Catwoman has been sliding through elements of magic in Villa Hermosa thus far. For month events have been leading down a far less earthbound kind of adventure for Selena. The poetry of this latest issue files quite nicely into a dark world of magic that should serve as a very appealing addition to the adventures of Catwoman moving forward into the end of the year and beyond. Read Full Review

This title keeps getting better and more interesting and I can't wait to see where Jones takes us next. Read Full Review

Jolle Jones and Laura Allred once again deliver a feast for the eyes. Despite the slightly confusing timeline, this is a must-read for those who appreciate intricate graphic storytelling. Plus, there is a little treat for those craving for BatCat. Read Full Review

If nothing else, you need to make sure if you are a collector to sew your timelines together. Jones has turned a corner from the past issues as the new writer and illustrator. She has breathed new life into this comic and it should definitely be a part of your collection! Read Full Review

Catwoman's path is twisty ahead. She never says whether she feels like a hero or a villain herself. She does however, call out Mrs Creel. She's determined, and the issue ends with an old friend coming to Selina's aid, one that I'm deeply excited to see her with in issues to come. Read Full Review

Fans of Joelle Jones' art will find a lot to like here, but the problems of pacing that have haunted this run are still here. I don't know if this run will ever escape the fact that its beginning and its end were preordained by Selina's role in a much bigger and more-hyped comic. Read Full Review

From a standalone perspective, Catwoman #17 is very strong. Joelle Jones understanding of Selina Kyle's character shines throughout the course of Catwoman #17. Unfortunately the choice in direction makes all the previous issue completely unnecessary. Catwoman #17 is essentially one big recap of the events that just happened. The connection to Year of the Villain also proves to be nothing more than a deus ex machina to progress the story. Not hiding that fact puts a big damper on what has otherwise been a solid story involving Catwoman and Raina Creel's rivalry. Read Full Review

While I think Lex Luthor's offer was done extremely well here, not much else happens.  That is bad for any book, but it is downright ridiculous for one with so little forward momentum.  We do get a really cool cliffhanger that has me interested in what happens next...I just wish more happened now. Read Full Review

Once again, Jones has created a visually stunning single issue that lacks narrative progression. While previous issues had great sequences that were entertaining despite the slow pace, Catwoman #17 indulges in Jones' greatest flaws as a writer. Her reliance on non-linear structure drains any tension from each sequence and Jones' attempts to bring her themes full circle don't fully work due to Selina's lack of emotional progress. Jones' Catwoman #17 is a beautiful distraction as it finds itself wrapped up in on itself, with only glimpses of forward thinking in sight. Read Full Review

Prelude:
Catwoman hasn't been too good recently. But with Year of the Villain, does that change?

The Good:
Joelle Jones' art is pretty darn good here.

I liked the look into Selina's past and how she has played both sides.

The cliffhanger is very interesting.

The Bad:
I'm not happy with Raina Creel or the Lazarus Pits.

Conclusion:
While the actual villain is failing in this issue, Selina does well in her Year of the Villain issues.

The artwork by Jones is always consistent for the most part. Picking up from the last issue, the story does progress a bit more, however, it's just not that interesting. To the reader, it's confusing who she chooses to be, hero or villain. I did like the many outfits that Jones introduced in this arc. For that, I'll give it a 7.

7/10 -Red Hood

Meh.

The art, of course, is gorgeous. But the story is so decompressed. We finally learn what Creel's plan is. Take hold of a Lazurus Pit to save her life and build some sort of zombie army. Selena beats Creel to the Pit and basically watches what happens. We then catch up to her getting "killed" from last issue and see why she entered the Pit.

We get the usual dialog boxes that explain she needs magic and we see her enter a magic club and find out she is visiting Zatanna, who saw her coming. Also, Zatanna drinks manhattens. An unusual choice for a young lady.

While Selena is cooking in the Pit we get a lot of inter dialog about why she left Bruce, but it's nothing new. Watching Selena watch an evil plan go forth is static and really makes her a passive character in her own book. Given her skill set, she could have stopped Creel and Creel's goons.

Watching achieves nothing except for allowing the story to progress. That's bad writing.

Also, since Lazurus Pits grant immortality and are used by a 600-year-old terrorist, one would think they'd be better guarded and that Ra's would also kill anyone even thinking of sniffing around one to use for that person's own purposes. Again, sloppy writing.

The plot moves forward only because people don't do the smart or logical thing. Always a sign of poor writing.

As to Selena's inner musings on her relationshihp with Bruce, again it's tell, not show, and it's just repeating what we already know. The writers (King and Joelle) seem stuck in a loop. Get off the Merry-Go-Round already.

What I liked. I have to admit having Catwoman and Zatanna team up has potential. Paul Dini has retconned Zatanna as having a not-so-secret "Crush" on Bruce/Batman, so having these two characters who love Bruce team up has the opportunity to show interesting character interactions.

It just better not end up being a cat fight. (See what I did there). Seriously, the trope of women not really getting along and sniping at each other is overdone and needs to go away, for the most part. I will concede that sometimes people don't like each other and these people can be women, but this action should be used sparingly.

Or I could be wrong. There's a lot to like in this issue, but there are problems. Also decompression. more

Did… did we just get a recap of the previous issue? For like the whole thing?!