith (colors) & Steve Wands (letters)

The Story: Will Catwoman & Harley be able to save Gotham from Poison Ivy and her new alien-plantman boyfriend?

What’s good: These are exactly the types of stories I like to see from a title like GCS.  Neat, short, fun and not requiring the reading of any other series to enjoy, but still furthering some longer term plot points for the overall GCS story.

As I think I mentioned in last issue’s review, the basic set up here is fun with Ivy getting roped into her boyfriend’s scheme to turn Earth into a vine-entangled jungle so that his queen can take over.  It’s a new twist and preferable to some of the other story arcs that GCS has featured were pretty much retread material.  So, I have to give Bedard kudos for thinking outside for box.

It is also pretty clear that Bedard “gets” these three characters: Catwoman is the closest to heroic and that shows here as she is leading the charge to stop Ivy.  Harley has a good heart inside, but is mostly a follower and falls in to help Catwoman.  Of the three, Ivy is the most villainous and you get the sense that she can fall into this sort of scheme pretty much any old day of the week.  And, this “getting” the characters comes through with a few nice bits of dialog including a moment when Catwoman tells Harley (who is dubious about using the flamethrowers on the jungle) that the flamethrowers are bound to work better on vines than Harley’s big old hammer.

Gotham City Sirens #14 – Review

By: Tony Bedard (writer), Andres Guinaldo (pencils), Lorenzo Ruggiero (inks), JD Smith & Tomeu Morey (colors) & Steve Wands (letters)

The Story: Poison Ivy’s new job has some nasty surprises that they didn’t fully explain during the interview process.

What’s Good: This is exactly the type of story that I want from Gotham City Sirens.  There’s no nonsense about how Catwoman may or may not be possessed by a cat demon (I loathe these human embodiment of animal themes).  What we get is a straight up story of sinister doings at Star Labs where Ivy has recently taken a job (a few issues back).  It turns out that she took the job to check out this “Super Miracle Grow” that Star was developing.  Unfortunately, the special sauce that Star Labs was using was most definitely NOT good, old-fashioned compost, it was an extract from an alien plant-man whose spaceship crashed to Earth.  So, what we’ve got is basically “The Thing from Another World” going down in Gotham.

What makes this story fun is that it involves all three of our pseudo-heroines.  They all get their little moments to shine in this story.  It also has a fun bad guy that appeals to my sci-fi loving sensibilities and leaves us with a good comic book cliffhanger.  Nicely done!

Gotham City Sirens #13 – Review

By: Tony Bedard (writer), Peter Nguyen & Andres Guinaldo (pencils), Jack Purcell & Raul Fernandez (inkers), Tony Avina (colors) and Steve Wands (letters)

The Story: Catwoman and Harley Quinn finish their fight with Catwoman’s crazy sister who thinks that Catwoman has been possessed by a cat-demon.  Only by killing the cat-demon can Selina be set free….

What’s good: If you’re a big Catwoman fan, this issue will probably make you happy.  The whole issue revolves around Catwoman and her sister, Maggie.  Maggie is a crazy former nun who thinks she must exorcise this cat-demon that has possessed Selina Kyle/Catwoman.  Of course, since Maggie is crazy she is trying to perform the exorcism with a sword, which is not exactly the approved technique.

I also got a kick out of seeing Harley Quinn running around with her big hammer again.  For some reason, this element has been missing from a lot of issues of Gotham City Sirens as Harley has mostly just been doing cartwheels in the background.  The hammer is kind of her trademark, so I liked seeing her at least trying to blast Maggie with it…of course, since they’re fighting in a graveyard, she ends up pulverizing tombstones.

The final interesting thing this issue did was actually tossed in some doubt that perhaps Selina IS possessed.  There is one scene where Harley is compelled onto Maggie’s side of the fight and we see Catwoman with this freaky 6-eyed cat-thing emanating from her, which makes sense since cats are avatars of wickedness.  Since Tony Bedard is a guest writer for this issue, I’ll be curious to see if Paul Dini follows up on this.

