Graphic Novel Review - 'Kick Flip Vol. One' by L.D. Lapinski (Writer), Logan Hanning (Artist)

This is a review of the paperback, early UK version of 'Kick Flip Vol. One'.

A great book to end Pride Month on.

What a sweet, touching, funny, open, honest, and wonderful coming-of-age graphic novel about exploring gender identity, gender dysphoria, finding yourself and your place in life, and love and acceptance from your friends and family for who you are. And skateboarding.

I haven't read nor heard of many graphic novels, nor many books really, with a nonbinary protagonist, and something like 'Kick Flip' is vitally needed; important to show the world.

It definitely caters to the 'Heartstopper' fandom and demographic - it has similar artwork and LBGTQ+ themes, plus a British school setting - but this is in no way a bad thing, and it succeeds on its own merits; it demonstrates that it is its own beautiful, violet and amethyst-shine creation, and pride and joy.

'Kick Flip' (or is it 'Kickflip'? I've read it both ways, even in the two authors' accounts in their separate Acknowledgments) is also about bullying, bigotry, and how obviously wrong, ignorant, sad, pathetic, and deeply unhappy and insecure those people are.

Why should anyone care about other people's gender? Why is anyone bothered by pronouns of all things? Why care about gender when it is all about individual identity? It is a concept, and a state of mind. No one can be sorted into a one dimensional, stereotyped box, and it's folly to assume so. It's dangerous, and boring anyway, and not how humans work.

What has anyone got to be afraid of these facts? Trans and nonbinary people existing is not harming anyone.

Bigots are no one's problem to deal with but the bigots' themselves. Bigotry is a choice, and they have chosen to not accept reality, to be angry, to be borderline unhinged, to lash out for no real reason, to not listen, to not learn and change. To be sad.

Be kind, always. Let's make the world a kinder, happier, compassionate, free place.

'Kick Flip' offer us nonbinary rep, different sexuality rep, femme friendships, skateboarding romance, and the freeing, cathartic beauty of acceptance, support, sympathy and empathy. There is plant roots and growth symbolism, and world-hopping and colliding and sinking symbolism. It's a cute, yet deep and thoughtful book.

I have to give it extra props for mentioning BS gender divides, gendered BS, and menstruation. Not that that's important, especially with its subject matter, but it is something to bring up at least once. Periods shouldn't be taboo, either.

To talk about the characters: Elliot Powell, a young enby novice skateboarder, is a complex and shining gem of a protag. They are just them; their own person. They are who they are, and are still figuring themself out, and that is enough. They are flawed and scared like everyone else. They should be allowed to fit into anywhere they want.

And their mum is awesome, I love her, too - one of the best mothers I've ever come across in YA.

Elliot, their best friend Jess, their skateboarder love interest Ryan, and their bully Katherine are really the only characters with names in the whole book. I don't think the names of the other two skater boys in Elliot and Ryan's team are ever mentioned, when they are otherwise well developed characters in their own right. How bizarre.

Why is this published under Orion Children's Books when it contains swear words?

Oh well, regardless, 'Kick Flip Vol. One' is a must-read for everyone.

Conclusive remarks: The creators of this comforting, empathetic, educational, acceptable and accessible LBGTQ+ graphic novel, writer L.D. Lapinski and artist Logan Hanning, are nonbinary, so it is #ownvoices all around, and they seem like such wonderful people. Let's thank them for their hard work, and putting something like 'Kick Flip' out in the world.

The next 'Heartstopper'? Who cares. It is its own thing, with its own identity, and special qualities to love about. Like Elliot themself, and other humans like them.

A minority group is a community. In fact, they are not a minority. No human is a minority; they are not small, insignificant, and alone. They are people, it is simple as that.

No one is alone. No one should suffer alone, for being who they are. Let them exist in their truth. Let them exist, period.

LBGTQA+ books are nothing new anymore, but keep them coming, nonstop. Keep them kicking into high, mainstream gear.

