We are a third of the way through this series and it only seems to get better and better. Read Full Review

Clay Mann delivers some beautifully detailed art in this issue. Not only are the characters dynamic and filled with energy, but the camera angles in the panels and their progression do an amazing job of keeping the reader engaged in the tone and pace of the story. Read Full Review

DC Comics'BATMAN CATWOMANcontinues to deliver. It's a story that feels dangerous. Even some of its own elements seem to threaten one another. But that's because this creative team has imbued this story with a tremendous feeling of stakes. Every scene feels like it could go anywhere, even when future scenes tell us otherwise. Read Full Review

Since Tom King has established all the separate plots, it's easier to navigate when he switches timelines. Even better, the plots are all in an interesting place. Despite some minor annoying writer tics, Batman/Catwoman #4 appears to be an indicator that the series will shape up to be an intriguing story, intertwining the three tales from across the past, present, and future time periods. Read Full Review

Continuing to take place in three timelines, King and Mann's exploration of the past, present, and future of Gotham's most iconic couple delivers some more fantastic moments in an issue that feels more leisurely than the last. Read Full Review

Overall, Batman Catwoman #4 is an exciting page turner that despite having some slower moments redeems itself in full with the corner the story takes and is another exceptional issue from a visual standpoint that helps drive the emotions and tones of the story and brings the issue full circle for its readers. This issue is easily my favorite of the series so far. Read Full Review

This book a this stage, is still style over substance. A third of the way through and it feels that we haven't moved from the starting pont. Does this mean that the final act is going to be rushed? Is rushed even in the Tome King dictionary? I have a nasty suspicion of where this story or at least a key part of it going. I hope I am wrong, as if the backlash of what King put Wally West through was considered harsh, it will pale in comparison if I am correct. I guess time will tell. For the time being, I am sticking with the book, but it I would welcome more substance as despite how gorgeous the art is, my patience could wear out. Read Full Review

This twelve-issue wrap-up to Tom King's long 'Batman' run is as engrossing and flawed as his monthly issues. But the three-timeline structure lends itself to some pacing problems. Read Full Review

Overall, Batman Catwoman has all the elements for a fantastic story. However, King needs to find a way to pick up the pace, or else it's going to be a slog to the finish line. Read Full Review

Batman/Catwoman #4 is a beautiful issue that builds upon the emotions of the last three entries, despite not really carrying the plot forward. Its momentum lies in how it provokes the emotions of readers who are fully invested in the Bat/Cat relationship dynamic. Read Full Review

Batman/Catwoman #4 isn't a bad comic. It's just a frustrating one. It feels like two of the three plotlines don't really go anywhere and at least one will have you asking what the point is. Any of the three stories would be solid on their own as a trilogy of comics. But, as presented, they're chopped up too much never delivering enough to really satisfy. Read Full Review

The book is gorgeous as ever, but the series' ingrained structure leaves readers hanging onto the past when the future is far more interesting. The thematic connections between the three time periods could stand to be more overt and less implied, that is if the narrative continues to be drip fed. Read Full Review

When all is said and done Batman/Catwoman #4 continues to deliver the same highs, and lows, of its previous issues. I continue to hope that King can bring this story together by its end. Read Full Review

This issue didnt flow smoothly at all and was a tough and confusing read. Considering its not even at the halfway point, theres a strong likelihood of more clunky installments over the next eight issues. Read Full Review

Batman/Catwoman #4 doesn't deliver the big moments that this series has been known for. Instead, Tom King and Clay Mann take a more methodical approach to progressing all the different character arcs. Unfortunately the pacing ends up highlighting how difficult it is to get invested in what is going on because of how often we jump between all the different timelines. Hopefully these pacing issues are figured out immediately so we can get into what made King's Batman run so engaging. Read Full Review

This issue is a drag and almost completely pointless. Most of the issue involves scenes that do very little if anything to move the plot along and the one scene that does has been done before in this very series (we're only on issue 4 to be clear). In addition, there are some hints of a storyline that could go extremely badly in almost every scenario and I really hope that Tom King doesn't do what I think he is going to do. I know in a series like this, you can't skip an issue, but if you could, this one would be a prime candidate. Read Full Review

If this is par for the course for the rest of this series, it's going to be a very long, boring, unsubstantial drag. Read Full Review

Me de mais Helena e comissário Grayson que estamos bem King. O resto não importa e a historia não faz com que me importe.

A little light on the story in this issue but I still enjoyed the read. The artwork is impeccable. I like this series better than King's current Strange Adventures run.