Gotham City Sirens #12 – Review

By: Tony Bedard (writer), Peter Nguyen (pencils), Jack Purcell (inks) Tony Avina (colors) & Steve Wands (letters)

The Story: Is Selina Kyle possessed by an evil spirit?  Her cuckoo sister sure thinks so!

What’s Good: This is a nice little story that revolves around Catwoman and her nutty sister, Maggie.  Maggie is convinced that Catwoman is nothing but the manifestation of an evil spirit that possesses her sister (Selina) and that Catwoman needs to die so that Selina can be free.  This is going to cause obvious problems for the Gotham City Sirens.  Guest writer Bedard nails the characterization and I especially like what he does with Harley.  I always think regular writer Dini (who is taking another vacation from this title) writes Harley as too much of a ditzy-dingbat.  That characterization of her is so one-note that it gets old really fast, so I really like the way Bedard writes her in this issue: young and naive.  “Young and naive” has some legs (no pun intended) and can be an interesting character to read.  I think Bedard also deserves some kudos for making Maggie so creepy and insane.  Let’s face it, we get to see lots of nutty characters in comics and we all start to become immune to it, so you know a writer is doing something right when he/she is able to make us take notice of insanity.  Hey– bludgeoning a cat and a nun to death with a fire poker will do that!

We also get a new artist with this issue: Peter Nguyen.  I think he is pretty new to comics in general and I like his initial efforts here.  His style is a little manga-inspired and that usually bothers me, but I like this work a lot.  The art is pretty heavily inked and I’d almost like to see a little more of Nguyen’s art peek through because I think it looks strong enough that it could take less ink.

Gotham City Sirens #11 – Review

By: Paul Dini (writer), Andres Guinaldo (pencils), Raul Fernandez (inks), Ian Hannin (colors) & Steve Wands (letters)

The Story: Harley and Selina look for missing dogs and Ivy starts her new job in this slice-of-life (Gotham-style) story.

What’s good: This title is the popcorn of the Gotham comics.  Whereas other Bat-books are dealing with, “Who is the Black Mask? ” and “Will Damien kill Dick?” and “When will Bruce return?” this issue just consistently follows our three ladies as they get into minor troubles.  They are always fun stories and nicely drawn and they never taken themselves too seriously.  The fate of the planet will never be determined in these pages.  It’s kind of a palate cleanser.

One of the things that either works or not in this title, is Harley Quinn’s weirdness.  A lot of times, I don’t like her but the situation that occurs in this issue between her pet hyenas (yes…you read that right) and some stray dogs and the unintentional competition between the hyenas the local dog-fighting ring is kinda funny (in a very dark sort of way, but don’t worry…nothing is shown on page).

On a more serious note, Ivy starts her new job as botanical researcher at STAR Labs.  She’s trying to be somewhat legit, but you just know that it won’t turn out well and she has herself in a pretty pickle by the end of the issue.

Gotham City Sirens #10 – Review

By: Paul Dini (writer), Andres Guinaldo (pencils), Raul Fernandez (inks), Ian Hanin (colors) & Sal Cipriano (letters)

The Story: Doctor Aesop has resurfaced and is trying to frame the Sirens for murder.  Will the girls and Edward Nigma have any luck stopping him?

What’s Good: Well, for starters, Paul Dini wrote this issue.  Since Gotham City Sirens was launched last summer, Dini has missed a few issues on both this and Streets of Gotham.  New series need to establish their story pretty fast, especially when they are a secondary title like GCS.  So, it was nice to have Dini back at the keyboard telling his story.

One of the main story points I’ve enjoyed on GCS has been the tale of the Riddler.  He’s been “good” for awhile now and you just know that he is going to revert to form at some point.  It’s almost like waiting for a character to come back from the dead.  Eddie isn’t too pleased with how the Sirens treat him in this issue and you have to wonder if this is going to make him flip.