Final Score: 4/5

Graphic Novel Review - 'The Courageous Princess Volume 3: The Dragon Queen' by Rod Espinosa

'The Courageous Princess Volume 3: The Dragon Queen' - what a grand, exciting, action-packed, and lovely and touching conclusion to 'The Courageous Princess' comic series.

What a nice, expanded story, that may waver somewhat in quality - mainly in the second volume, and even this one has its issues - but it is an enjoyable, heartfelt, sweet and funny multi-fairy tale homage, retelling and subversion.

'The Dragon Queen' is the shortest of the volumes. Maybe too short, but it manages to keep a good, steady pace, and it balances out an awful lot of elements, ideas and characters in such a small space of time fairly well.

Character development is had by all.

Princess Mabelrose remains the sweetest, and the most good and caring of them all.

Her relationship with the Dragon Queen herself - wow, what a highlight.

The princess and the queen. It could have been developed a bit further, in a longer story, and therefore better, but oh well.

Ursula, aka the Dragon Queen - this queen subverts the fairy tale evil queen archetype after all. Just because she's an unmarried and childless ( !!! ) power-mad and greedy female monarch, it doesn't mean she's one dimensional and irredeemable. Also, come on, her reasons for being evil are mostly justified anyway; certain cowardly and stupid men in her family need to be held accountable for what they did to her (no, nothing like that , thankfully, this isn't that kind of fairy tale). They are not held accountable, however, and they receive no comeuppance, nor page time, for that matter, which is a flaw in the comic.

But, love and care - i.e. Mabelrose, the embodiment of kindness, brightness and joy - are powerful and do conquer everything else in anyone's life. Or they should.

"What is life without love?" - something we should all take to heart.

I'm sure there are still some retcons done in regards to the first volume, particularly with certain main characters and their relatives, which I won't disclose due to spoilers.

How does Puss in Boots, or PIB, know so much?! Who is he, really?

Why is Mabelrose's treacherous and sketchy fairy godmother, Mem, forgiven so easily? Villainous women are forgiven easily in this series, with varying scales of earnestness and being earned.

The fairy tale references, including the Disney versions, are great. As are the callbacks to the first volume. Is there a crafty, multifaceted reason for the villainess's name to be Ursula?

Are all giants (who look like ogres here) bad guys? Are they all a threat to the kingdoms? Are all dragons evil, too? Does the love and anti-prejudice message not apply to those species'? Uh, why?! Some giants seem to die by the end, as well, and literally no one cares.

The series is fast and loose when it comes to violating and manipulating people's free will, even by the good guys, especially in this volume. Very troubling.

The climax and ending montage and scene really make sure that none of the hundreds of characters are forgotten about, don't they?

Finally, slight spoiler, but Mabelrose doesn't really have a love interest, ever. As eager for courtship as she is infrequently shown to be, she never settles on anyone, let alone a prince. She doesn't need one, and in a subtle touch to her character development, she comes to realise this. And she's the embodiment of love in the series; of different, no less important kinds of love.

Hoo-hopping-ray!

No I don't care that she's still young and may likely marry one of her prince friends in the future, shut up!

That's all I'll reveal.

'The Courageous Princess' is a flawed but fun epic fantasy, fairy tale princess comic book trilogy. It's a nostalgic treat, containing awesome action sequences and set pieces, and strong characterisation, without being completely, perfectly feminist. I still like it.

Princess Mabelrose, of the tiny kingdom of New Tinsley, is a hero. Who is capable of anything she sets her mind to. She can save herself, and her kingdom and beyond, and be loved, respected, and appreciated for it.

My review of the first volume link.

My review of the second volume link.

Final Score: 3.5/5

Graphic Novel Review - 'The Courageous Princess Volume 2: The Unremembered Lands' by Rod Espinosa

I finally got my hands on the second volume of 'The Courageous Princess', 'The Unremembered Lands', after revisiting and enjoying the classic first story.

I have to say, I don't think it is as good. There's just... a lot going on suddenly.

