Catwoman, Volume 5: Backward Unmasking

Catwoman (2001) (New Editions)

by Will Pfeifer

Protecting the East End of Gotham City from evil-doers, everything changes when Zatanna rolls into town. With new revelations, how will Catwoman fight off The Black Mask and save the people she loves? Taking a yearlong break, Selina Kyle returns with a child in tow. Who is the father and what does this mean for Catwoman?

Collects Catwoman #50-65.

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Dc Comics, Batman, Graphic Novels Comics, Crime, Comic Book

Paperback

First published May 17, 2016

About the author

Will Pfeifer was born in 1967 in the town of Niles, Ohio. He attended Kent State University and graduated in 1989. He has resided in Rockford, Illinois since 1990, with his wife, Amy.

Pfeifer, along with his comic writing duties, is the assistant features editor at the Rockford Register Star. He also writes a weekly DVD column for the Sunday paper.

Reviews

[Anne · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 stars

Look at the fabulous cover!
Lots of cosplay reproductions on the internet of this sucker...
But in all fairness, this thing is chock full of some of the most stunning covers for Catwoman that I've ever seen. To me, that alone makes this volume well worth checking out.



I kind of went into this cold, because I wasn't sure where/when/what this volume fit into DC's timeline. After I finished it? It's a pre-New 52 story, and as far as I can tell the events in this occur sometime after Identity Crisis.
Anyone? Anyone? If you've got the specifics, feel free to let me know!

Minor spoilerish stuff ahead.
It's nothing big, but if you don't want to know anything about the plot, turn back now.



Ok, Backward Unmasking starts out with Zatana, in a fit of conscience, confessing what she and the other members of the secret Justice League did to Selina.
What did they do?
Well, apparently they nabbed her, took her to the Watchtower, and then Zatana altered her mind so that she would lean toward being a do-gooder.



After the obligatory cat fist fight is over, the realization that she might not be who she thinks she is sets Selina on a somewhat dark and twisty path. But even with her newfound knowledge, it's not like she suddenly turns evil. She's just a bit...harder?



Alright, now keep in mind that this a a pretty thick volume - 15 issues! - so there's a lot of story crammed into one book. I'm only hitting the highlights, but all of it together made up a pretty solid story arc...or two.
In the first half it's Catwoman running around settling old scores, tying up loose ends, and trying to kind of find herself.



The second half starts after a year long(ish) fast forward, and when it opens, Selina is a new mother.
BOOM! What?!
She's left her Catwoman persona in the hands of a close friend, disappeared into a new identity, and started life as a stay at home mom to her daughter, Helena.
*sobs* She's so much cooler than I am!



Of course, the big mystery in this section is that age old question:
Who's Your Daddy?
Well, especially with the name Helena, you'd think the answer would be the obvious choice, right?!
But you'd be wrong!
Although, the scene when Bruce shows up to give Selina's little girl presents was absolutely adorable. Only Batman would break into a house to give an infant a teddy bear...



Helena's paternity is only one part of this story, though.
Catwoman has done some bad things while carving out her reputation, and because of that she's made some pretty powerful enemies for herself. Just because she's retired, doesn't mean her past won't come back to haunt her...or her daughter.



This was one of the best Catwoman titles I've read, and I'm absolutely going to search out more of Will Pfeifer's run!

[Ashley Marie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've come to realize that I'm not a fan of Zatanna no matter how pretty she is. And the baby arc is something I didn't see coming (kind of like how I found the dad unexpected - I don't like it, but I suppose it makes sense). Lenahan needs to settle down.

I remember the first time I saw this cover at a comic book group thing and I said WHAT IS THATTTTT

Still love it.

#CharliesAndAshleyReadComics

[Andrew Shapter · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hmmm.
As I have said before, I'm a bit of a CW fan. So I really didn't go for the whole Zatanna and her mind altering shenanigans with Selina. In fact, I thought that was a bit of a writing cop-out, really.
And then there's the baby. A monumental landmark in the character's history. Yet, this life altering aspect of the story didn't get the depth it needed, instead the Film Freak character (please...) and Angle Man (seriously?) got more air time.
If it were not for the fact that this is Catwoman, I wouldn't be sticking with the series this long.
I've just ordered Volume 6. Really hoping that all that has gone before was not just a "dream sequence"...

[Tim · Rating 4 out of 5]

I came into this collection with very low expectations. Brubaker's run on Catwoman was fantastic - possibly my favourite run in the post-Crisis Bat Family. How could anybody meet those expectations? Well, Will Pfeifer knew what he was doing. I really enjoyed this volume: it picks up where Brubaker left off, and there's almost no decline in quality. The story follows Catwoman's continued struggle with Black Mask, and the fallout from that struggle. The characters are very well developed, have clear motivations, and grow through the volume. The writing is good, and the fight scenes exist to push the plot forward, not just to have a fight scene for the sake of a fight scene. It's pretty much everything I am looking for in a modern comic. The last story in the book gets a little goofy, but otherwise, a really good read.