The art is a huge positive in this issue.  Guillem March has been the regular artist on this title, but I found I much prefer the less cartoony style of newcomer Guinaldo.  This seems to be his first work for DC and it looks like he went all out to impress the new bosses.

Gotham City Sirens #5 – Review

by Paul Dini (writer), Guillem March (art)

The Story: The Sirens’ pad gets wrecked by an angry Joker, looking to get rid of old flame Harley Quinn.  Catwoman and Poison Ivy decide that enough is enough, and aim to bring the maniac down, permanently.  However, our lovely trio end up discovering the object of their murderous intent might not be who they think it is.

Disclaimer: I’ll be clear.  There’s really no way to review this issue without spoiling a rather important reveal towards the end.  If you don’t want to know what happens, consider this fair warning.  If you just want to find out if it’s worth buying, skip down to the Conclusion.

What’s Good and Not So Good: Guillem March’s artwork really sells this title.  In a comic book following the exploits of three of the hottest femme fatales in the medium, you really do have to bring the sexy, and March does it in spades.  Just take one look at this issue’s cover!  Before you assume that’s all the artist brings to this issue, though, it should really be said that he’s done a wonderful job of capturing the mood in Dini’s script.  He knows when to exaggerate his pencils for effect, punctuating the comedic moments quite well.  He manages to infuse each of the three leads with a distinctive personality through their body language, as well.  They each act like different types of women, which doesn’t always come through in a fair amount of comic book art, sadly.

Unfortunately, Paul Dini doesn’t completely come through with this episode.  The story is obviously meant to be comical in tone, but I didn’t find myself laughing once while I was reading.  It didn’t even get a smirk out of me. That’s not to say it was boring, because it wasn’t.  Harley finally coming to terms with where she stands in the Joker’s life presently was a nice moment.  However, when a tale that’s mainly played for laughs doesn’t even get a giggle, something is wrong.

Another big problem with the script is this issue’s big reveal.  For the last couple of years, there have been two contrary portrayals of the Joker running around concurrently in DC’s comics:  writer Grant Morrison’s more ghastly revision of the character and the more commonly thought of Clown Prince of Crime-version, popularized in no small part thanks to Batman: The Animated Series (a television series Dini played an important part in).  It turns out that the Joker shown here (the Clown Prince of Crime) was in fact an impostor, and it’s insinuated that this Joker has been an impostor for quite some time.

My problem doesn’t lie with the impostor business as it relates to how long it’s been going on.  This is obviously an easy, neat way to explain the discrepancy that has occurred with the character.  My concern is with the identity of said impostor.  It seems that this “Joker” has all along been his one-time “original sidekick”, Gaggy.  Who, you ask?  Exactly.  I’ve been reading Batman for twenty years and I still drew a blank when confronted with this revelation.  In fact, unless I’d read one single issue that was published back in 1966, this surprise would have fell flat for me.  While I appreciate the nod to past continuity, forty-three years is a bit much for even the most dedicated Bat-fan to be expected to remember.

Conclusion: A lack of laughs in a story played for them, and a revelation that doesn’t work unless you happen to have a steel-trap memory of the last forty-plus years of Bat-history makes this issue worth skipping.  Hopefully, the usually solid team of Dini and March can come though next month.

Grade: D

-Joe Lopez

Gotham City Sirens #4 – Review

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

Gotham City Sirens #3 (Batman Reborn) – Review

By Scott Lobdell (Writer) and Guillem March (Art)

Some Thoughts Before The Review: While the art has been fantastic, everything else about Gotham City Sirens has been, at best, average. Maybe writer Scott Lobdell can turn things around a bit..  I’m fairly certain that artist Guillem March will hold up his end of the book. Also, how stylish is that cover?

The Story: Edward Nigma, the man once known as the Riddler, finds himself trying to crack a murder case with the help of the new Batman. Meanwhile, Catwoman and Ivy begin their search for Harley.