A lot of new characters and ideas are introduced, that are crammed in and seem to be fighting for attention. There is a new history and backstory for the protagonist, Mabelrose, and her royal family - mainly, its added-in members who were supposedly always there - when nothing of the sort was alluded to before. It's like a retcon, and revision of the original.

Even the artwork is a bit too clean, crisp, and standard in comparison. It is not as carefully detailed, fresh, richly coloured, and charming as before. Some backgrounds, like forests, mountains and landscapes, are clearly photographs. Not to mention, there's the creepiness of blot-eyes and empty-eyes on characters when they are not that far away in perspective in a panel.

The pacing is rather inconsistent, seesawing and jolty. The first 46 pages are dedicated to introducing new characters, where Mabelrose - you know, the titular courageous princess - isn't even present, and the next 11 pages are dedicated to the rewritten backstory for her (or is expanded upon, depending on your mileage). Everything culminates in a rushed ending (with a few reused character art panels).

Still, the actions scenes and set pieces are excellent and creative. Despite so much stuff going on, and characters to keep track of at every turn, they are there for a reason and are relevant. 'The Unremembered Lands' does progress the story and arc of Mabelrose, so it does not suffer from the typical middle book syndrome. The humour is clever, witty, effective and on point for the better part of the volume. The fairy tale inclusions, homages and influences are everywhere. Greek mythology characters are even added.

With an ungodly amount of (mostly male) characters vying for page time, Princess Mabelrose, the Courageous Princess herself, manages to outshine them all in every panel she's in.

She's a wonderful and fantastic heroine. She's not a typical action girl - she's a good and caring person trying to survive, train, and find her way home to her family. She is a leader and strategist in this volume. When men and male talking critters are not saving her, she is ordering them around and trying to keep them safe.

You see Princess Mabelrose and immediately think home, warmth, love and safety, regardless of being "the fairest in the land".

She is an absolute pro on a magic carpet. Makes sense, as she's canonically a descendant of Aladdin.

She has earned her character development. She really is a "strong female character", and she is no Mary Sue.

It's a shame that she has the worst fairy godmother ever. Seriously.

To go back to that retconned backstory of Mabelrose's: apparently Giovanna, the beautiful princess who outshone her at a prince's ball in the previous book, is her cousin! Whom she grew up playing with, along with Giovanna's twin sister, Anastasia. The cousins grew and eventually drifted apart, yet when Giovanna did appear in the original book, there was no indication that Mabelrose knew her at all. Or was that a different blonde Princess Giovanna? Or was the author reusing names?

Mabelrose's cousins - her mother Helena's older sister's daughters - are not real characters, anyway. I've read the third and final volume of 'The Courageous Princess' trilogy, and they are never given any dialogue, nor any interaction with Mabelrose; they only appear in the background of a few panels. Seems a bit wasteful, and a wasted opportunity to me.

Why can't Mabelrose have any female family and friends who aren't either absent, useless, treacherous or evil? Don't leave the female empowerment and non-stereotyping entirely on this teenager's shoulders! She needs strong girl power support and influence.

Is Gaze, one of the princes recruited by Mabelrose's father, Jeryk, in joining him in finding and saving Mabelrose, supposed to be of ambiguous gender or sexuality? "He" is thought to be a girl once by the other princes (including womanising git Hearfar), because he isn't interested in beautiful female fairies. Gaze (who is that Medusa's child, BTW) is never shown to be interested in Mabelrose romantically, unlike the other princes (with varying degrees of shallowness). Queercoding in children's media in the 2000s and early 2010s was weird.

'The Unremembered Lands' also has the best iteration - the coolest cat - of Puss in Boots since Antonio Banderas.

That's all I'll say. Fortunately, in my opinion, the final instalment in 'The Courageous Princess' comic book trilogy, 'The Dragon Queen', is an improvement on this one.

Stay tuned for my review of that, and my concluding thoughts on this particular, unique fairy tale princess series.

