Catwoman: Soulstealer

3.5 stars

I'm a huge SJM fan so I was very excited to see this... Afraid but excited. While I'm assuming she had artistic freedom, still... Not her world or her character(s). Not to mention that Catwoman is one my OG favorite supervillian/antiheroine. So afraid but excited.

The story was fine. I didn't really find myself loving Selina like I have in the past. She was fine. Luke Fox was fine. I didn't hate or love them. They were just fine. Lol

What I found myself was wanting SJM to so a story on Harley or Ivy. I felt like they had more life then Selina. Even in their descriptions.

I did love when it all hit the fan. The endgame and all that jazz. That's what bumped it up to the 3.5 stars. Because I found myself GLUED to all that was going down.

That cover tho. 5 stars.

So I needed a “book about a heist” for the PopSugar 2018 Reading Challenge, and naturally, Catwoman fits the bill. It wouldn't be a Catwoman novel/cartoon/graphic novel without a heist! Several, in fact, in this instance. And she teams up with Poison Ivy and Harley Quinn to pull them off, even though she doesn't seem to actually need the girls in this book. I love that Maas chose to include them, because Ivy/Harley/Catwoman is one of my all-time favorite team-ups. The book also delves into the relationship between Ivy and Harley, and Harley's dysfunctional dependence on the Joker (who's in Arkham for this book). I loved seeing that.

Interestingly, Batman doesn't show, other than a few phone calls with Luke Fox, Lucius Fox's son. Luke takes the traditional role of Batman-as-Catwoman's-love-interest, but as Batwing, a sort-of Robin. (Maybe I read too many comics? Nah.) The switch was surprising; it's always Catwoman and Batman, Selina and Bruce. Except when it's Talia and Bruce, I suppose.

I do wonder if they're going to do an ensemble cast novel after these first four books. (Wonder Woman: Warbringer, Batman: Nightwalker, and Superman: Dawnbreaker being the other three.) Superman doesn't come out until January, but the first three have been very disconnected from one another. Wonder Woman wasn't even mentioned in Batman or Catwoman. It seems odd to have them as a series, but never mention one another in each book? That, or the Superman book is going to tie the other three together, which seems like a disservice to Superman.

Anyway. I really liked Luke Fox as Batwing - the book touched, just a little bit, on racial issues, and how even as an obscenely rich black man he's not entirely exempt from those. In one scene he worries about the color of his skin being seen through damage to his batsuit, and cops realizing he's black. It's a sober reminder that even in a city beset by evil clowns, it's still set in the United States and we still have those racist systems in place.

The banter between Luke and Selina, and Selina and Harley and Ivy, is fantastic. I haven't actually read any of Sarah J. Maas' books - I know, I know - but if they're like Catwoman, I should probably give in and do so. So far, Wonder Woman is still my favorite of the DC Icons series (which is no surprise, as I love Leigh Bardugo) but Catwoman is really good.

You can find all my reviews at Goddess in the Stacks.

Wasn't sure of what to make of this one initially. I generally like DC stories but don't really know much of Catwoman outside of the Adam West Batman series/movie, and her appearances in Batman TAS and the movies. I liked this book, but I feel like my interest picked up more once the other GC Sirens showed up and the cat & mouse games started (I'm gonna own up to intending this pun).