[Sean · Rating 3 out of 5]

Will Pfeifer gets an entire collection and its still a bit off. Selina and her adventures in the East End is still a treat but the antagonists Pfeifer uses are terrible. Like, laughably terrible. Ever arc also seems an issue too long. The "One Year Later" storyline was interesting in substance the execution was poorly done. The art by David Lopez was very well done. Overall, the heart is still missing from this Catwoman book.

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

For such a hefty volume, thus collection is remarkably consistent in its artwork, story quality and tone. Only in the last two of the 17 issues here did the storyline drop off for me. The Film Freak was a good psycho villain and the slightly soap opera-ish lives of Selina and gang made for compelling reading. I haven't read much Cat woman, but I enjoyed this one.

[Tim Field · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed this big chunk of Catwoman comics although the backstories, characters and DC events of this era were confounding to me. Still, the stories, characters, and artwork were all compelling and I found myself engrossed in the tales with pages rapidly flipping.
And those Adam Hughes covers - Oy!
Recommended.

[Lilybeth · Rating 5 out of 5]

Yes!! This is exactly what I wanted. Something different for my Selina.
Loved everything about this from the surprise pregnancy, to the surprise baby daddy, to the Metropolis crossover. This volume objected some exciting life that the series so desperately needed.

Very happy with this one!

[Ronnie Jones · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very good collection of very good stories. Don't miss this

[Alexandre · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent storytelling, art is great, not to much superheros stuff. I read like a good movie.
Very enojoyable. I don't give 4 stars easily.

[Ming · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty enjoyable read, but I'm a film nerd and even I felt Film Freak was annoying. I'm also not a fan of depicting Holly as such an incompetent noob even after so much training.

[Jake · Rating 4 out of 5]

Was excited for Zatanna to come back but she seemed out of character and I don’t like seeing 2 of my favorite characters dislike each other cause of a dumb writing decision

[Sotofunkdamental · Rating 4 out of 5]

Will Pfeifer deja números interesantes, con un momento crítico entre Catwoman y Máscara Negra. Además, Selina Kyle regresa con un niño a cuestas. Interesante.

[CJ - It's only a Paper Moon · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mostly a re-read. This had a lot of ... well it was an interesting idea but perhaps not executed as seriously as it could've been.

[alessia · Rating 3 out of 5]

art was nice across the board, first arc against black mask was a lot stronger than the loony villains and family drama of the one year later plot, but i liked seeing selina in a different light/role

[kubelot · Rating 2 out of 5]

1,5*

[Bridget · Rating 2 out of 5]

Okay, that turned out to be kind of a mess. So Selina has a baby with Sam Bradley, which is kind of awkward, considering she slept with his dad and all - and the dad is still in love with her - but she gets right back out on the streets before you can say "Slam's your grandfather." The bit about the suit being tight and the image of Batman holding a giant teddy bear make the rest almost worth it, but not quite.

See, here's my problem with Catwoman: She's selfish at her core. Batman has sidekicks, but he makes sure they're able to handle themselves before he lets them actually help. (With one or two exceptions, but let's not get into that now.) Catwoman pulls in Holly, who's such a moron she keeps calling supers by their real names. Slam Bradley's life is almost destroyed by her. Sam is killed because of her. Karon is put through hell every night because of her girlfriend, Holly. A bunch of kids are repeatedly put in harm's way at Catwoman's orders. And the icing on the selfish cake: Her baby is almost killed. Shall I go on?

I understand that her character has always been self-centered; you kind of have to be to be a thief. But to try to make her into a legit hero while keeping that aspect of her character - it just doesn't work that well.

[Chris Lemmerman · Rating 5 out of 5]

The best, and most consistent, volume of this series by far I think. Will Pfeifer runs with his plot from the final arc of the previous volume and takes it onwards and upwards through these 16 issues (and beyond, by the look of things). Even with the One Year Later gap in the middle, this is the very definition of an ongoing story which evolves as it goes along. Even with different arcs identified and some one-shot stories in the middle, there's no placeholder issues, and nothing that doesn't add to the ongoing development of the characters involved.

Slam Bradley, Holly Robinson, Slam's son Sam, Batman, Zatanna, and of course Selina herself go through the wringer in this volume as Catwoman deals with motherhood, vengeful villains, a film-obsessed nutcase, mind-wipes, and Lex Luthor (sometimes all at once, and not necessarily in that order).

Aiding the consistent storyline is the fact that after Pete Woods' opening three issues which are great, David Lopez takes over and pencils every single issue of the rest of the trade, and the series as a whole up until it ends at #82 from what I've seen. That's pretty much unheard of nowadays, and it really helps solidify this as a strong creative team, since everything stays the same creative-wise. And of course, the fact that Lopez is a great artist helps massively. He never skimps on backgrounds, his facial expressions are great, and he never descends into cheesecake poses for Catwoman (unlike some of the Adam Hughes covers which, whilst beautiful, are borderline pr0nface at times).

I hope DC finish this run off and collect issues #66-82, because if this volume is any indication, it'll be a great right through to the end.

[Lizzy DeMarco · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really enjoying reading all the Catwoman I missed over the years.