Final Score: 3/5

Graphic Novel Review - 'Saint Catherine' by Anna Meyer

'Saint Catherine' is a 2025 graphic novel about religious trauma, guilt and shame, and the first one I've read concerning that subject matter.

And I've got to say, for a horror graphic novel featuring demonic possession, I am surprised by how light and funny the whole story in general is.

More than anything, it is an adult slice-of-life, coming-of-age drama, about the meaning of faith, questioning what you have always been taught to believe, not sticking to a rigid routine if it doesn't make you happy, learning not to live on a knife's edge of mentally ingrained guilt and shame, and learning not to get stuck in your own head all the time, and be free to live your life as you want, with the people who love you as you are, and who make you happy. There's also living by your own moral code, and how being a good person is about how you affect the lives of others around you, not just your own. Then there's how being good and honest don't mean much if you're doing it out of selfishness, self-satisfaction, relieving your own guilt, and trying to impress some higher or lower being with how "good" you are.

Genuine care, thoughtfulness, and attention to people's feelings are key.

There is absolutely more to 'Saint Catherine' than its surface level religious horror thematic. You can bet there are metaphors and symbolism. Ultimately, and in a realistic context, it involves exorcising the demons of guilt, familial or self-imposed...

How its literal demons are drawn is in a kind of cute, funny, childish, cartoony way. There is a reason for it. They look and act like a mixture of Bill Cipher from 'Gravity Falls' and Luci from 'Disenchantment'.

'Saint Catherine' is all at once creepy, bizarre, mad, grounded, sad, subtle, gentle, cathartic, and clever.

It is a very human story, and an easygoing and effective look into religious trauma, that anyone of any religion, or lack thereof, can understand and take to heart.

It has one of the best plot twists I have ever seen in a comic, and Joan of Arc and the historical Saint Catherine imagery and symbolism.

The protagonist, Catherine, a twenty-something redhaired "recovering" Irish American Catholic with religious mummy issues, is a very relatable sweetheart. She tries her best to be "good", and she simultaneously and paradoxically does and says whatever she wants, when "doing everything right" isn't enough, isn't working out, isn't making her happy and satisfied, even with her childhood-ingrained fear of going to hell. That's human. That's living. She's indecisive. She has much to learn and unlearn.

Catherine mostly has boyfriend troubles, but on a bigger, deeper, more subconscious level, there's her uber religious, judgemental mother, who unintentionally made her daughter grow up scared from her beliefs.

(And I don't know why the mum doesn't like Catherine's boyfriend Manolo. Is it because he has tattoos? Is it the sex before marriage life choice? It could be anything, really. She makes it clear she doesn't like Catherine's friends', ugh, lifestyle choices. *screams in rage*)

Catherine's girl friends, Kim, Marta, and Olga - two or more of whom make up the story's LBGTQ+ rep - stay the best throughout. She is lucky to have these pals in her life, and they are great and fun characters in their own right. They are podcasters and medics, and Catherine is an editor.

Well, in following towards something resembling a conclusion, 'Saint Catherine' isn't what I expected, but it is a fine graphic novel containing important themes. Beneath the demonic horror and "silliness" is a lovely and heartbreakingly real character piece. The religious trauma is the true horror here, and it is felt. Anna Meyer based some of it on personal experience, and you can absolutely tell. Her Afterword is worthy, vital reading.

'Saint Catherine' could be life changing, and life saving.

For why should religion be about making you feel guilt, shame, and fear? If it's about love, then why is that love conditional, and why does it require you to sacrifice your very personhood to it? Why shouldn't it make allowances for being human and making mistakes, which literally everyone makes? Should it really be prioritised above everything and everyone, if it makes you feel miserable and trapped, the exact opposite of how it's supposed to make you feel?

Learn to live, love, and be free, with or without any religion and faith, that should lift you up, not weigh you down and limit you and your prospects.

'Saint Catherine' could have done more to explore how religion is widely, disturbingly and horrifically used as an excuse for hypocrisy and evil, malicious, and bigoted acts, which persist to this day. Catherine definitely ought to see a therapist, also. But overall, I love it.

