Catwoman: Selina's Big Score

Rating:
Summary: A raw and expressive, highly cinematic Catwoman adventure!
Review: Catwoman: Selina's Big Score takes place previous to the events chronicled in the first few issues of the new and revamped DC Comics Catwoman series. It sets the basic premise for Selina's return, but the story stands on its own too.

And what a story! Selina needs some major cash to get set up in Gotham again, and finds out about a train loaded with unmarked cash en route to Canada for a drug deal. She contacts an old associate (and old flame) to help her, and together they go after the loot. This would make a fabulous movie--it's what I kept thinking while I was reading it.

Darwyn Cooke did an incredible job with the story and art. His art style is raw and expressive--just what the book needed, and what the character of Catwoman demands. And to top off this high quality hardcover edition, are amazing pin-ups by some of the best artists in the business: Mike Allred, Jaimie Hernandez, Adam Hughes, Mike Mignola, Daniel Torres, and Kevin Nowlan--just to name a few.

If you're the least bit curious, do yourself a favor and check this book out. You won't be sorry...and check out Catwoman: Dark End of the Street (By Ed Brubaker with art by Darwyn Cooke) for the continuing adventures of Catwoman.

Rating:
Summary: Nuttin' but style
Review: It's not really fair to call this a Catwoman comic, since Selina Kyle never actually dons her feilne garb. Instead, this stylish crime caper focuses on Selina's attempt to steal a particularly large sum of money from the mob to help jumpstart her new, vaguely moralistic life. Cooke, who both writes and draws, makes everything seem so damn cool that you can't help but love this book. His writing is surprisingly good, considering most artists who take up the typewriter often end up getting jammed by poor dialogue. Cooke excells at his chosen medium, and this fastpaced, entertaining caper story is well worth the cover price.

Rating:
Summary: Big Score, Big Disappointment
Review: Selina's Big Score finds Catwoman out of costume and broke. The story here is a straight forward read, cut from the same cloth as a million train robberies. I had no previous knowledge of Darwin Cooke's run on Catwoman, reading his interpretation of the character for the first time.

Cooke's art is fantastic, and to be considered the major selling point of this book. A Batman Animated style merged with Paul Pope, it's made distinctive with a particular storytelling flow. There seems to be great emphasis on the design and pacing, but the story itself lacks the expected punch. The colors are extravagant and fitting, and I was noticeably impressed by them.

This book pales in the shadow of Batman:Ego, but the comparision is unfair. Although it isn't presented as such, this story fits into the continuity of an ongoing series, which leads to missed significance. Casual readers be warned!

Rating:
Summary: Good, just not Great
Review: Selina's Big Score lets you in on what happened between her supposed "death" and her current series. Basically she needs another "big score" to get her back on her feet. So she forms a team and attempts to take out a mob train full of money. The overall story is a bit cliche, but the character interaction, dialogue, and narratives are great. The art isn't exactly masterful, but the thick lines and solid colors flow well with the story. so if the cliche doesn't bother you then by all means get it. personally, i don't regret buying it, but i don't exactly pull it off the bookshelf every day for another reading. good, just not great.

Rating:
Summary: Solid read
Review: This is a good jumpin point for people not familiar with Selina Kyle, aka Catwoman.. though I have to say this story deals more with Selina than her costumed alter ego
We get a nice back story of her world and how she is back for a big hit, with the help of some friends.

The story here outshines the art although Cooke is widely recognized in the industry, his stuff just doesn't click with me. It's not cartoony enough but his style is cartoony. At any rate, a good effort

Rating:
Summary: Very Fun Reading! Prrfect Mix of Grit and Cute Artwork!
Review: This is a great book for adult comics readers and fans of the "new" Catwoman comic book series being published since the early 2000's from DC. Fans of detective pulp and film noir films may also enjoy this book.

The cover of this book is a bit misleading and puzzling to me, as it seems to be brightly colored and flashy; while the actual story takes place mostly in moody, gritty, dark places in Selina's world, (and in Selina's past). So don't judge this book by its cover!

There is plenty of intrigue, suspense, and enjoyable characterizations, but the book has no superhero costumes in use, so younger readers will probably not find this too interesting; but this book is not aimed at younger readers. Adult readers can buy this with confidence that they will enjoy the read.

This book features Catwoman, between costumes, so to speak. The comics publishing giant, DC, has phased out the hokey, purple Catwoman costume of the 1990's decade, and they have given her a more realistic and practical costume of a black body suit, boots, hood and goggles. But the story in this trade paperback takes place in the continuity between these two costumes, which also represent two different phases in Selina (Catwoman) Kyle's life and character development. So Selina has NO COSTUME in this book, she just wears normal street clothes, but the character, story and artwork keep it very entertaining anyway.

The story begins with Selina (Catwoman) Kyle, drifting around the world after her faked "death" became public knowledge. She wants the world to think she's dead, so she can make a fresh start and get rid of emotional baggage, but she's finding the practical aspects of daily living under these conditions are more humbling than she's been used to living previously. So she's looking for a big "score" to fill her cash reserve.

A couple of her old friends help bring together a caper to rob a train load of laundered money from the criminal world of drug smuggling. So the "new" Selina is still a thief, but she's robbing criminals, not honest citizens, anymore. Is that character development? Maybe, maybe not, but it sure makes for a fun read.

If you love the current Catwoman comic book series, then this book is a must-have, as it details the origins of the "new" Catwoman series and attitude! This book is great and intelligent entertainment that expands on the character development of the Catwoman of the 2000's.

