DCU Comic Book Reviews

CATWOMAN #59

It's Only A Movie, tk. 1

November 2006

Written by Will Pfeifer

Pencils by David Lopez

Inks by Alvaro Lopez

Cover by Adam Hughes

Synopsis

Edison (aka the Film freak) appears on television to admit that while he first thought the Angle Man and then Catwoman were the stars of the movie, the truth is, he was the star of the movie.  Elsewhere, Selina is awakened fro ma nightmare by Ted Grant (aka Wildcat), who tells Selina that Holly has been arrested and charged with murder.  Selina tells Ted they need to bust her out.  While Holly stews in the interrogation room, Lenhan learns that two police officers were killed when a building fell on them.  Turns out the Film Freak was re-enacting a scene from a movie.  Meanwhile, Selina goes to visit Slam Bradley, but he is too wasted to be much help.  One Year Ago...Selina admits she has feelings from Sam Bradley and the two act on those feelings.  Now...Selina decides to enter the police station herself to free Holly while The Film Freak goes to STAR Labs to free a giant gorilla to re-enact King Kong. 

Review by Binkley (e-mail)

This is getting good.  Man, just when I think the Film Freak has disappeared forever, he comes right back and I am loving every minute of it.  As I have said earlier, I am a big film, buff and this issue was awesome as we get to see Edison re-enact various scenes from older films.  And, of course, no comic can go wrong with an appearance by Gorilla Grodd (I think). 

Ultimately, I am not all that surprised the father of Helena would be Sam Bradley.  Early on I had a feeling it might have been him, but since I was not reading Catwoman before the One Year Later jump, I was not quite what type of role he had before the leap.  Having said that, I don’t think I would guessed it was Sam; I think my guesses were Slam and Ted.  It is just not all that surprising to me.  There have been hints along the way but I did not do that great of a job picking them up.  Of course, there is the slim possibility that this is just a ruse, but that would be a cheap move. 

This says a lot about me more than anything else, but given the grapefruit reference earlier in the issue, I understood what film Edison was looking for in the Taxi.  The driver’s lack of knowledge of the film only underscores that most people are unaware of the older films.  And the fact that he would think the Fallon/Latifah movie Taxi was funny is actually quite sad.  On the other hand, Taxi Driver with DeNiro is a fantastic film.  Taxi with Jimmy Cagney is typical of the time and of the star; there are better Cagney films. 

The sight of Ted in his Wildcat mask without the rest of the costume while he has the baby was just downright hilarious. 

Movie Mania

The Great Train Robbery (1903) is the landmark film in which a character fired a gun directly into the camera.  Audiences at that time were often frightened by the shot (pun intended). 

Steamboat Bill, Jr. (1928) stars Buster Keaton who is famous for his comedic stunts, including the scene in which a building falls on top of him.  Just like this issue, Keaton is saved when he stands in the exact spot of a window.  It is notable that Keaton did this stunt himself and the building that fell was real; it was no trick. 

The Public Enemy (1931) is one of the eras defining gangster films, notable for James Cagney squashing a grapefruit into the face of co-star Mae Clark.

 

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