Catherine mends some of her relationships, and ends others, and again, that's life. No one and nothing can be measured and judged through a simple, childish, black and white morality.

Final noteworthy credit I have to give 'Saint Catherine': Its plot twist is made obvious from its cover. Seriously. Read the whole book and then look at the cover. You'll know why a certain detail is there. I won't reveal anything more, but wow is the graphic novel clever enough that it will make you feel like an idiot for not getting it from first looking at it.

Bless you, Catherine, and Anna Meyer.

Whether or not salvation is obtainable in the long run, you deserve happiness, love and enlightenment, which are never out of reach for anyone.

Final Score: 4/5

Graphic Novel Review - 'The Little Trashmaid, Vol. 1' by s0s2

A funny little story to go with this funny little webtoon about a little mermaid:

I bought the hardback version of the first volume of 'The Little Trashmaid' on eBay... and it wasn't until I actually sat down to read it that I realised it wasn't in English. It was in German. But, because it contains no dialogue and some words in it are in English anyway, I could still read it, and laugh at its humour. It can be understood in any language.

Either way, it was a lucky find.

'The Little Trashmaid' is a funny satirical webcomic for all ages, about a kid mermaid who finds excitement in the rubbish that humans throw into the sea. She has fun with the trash she perceives as treasures, including making fashion trends out of them. And she befriends two human kids - boyfriends Ricky and Spencer - who show her more human stuff and concepts (plus food, mostly tomatoes). Hilarity ensues.

It sort of makes light of pollution, but it makes it clear how dangerous litter and waste are to living beings in the ocean, and how it is the humans' responsibility.

And the mermaid's name is probably Tidy, which is hilarious on so many levels and waves.

She has a nice, sweet relationship with her giant merman dad, as well. He wears a Burger King-type crown.

The comic also makes pop culture references, including 'Pokémon Go', 'Star Wars', and of course, Disney's 'The Little Mermaid'.

Love the LBGTQ+ inclusion in this children's comic.

Overall, it is peak cartoon physical comedy, with no real dialogue needed. It's like classic Looney Tunes, or like a silent early comedy manga in colour.

I don't appreciate the cigarettes and their light inclusion (pun unintended), however.

'The Little Trashmaid' - a funny mermaid comedy webcomic about pollution and the environment. And friendship and love. The first volume can be read in under ten minutes.

It is unlike any other mermaid comic I've read. It is far less serious than 'The Sea in You', ,'Plain Jane and the Mermaid', and even 'Thirsty Mermaids', but its uniqueness and humour make it extra special.

Final Score: 3.5/5

Graphic Novel Review - 'We Could Be Magic' by Marissa Meyer (Writer), Joelle Murray (Artist)

Whoever first described 'We Could Be Magic' as "Pumpkinheads in Disneyland" was on the money.

People who have been to Disneyland or Disneyworld, anywhere in the world, will likely resonate with this fictional comic's attempt at replicating its magical, childlike feel and wonder. Any child and adult who wants to believe that true love, soulmates, and magic - and positivity and everything good in this world - are in fact real, will fall for 'We Could Be Magic'.

Indeed, I call it a fictional comic with a tinge of sadness, because I would fall head over heels for its version of Disneyland, Sommerland.

From what I can gather, it is based on a franchise created by Winda Sommers (a female Walt Disney) about a group of magical girl princesses (their Disney princesses), princes, magical castles, a magical cat mascot named Kitty Wise (their Mickey Mouse), and battling evil and true love conquering all. It's like 'Sailor Moon', 'She-Ra and the Princesses of Power', 'Winx Club', and 'Princess Gwenevere and the Jewel Riders' all rolled into one. How I long for a reality where something like this could be popular enough to be on the same level as Disney and have its own world famous theme park! Sommerland/the Winda Sommers franchise (does it have an official name, that's not the creator's?) even has Hidden Kitties!

But hey, I can dream. We can all dream.

And wish, and go from there and make it come true.

It is all positively charming.

