Catwoman: The Replacements (Paperback)

~ Will Pfeifer (Author), David Lopez (Photographer), Alvaro Lopez (Photographer)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Selina Kyle has prowled the skyline of Gotham City as Catwoman, the protector of the East End, for years. But one year ago, she became pregnant and decided to leave the costumed world behind.

Now, a new inexperienced Catwoman continues Selina's trade cloaked in the shadows and tries to restore order in the streets, while the original feline fatale has her hands full with the baby who's become the most important person in her life.

Will it be too late for Selina to return when she questions her decision to step away from her crimefighting life?

Product Details

• Paperback: 144 pages
• Publisher: DC Comics (February 21, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1401212131
• ISBN-13: 978-1401212131
• Product Dimensions: 9.9 x 6.5 x 0.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,033,846 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars It's "New Coke" for Catwoman, March 6, 2007

By	Tom Knapp "Rambles.NET editor" (Lancaster, PA USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

Comic-book readers often must suffer through a "New Coke" phase in their favorite titles. Heroes as iconic as Superman, Batman, Green Arrow, Green Lantern and, as of this writing, Wonder Woman have been killed or otherwise disposed of while a younger, fresher and, almost certainly, inferior substitute takes their place. In most cases, the publisher eventually recognized the error and brought the classic version back to the fore.

Now it's Catwoman's turn and, as usual, it's probably a mistake.

In what will probably turn out to be a plotting catastrophe, writer Will Pfeifer decided it was time for Selina Kyle to get pregnant. With a baby on the way, Selina decides it's time to give up her roof-hopping and crook-kicking ways, and she passes the costume and whip on to an unlikely successor: Holly, former-prostitute-turned-lesbian sidekick.

A crash training course doesn't really prepare Holly for the job, however, and right out of the gate she runs afoul of several large problems. It's hard to imagine which is worse, the film-obsessed villain who wants to kill Catwoman or the tireless cop who wants to arrest her for murder.

Of course, it's not long before Selina is forced back into her costume (which, given her recent pregnancy, doesn't fit quite like it used to). And it's not long before her baby is put at risk because of her nocturnal outings -- and, let's be honest here, the sight of a maternally outraged Catwoman is a treat.

But New Coke never satisfied the thirst like Classic Coke does, and Holly as Catwoman is equally unsatisfying. She lacks both skill and motivation, and it appears her future must involve either an unrealistic upgrade in abilities or her constant use as a foil to bring Selina back into action and save her. Either way, I'll sip the new formula grudgingly until DC brings the real deal back to the shelves.

by Tom Knapp, Rambles.(n e t) editor

4.0 out of 5 stars Catwoman reboots............, November 1, 2009

By	Joe Sixpack -- Slipcue.com (...in Middle America) - See all my reviews (TOP 50 REVIEWER)

"Catwoman, Book Five: The Replacements"
Written by Will Pfiefer
Illustrated by David Lopez
(DC Comics, 2007)
-------------------------------------------------
The creative team of Ed Brubaker and Darwyn Cooke, the driving force behind the previous four volumes of "Catwoman," are a hard act to follow. Indeed, they transformed Selina Kyle from a B-list superhero character with lots of built-up mystique into a full-fledged graphic novel heroine, the star of one of the best comics that DC had produced in years. Pfiefer and Lopez do okay picking up the threads of the Brubaker-Cooke storylines -- it's nice to see the spotlight still on Slam Bradley, and the training of Selina Kyle's replacement, Holly, as the new Catwoman, is kind of fun. (Nice to see Wildcat back in action, too!)

On the other hand, Pfiefer doesn't seem to have a solid grip on Selina's personality, and she begins to recede into stick-figure territory; similarly, the villains of this episode, the Angle and some pasty-faced, goth-y uber-film buff who is making his own criminal life into some sort of meta-reality show, reek of the tedium of DC's Vertigo imprint, full of simplistic "dark" "twisted" plot points whose trip-you-out tropes are by now quite well-worn and tiresome. Brubaker's approach, keeping Catwoman closer to the Batman/Daredevil crimefighter/noir traditions was a better idea. I might check out the next volume, but I suspect that may be about it for me. I'd give this one a 3.5, if I could. (Joe Sixpack, ReadThatAgain book reviews)

4.0 out of 5 stars Catwoman - hero, villain, mother , March 31, 2008

By	AeroRep (Los Angeles, CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Catwoman (Book 6): It's Only a Movie (Paperback)

Will Pfeifer's run on Catwoman is one of those frustrating paradoxes, a well respected comic that does not sell well. Changes certainly have been made during his tenure, some controversial, including a replacement Catwoman and Selina giving birth to a baby girl. This approach may be applauded for adding realistic life situations to the storytelling; it certainly gives new meaning to the term "working mother", but may not be what the readership wants. All pluses aside, it tends to detract from the superhero aspect of the book, which is probably why most people buy it in the first place, and replace it with more of a soap opera feel. Of course one person's soap opera is another person's characterization. This trade comprises both approaches. The first part focuses more on her interpersonal relationships and her young daughter, with the second half concentrating on her Catwoman alter ego in an adventure in Metropolis involving Lex Luthor. It is the latter that is the more intriguing and works the best. The new direction was an interesting and possibly necessary direction to explore, and added depth to her character and her mythos, but at a price. Superhero characters having marriages and/or children is a hot topic currently in comics, with some people thinking that it limits the potential story possibilities with them. Selina has and always will be a major part of any Catwoman story, and the two personas meld perfectly to make her the great character that she is, but first and foremost she is Catwoman, a lone wolf, part hero, part villain. It may be time to take her back to her roots, which is probably what most people want anyways.