This is more cohesive than the last few issues. We got gorgeous tapestries of Catwoman in panties, a cat getting frisky over a meal, and a hybrid Huntress/Bat-Girl who looks like she has on a 2030 LFL uniform (please don't let it come to that) why she does rounds questioning Batman's Rogues, which given the time skip, should have looked considerably older.
At this point, I realize this would read better as a trade, but I'm already locked in for the monthly. Especially when King's writing is this clever with Catwoman dissing Bruce in the final panels going all Freud on him, and the bomb Joker planted having Gematriac code written all over it. This coupled with Mann's gorgeous art makes it to where I am willing to continue to watch the pieces just fall where they may. It is a Detective Comic, why not let the mystery play out?
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This doesnt deserve all the 1 star reviews but this also probably the weakest issue yet. Kings writing in this is VERY slow moving, and sometimes not very clear. Dialogue from different timeliness are dispersed throughout with the art and scene not always matching the timeline. It could be done well but in this issue it just isn't. The narrative here is still intriguing though and the art remains this books strongest point. Clay Mann is absolutely god tier and the colors are fantastic too.

Also I really like Helenas costume.

Seems like less and less is happening each issue. I'm still enjoying this, but my god is King dragging this story.

1st issue that manages to juggle the different narratives in a way you can follow well. It's intertwined in such a way that the jumps aren't jarring and you can quickly understand in which narrative you are.
The art remains very good, though still poor in its depiction of women. The imagery is particulair strong in this one.
Issue got some implications regarding Selina & Joker that I hope are a misdirect, because otherwise... that's going to cause quite a stirr and honestly? It would be quite icky.

Artwork 10/10

story 5/10

Don’t know why King keeps pushing this relationship between Catwoman and joker. A lot of other issues with the story, pretty boring read. Would have gave this a much lower grade but Clay Mann has really put this mini series on his back.

Idk why Tom Kink, usually great, choose this type of storytelling, in this series.

Another bland take it or leave it issue. 4 issues down, but will the remaining 8 fare any better? Frankly I highly doubt it. Though this has been the best issue yet, that's still not saying much. Bringing in the Phantasm was a mistake I think. It could have been any of the numerous women from Bruce's past we do know of or even someone King just created that we never heard of, and she could be spared the poor role of vengeful vigilante and this whole thing would be 98% the same. I think the ONLY reason they used her is because King just hoped an Animated series character would bring in fans more than an original creation. Believe me, If you are a fan of the '93 animated movie but not checking this out, you're not really missing anything.
As for Selina's attitude toward Batman's non-lethal tactics, that's just guaranteeing us an end to this like 95% of all other Joker appearances over the last 20 years, where he has the joker beaten, but still laughing like the maniac he is and either her or Phantasm or both trying to convince him to kill him, which he will not do after a truly boring argument we've all heard before. It's ALWAYS how it goes. "Why don't you just kill him?" every time. It was the same old thing in the Joker war. It's really become such a monotonous thing that I've grown to dread Joker appearances. It was done enough after No Man's land, Hush and The Red Hood saga. Enough of the "Why don't you kill him?" crap already. Every reader understood why and accepted it years ago. So DC can stop making every story he appears in always having that same question being raised.
I really wish this was a 6 issue series, because usually my interest wanes by that far into a story. And frankly I've considered this one of the most pointless stories in a long time since it began. Well, at least the art is decent. May this be Tom King's FINAL Batman story ever, because it's the last one I plan to ever get. more

This cutting between things is really wearing on me.

What can I say? King's weaknesses as a writer are out in full force in this issue.

We are now a third through this story line and we know virtually nothing. Andrea Beaumont, for all intents and purposes, is a new character and we know nothing about her, her relationship with Bruce and her relationship with Selina. There is the movie, but this is her comic's debut and it's been a long time since I saw the movie. King is absolutely wrong in having her back story explained in another medium that came out almost 30 years ago.

We have the new Batwoman, who is Selina and Bruce's daughter and we know nothing about her except that she's gay, like the old Batwoman I guess. Maybe that title comes with certain sexual preference requirements.

We know that Selina killed the Joker and that in the past she and the Joker had some sort of relationship that she didn't want Bruce to know about. We know the Joker killed Andrea's son (I hope to God that the son isn't a secret son of Bruce. How many of Bruce's sons and daughters does the Joker have to kill or cripple before DC gets it in their heads that they can't keep repeating the same beats over and over again. Especially in an era when they reprint the orginal stories over and over again. Even new fans are aware of the past. It's not like in the old days when it was difficult for fans who were new to the hobby to collect back issues going back 30 or 40 years, so they didn't have an acute awareness of Bats' history.)