You should also get the trade paperback called "Catwoman: The Dark End of the Street," which picks up where this book ends, (including the first 4 issues of the current Catwoman comic book series).

Rating:
Summary: Very Fun Reading! Prrfect Mix of Grit and Cute Artwork!
Review: This is a great book for adult comics readers and fans of the "new" Catwoman comic book series being published since the early 2000's from DC. Fans of detective pulp and film noir films may also enjoy this book.

The cover of this book is a bit misleading and puzzling to me, as it seems to be brightly colored and flashy; while the actual story takes place mostly in moody, gritty, dark places in Selina's world, (and in Selina's past). So don't judge this book by its cover!

There is plenty of intrigue, suspense, and enjoyable characterizations, but the book has no superhero costumes in use, so younger readers will probably not find this too interesting; but this book is not aimed at younger readers. Adult readers can buy this with confidence that they will enjoy the read.

This book features Catwoman, between costumes, so to speak. The comics publishing giant, DC, has phased out the hokey, purple Catwoman costume of the 1990's decade, and they have given her a more realistic and practical costume of a black body suit, boots, hood and goggles. But the story in this trade paperback takes place in the continuity between these two costumes, which also represent two different phases in Selina (Catwoman) Kyle's life and character development. So Selina has NO COSTUME in this book, she just wears normal street clothes, but the character, story and artwork keep it very entertaining anyway.

The story begins with Selina (Catwoman) Kyle, drifting around the world after her faked "death" became public knowledge. She wants the world to think she's dead, so she can make a fresh start and get rid of emotional baggage, but she's finding the practical aspects of daily living under these conditions are more humbling than she's been used to living previously. So she's looking for a big "score" to fill her cash reserve.

A couple of her old friends help bring together a caper to rob a train load of laundered money from the criminal world of drug smuggling. So the "new" Selina is still a thief, but she's robbing criminals, not honest citizens, anymore. Is that character development? Maybe, maybe not, but it sure makes for a fun read.

If you love the current Catwoman comic book series, then this book is a must-have, as it details the origins of the "new" Catwoman series and attitude! This book is great and intelligent entertainment that expands on the character development of the Catwoman of the 2000's.

You should also get the trade paperback called "Catwoman: The Dark End of the Street," which picks up where this book ends, (including the first 4 issues of the current Catwoman comic book series).

Rating:
Summary: The Sequential Novel as Film Noir
Review: Those who are enjoying Darwyn Cooke's current NEW FRONTIER, with its tale of Silver Age superheroes going face-to-face with the McCarthy era paranoia during which most of them were created, will delight in his somber crime drama for DC Comics from 2002, depicting an important chapter in the life of Selina Kyle, a.k.a. Catwoman.
Those who are baffled by why a live action film franchise would take one of the most intriguing characters in the Batman canon, ignore her storyline and -yet again- play her for cathouse stereotypes full of campy sleaze are invited to read SELINA'S BIG SCORE, and experience a tension-packed drama which should have been the shooting script and storyboards for an authentic Catwoman film.

From skillful word to telling image, author Cooke is resplendent in his painstakingly full style. At once spare and simple in his delivery, he can be vivid in his wry, well-rounded characterizations, and incisive in the rich complexities he unflinchingly brings forth for the reader to feast upon. Perfect, then, that Cooke is the ideal author to tell the dagger-and-dues tale of a weary adventurer down on her luck; revisiting old haunts, setting fresh stakes, and facing a bigger price than any are prepared to pay.
Evoking shadows at every turn, a deadly angle lurking just beyond reach, Cooke conveys the alluring peril of the genre, from the grim sarcasm of Raymond Chandler to the stiletto-tongued sass of Walter Mosley. Visually, Cooke conjures a pithy scape worthy of the best in film and comic, from Milton Caniff's STEVE CANYON and Alex Raymond's RIP KIRBY to the Azzarello-Risso 100 BULLETS, onward into the night glare of MURDER, MY SWEET through the grand operatic tragedy of ROAD TO PERDITION.

With a melding of caricature and cinema, mood and motive all his own, Darwyn Cooke tells stories to be read, and read again, growing deeper with each turn. SELINA'S BIG SCORE stands firm as a saga of the times, and one for the ages.
Those who think comics are supposed to be comicky, with no fibre in the narrative meal, may want to avoid this, or risk a rude awkening. Otherwise, set your alarms.

Just don't wait for the bell to toll...


Rating:
Summary: Look What The Cat Dragged In.....
Review: Wow, yet ANOTHER disappointing DC hardcover. This one is made even more diasppointing because it's the brainchild of talented Writer/Artist Darwyn Cooke. Catwoman: Selina's Big Score takes place before the start of her current DC series, and details Selina Kyle's return to her cat-burglar roots for one last job: The heist of a train full of unmarked Mob money. The book has one good thing going for it: Cooke's art is a real feast for the eyes. His skill with dialogue is evident here also, but the plot itself just doesn't justify the ...price. The copy on the back cover promises lots of twists and betrayals, but I just found a very straight-forward heist yarn like a million others we've seen before. This could easily have been fit into a six-dollar Prestige-Format Graphic Novel, especially seeing as how the book is padded with full-page chapter breaks and a pin-up gallery. I also question Cooke's having Selina's Big Score rely so heavily on the reader knowing the particulars of his and Ed Brubaker's "On The Trail of The Catwoman" arc from Detective Comics, which starred Private Eye Slam Bradley. The book makes constant references to that story, but makes no attempt to fill new readers in on what happened there. Fans who simply MUST have this book would be well served by getting the cheaper softcover version; At least that way it won't sting QUITE so much.....