What’s Good: For the first time in the short history of Gotham City Sirens, the writing is actually something worth talking about. Scott Lobdell’s tight one-and-done Ed Nigma story/character study is one hell of a fun, satisfying read. From the back and forth narration (and dialogue) from Nigma and Batman, to the intriguing villain with a clever name, nearly everything about Lobdell’s script just simply works extremely well.

From the excellent character work to the detailed settings, Guillem March’s art is, as expected, incredible (though some of the action is a tiny bit hard to follow). His Edward Nigma looks as shady and charismatic as the script makes him out to be, his Batman is appropriately threatening, and his cheesecake stuff is… well… they’re as expected, but always executed in a way that feels anatomically realistic (even if it is gratuitous). In short, Gotham City Sirens continues to be one great looking series. Also, for fans of cool-looking stuff, there’s another Guillem Gotham gargoyle to check out that looks even more badass than the ones featured G.C.S. #1.

What’s Not So Good: Gotham City Sirens #3 is a pretty great comic all around and easily the best issue of the series so far. There’s two major problems though. The first problem is that the titular Sirens are shown on exactly one page. What’s that say about the group of characters the series is based around? The other problem is that the main writer for the series, Paul Dini, has nothing to do with the latest issue of Gotham City Sirens. What’s that say about the writer that’s supposed to be handling the series? My opinion? I think that Lobdell should be given the reigns and Ed Nigma (The Riddler is dead) should be added to the cast permanently.

Conclusion: Even if the whole Gotham City Sirens thing isn’t up your alley, you really should take the time to check out Gotham City Sirens #3. It’s basically a great looking one-shot about a cool character.

Grade: B+

-Kyle Posluszny

Gotham City Sirens #2 (Batman Reborn) – Review

By Paul Dini (Writer), Guillem March (Artist), and Jose Villarubia (Colors)

Some Thoughts Before The Review: The first issue of G.C.S. wasn’t anything special. Guillem March’s artwork looked great, but Paul Dini’s story and dialogue left quite a bit to be desired. Things need to develop more if I’m going to be adding another ongoing to my pull-list.

The Story: Through a flashback, it’s explained how Selina can resist revealing the identity of Batman, even though she’s under Ivy’s power. Selina’s answer satisfies Ivy and Quinn enough anyway, and off goes Harley to do some shopping. She then encounters “Bruce Wayne.”

What’s Good: Once again, Guillem March and Jose Villarubia take center stage in Gotham City Sirens. Clearly, they are up to the challenge. Their fantastic work absolutely carries Gotham City Sirens #2 in nearly every way.

Guillem March brings the cheesecake, sure, but it’s very well-done cheesecake that takes into consideration things like anatomy and realism. March’s eye for detail is also noteworthy, as every flower near Ivy is given a certain amount of care and every bystander during Harley’s trip to the store really feels like a unique entity, not a faceless one. The action in Gotham City Sirens #2 is satisfying as well, especially since it flows in a way that really adds to the frantic pace of the Bruce Wayne kidnapping. As for the opening flashback? Visually, it’s executed damn near perfectly. It’s trippy, creepy, and just the right kind of weird thanks to March’s surreal imagery.

Jose Villarubia’s color work makes March’s impressive artwork look even better. Villarubia truly shines during the moody, dark scenes taking place inside of Selina’s head. That said, special mention must also be made of the more colorful scenes as well. Vibrant, sunny, and full of life, Villarubia really takes March’s work to another level.

What’s Not So Good: The writing in Gotham City Sirens #2 is passable, but weak. It certainly isn’t bad, but I have yet to truly get hooked on the story Paul Dini is trying to tell. He’s giving Sirens a solid foundation, but nothing about the foundation ever really rises above average and generic. Simply put, March and Villarubia deserve something better to work with.

Conclusion: Pick Gotham City Sirens #2 up for the artwork. The story is nothing special.

Grade: C+

-Kyle Posluszny