This is the kind of story we want to read when it comes to Catwoman. Gang violence, someone taking advantage of the innocent, something real. That is the kind of situations in which Catwoman involves herself in and Noncenti was able to bring her back into her environment. Where she could've been trying to get revenge for Penguin taking a hefty part of her money from heists, she was out to send a message to him for his corruption in the city. Killing, threatening, poisoning kids with addictive ice cream, that's where someone like Catwoman draws the line. Even as a thief she has morals and that is what Noncenti shows in this story. Read Full Review

All in all, this issue feels very routine, a standard outing for a bat-book, with some good art on board, and very little that makes me want to love the current Catwoman direction. Selena has some interesting moments confronting the Penguin (honestly, if there were more such scenes in the issue, would have merited a higher score) but spends entirely too much time openly stating her beliefs and plans rather than acting on them. Catwoman Annual #1 isn't a bad issue, but it doesn't stand out as unique in either art or script, falling entirely within the dotted lines of a standard Gotham City tale. Read Full Review

I say pass on this one, but the arc it sets up shows promise for the months to come. The artwork by Christian Duce is an improvement on what we see in the ongoing series and the characterization of Penguin and Bullock was nice plus we got to see more from a little-known baddie trying to make his way in the New 52. Catwoman Annual #1 doesn't feel like a giant-sized special, it feels like a half-way decent…well, almost halfway decent regular issue that's been way over-priced. Have you seen that Arrested Development episode where Jim Kramer upgrades the Bluth Company from a “triple sell” to a “don't buy”– that's basically what I'm saying here about Catwoman. Read Full Review

Okay the writing and the story was terrible, but what about the art? Well it was just fine. Not much in the way of action or excitement this issue, despite an ice cream truck shooting up in a neighborhood (long story there), but some decent emotion from the characters and some good looking settings. However, the art was really wasted here on such lackluster writing and storytelling. Read Full Review

The issue is a mess. An annual is supposed to be something epic, or at the very least entertaining. This issue performs neither of these functions. Penguin makes killer drones that will haunt down Catwoman and she in turn goes and gets a ray gun to take them down. This is a must-miss issue. Read Full Review