Is #81 the last issue for Catwoman?
The solicits for the issue on Newsarama indicate so.
Why end the book so abruptly?
Does Final Crisis have anything to do with it?
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
Catwoman's Last Life?
Is #81 the last issue for Catwoman?
The solicits for the issue on Newsarama indicate so.
Why end the book so abruptly?
Does Final Crisis have anything to do with it?
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I dropped away from Catwoman during the OYL phase, when Will Pfeiffer seemed set on trying to make Film Freak a real threat.
ReplyDeleteFilm.
Freak.
I picked up the Salvation Run tie ins and to be honest right now, Selina's characterization seems to be slipping back into being a self-motivated quasi-villain. I'd guess its tough to support that character in an ongoing.
To be honest, the book hasn't been the same since Brubaker left.
I think poor sales had more to do with it. I have a feeling they'll relaunch her soon in a more Jim Balent-style direction, probably with Michael Turner covers.
ReplyDelete"I have a feeling they'll relaunch her soon in a more Jim Balent-style direction, probably with Michael Turner covers."
ReplyDeleteThe sad thing is, if they did this and went full-tilt Witchblade/Red Sonja in tone, they probably would get a bunch of sales.
But you could also go in the opposite direction and really get a great writer on board and make an attempt to put out some good, heartfelt comics.
This is the conundrum for the mainstream comics publisher.
But you could also go in the opposite direction and really get a great writer on board and make an attempt to put out some good, heartfelt comics.
ReplyDeleteThey kind of did do that. DC did keep interfering with the work Will did do, he never did get a fair shake.
Well, clearly they are canceling it because of that cover. I mean, as far as I can see, she isn't even kind of unzipped, I can't see any cleavage at all. How obvious can it be?
ReplyDelete"Well, clearly they are canceling it because of that cover. I mean, as far as I can see, she isn't even kind of unzipped, I can't see any cleavage at all. How obvious can it be?"
ReplyDeleteah, but that butt!
seriously, though, as much as I think those Adam Hughes covers were artistically well-done, they really watered down and gave mixed messages on what the book was about. I think they potentially alienated readers, especially women, who perhaps were looking for more of a serious read.
I think DC took a chance on bumping up the readership by adding the enticing covers, but in the end it didn't pay off, because there wasn't enough of a relationship between the covers and the book. The title was better off with just simple line art like it had before.
They still publish Catwoman?
ReplyDeletePersonally, I don't think the movie merited a comic book spin-off in the first place.
What was the last "full-tilt" "bad girl" book that really sold well? Witchblade, Red Sonja, Jenna Jameson's Shadow Hunter and all the other still existing "bad girl" books sell around the same amount as Catwoman has.
ReplyDeletePutting "bad girl" covers on a book that isn't particularly "bad girl" at all definitely hurt the book's potential sales -- at least on the blogosphere, no one seemed to bother looking past the covers.
But it also didn't help that they sort of threw the book into chaos by forcing it to crossover with War Games, Identity Crisis Aftermath, Countdown, Amazons Attack, Salvation Run and seemingly every other disaster DC has put out in the past year or two, not only throwing off Pfieffer but also giving the book a taint by association.
And Rich, the Film Freak arc was actually pretty great.
The.
Film.
Freak.
Who can deny a Buster Keaton deathtrap?
Maybe I'm the only one who feels this way, but when I see boldly attractive and appealing cover art, (it doesn't have to be teh sexy, but that does attract the eye on the stands) and then I flip open the book and see average run-of the mill draftsmanship, it disappoints me from buying the book.
ReplyDeleteIf you don't have interior art that lives up to the promise of the cover, I'm hardly ever buying.
Just found out that according to writer Will Pfeiffer, the book actually ends with #82, not #81:
ReplyDeletehttp://xrayspex.blogspot.com/2008/04/well-heh-heh-this-is-little.html
Bet there's a proofreader somewhere feeling sheepish...
Personally, I don't think the movie merited a comic book spin-off in the first place.
ReplyDeleteAnd that's another reason the book is doing so poorly. When regular schmoes think of Catwoman these days, they don't think of Michelle Pfeiffer Catwoman. They think of Halle Berry Catwoman.
Personally, it's kind of tough to not have seen this coming, so I think issue 81 would've been a better final issue than 82.
Why? Just consider what the square root of 81 is.
Now consider how many lives a cat has! Now that's what I call symmetry!
I just wonder what Adam Hughes will be doing now, because DC really should be making more use of that guy.
I think about something erik Larsen said a while back on the issue of death in comics or comics in general... Archie will never permanently end up with Betty or Veronica when you figure that out, you move on & younger ones will be the one to buy the whole love triangle... do you think we all have just been reading comics for too long?
ReplyDeleteNo comic book has made me angry at myself more than Catwoman. I kept buying it month after month, even though Will Pfeiffer is a crap writer and it was consistentely the worst read of my Wednesdays. But those covers are effing amazing. They'd trick my monkey brain every time.
ReplyDelete