We see Selina in the future being ruthless. But we saw that already when she killed the Joker.

And apparently Selina is kind of angry at Bruce for his mercy to villains. She said that Bruce didn't lock them up, he forgave them. Maybe King is going for some sort of "Selina feels that she shouldn't have been forgiven for her crimes" thing. And what she hates in what Bruce did is because secretly she feels he let her off the hook. I don't know, but it's actually something worth exploring, and should not be just a casual one-off line.

King seems to write Selina as inherently evil and only on the side of angels because of Bruce. Once he's gone, it's back to being a Bond villain. That's insulting is so many ways.

First Seline was never a killer. She was always a thief. From the beginning, she never went in for blood. I mean she and the Joker premiered in the same issue (Batman #1) and they crossed swords a couple of issues later in Batman #3. We actually see Catwoman willing to give up to Joker the jewels she stole if he spared Robin's life.

From the very beginning they establish a difference between her and the Joker. But King has Selina being pals with the Joker. Bad characterization.

Second, having a bad woman be good because a man "straightened" her out is just sexist writing in the highest degree. Again, bad writing.

Also, King has public domain poetry do the heavy lifting in the story telling. In this case the Christmas carol "Hark the Herald Angels Sing" do the heavy lifting. I maintain the carol is just a variation of theme.

Tom, words and dialog are a main component of comic books. Don't be so lazy. Embrace the story-telling tools you have at hand. For God's sake, stop hiding behind the words of other people. It's just cheap.

Finally, having a story take place in past, present and future becomes very confusing. I may not be a genius, but I am not stupid. If you can confuse a long time comics fan like me, then I have to say, you're doing something wrong.

King might think switching time periods gives the illusion of forward momentum, but he is blowing it. For once he has the chance to tell a story where we don't know here it's going. In the past, we know that Bruce doesn't end up with Andrea, he ends up with Selina. But the future is an undiscovered country, to steal from Chancellor Gorkon. We actually don't know how the story will end, but King kills momentum by constantly switching up time periods.

But the art was good. Can't say I love the new Batwoman costume. A little to cheese-cakey for my tastes. DC artists, you can draw women in an attractive way without resorting to Cinemax at night renditions of the female form. Who knows, you might actually attract some women readers.

Or I could be wrong.
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Weird Science Jim - Mar 30, 2021

Agree 200% with not knowing Phantasm! I see the same thing starting with Red X in Teen Titans Academy. Introducing a cartoon character into the comics should be a big deal, but Tom King seems like he is too lazy to do any of the leg work and just hopes you watched the movie!

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I really don't care for the drama between Bruce and Selina. It shouldn't be a thing. The stuff in the future really doesn't do anything but mechanically inch the plot a little further. And the stuff with Phantasm is extremely boring. Easily the worst part of the miniseries.

I rate this so high (lol) for two reasons: Clay Mann's art which is as gorgeous as ever and the fact that for all his MANY faults, King did try to pay homage to Mask of the Phantasm and I enjoyed that. Now the bad stuff...oh boy, there's a lot to unpack there. Up until the last 6-7 pages the book was bearable, not good, just bearable. And then he went full Tom King. Those last pages were sooo dumb, The Room-level-dumb. But I'm sure King fanboys will extract something "deep" even from those retarded pages. :)) And of course he continues with the already classic King tropes, Batman being submissive and weak, the female is the strong character, "gOtHaM wAs aLwAyS hErS". Also the "relationship" between Catwoman and Joker is gross, it was never there to begin with and it makes Selina look really bad. more

Once again, Tom King proves that he is not a good writer and should not be working for DC. The nice art can't save this one at all.

Is this series over yet? Just end it, it goes on and on about nothing. Yeah, whatever pandering, I get it. NEXT!

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daspidaboy - Apr 6, 2021

i have been noticing you giving 1 out of 10 to every single DC comic. Do you hate DC Comics or something?

RKS - Apr 9, 2021

If you've been paying attention which I seriously doubt, I have indeed given scores higher than 1.0. Superman up in the Sky I gave a perfect 10 to as it was a flawless book. As for hating DC Comics, yeah for the most part their entire current line of comics is complete crap. The only hope is that AT&T sells to someone who cleans house and flushes the hacks out of the DC system so they can go back to telling good stories.

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I think King should read some real literature where real writers show him how to really flashback, Luis Spota, William Faulkner, Juan Rulfo or John Le Carré.

I don't know who told him that he knew how to write to this man. The only good thing was the art.