I felt like a kid again reading this colourful graphic novel. The magic is all in the feeling, and it doesn't stray too far from being grounded in real life and its share of disappointments and struggles.

The "magic" and "true love" are an illusion in this "most magical place on earth", of course; it's for show, a fake and polished capitalist marketing strategy, designed to sell you merch - sell you your "dreams" - and tell you what you want to hear, so you will buy said merch. Behind the scenes, as all things under capitalism, it is far from perfect and fair.

But hey, maybe a bit of showy positivity and whimsy isn't too bad in this case, if it teaches morals such as love, kindness, compassion, bravery and determination winning. (Though it can lean into toxic positivity culture, most notably with these theme parks' smile-at-all-times policy. How painful, exhausting, and unhealthy.)

And maybe "true love" can be real. It's just in unexpected places. As the protagonist of 'We Could Be Magic', Tabitha "Tabi" Laurie, learns.

Seventeen year old Tabi achieves part of her dream of working at Sommerland, as part of a summer program. Her whole dream is to act as her favourite Disney princess since childhood there. She's such an adorable optimist, who wants to believe in eternal love and happily ever afters, even after her parents' divorce. She's always been a fan of Winda Sommers, and going to Sommerland as a child changed her life. I admire her, and her tenacity.

James the park attendant is a wonderful guy, too, with his own backstory and foibles to sort out.

Through their different personalities and life experiences, both Tabi and James want to believe that magic is real, in one form or another. In the commercialised Sommerland where the higher-ups nonetheless try their darndest to make sure its guests have the best time of their lives, perhaps the two can find it in each other...

In 'We Could Be Magic', the protagonist Tabi is a fat Black girl, and the graphic novel does acknowledge the lack of that kind of rep, but especially of fat female character rep, in multibillion dollar pop culture media. First it is through microaggressions, until it is, finally, outright pointed out. The people working at the Sommerland park think Tabi should be in a full-body animal mascot costume - silent, not heard and not seen as who she really is - no matter her talents and desires. The princesses in Sommerland are multiracial and ethnically diverse, but they are all the standard skinny heroine archetypes.

Yes! There absolutely should be plus-size Disney princesses!

However, in highlighting and advocating for that kind of diversity in the media, 'We Could Be Magic' leaves out another important human group that needs representing: the LBGTQA+ community.

Sommerland seems to be very heteronormative (in that aspect it isn't like 'She-Ra', or 'Sailor Moon', or heck, any Magical GirlTM franchise), and every princess seems to have her own prince as her true love. The book's only explicit queer rep is in a minor character who I don't think is even given a name, and a park character actor who doesn't appear until the epilogue. Queer people are overall ignored and overlooked.

Of course a lot can be said for Disney's own troubling and downright abysmal and disgraceful history with its LBGTQ+ rep and politics - let's not mention recent years. I just wish (hmm) that 'We Could Be Magic' had the gemstones to at least mention the importance of queer rep, now more than ever, in its own in-universe multimedia franchise and conglomerate. An effective real life parallel could have been made there. It's strange, even cowardly (just like Disney), to see such an omission and missed opportunity in a 2025 publication.

One leg up that Disney does have over Sommerland: Disney now allows its new princesses and female protagonists to be single. It sees that the concept of "true love" can apply to not solely romantic love. Intentional or not, a cop out or not, Disney is ahead in its asexual rep.

But 'We Could Be Magic' is too darn charming and enchanting otherwise for me to be too hung up on this issue. Real life context and implications aside, it is great as it is.

It is like a real fairy tale. A heteronormative fairy tale - therefore it doesn't reflect reality entirely - but still!

Sidenote: the character development of Kyra. She is Tabi's dorm roommate at Sommerland's summer program, a slightly cynical popular girl who gets the part of a princess no problem. On first meeting Tabi, Kyra calls her a "Spiriter", the name for members of the Winda Sommers fandom - a fangirl, meant in the derogative sense. She either avoids or teases Tabi initially, but gradually they become friends, with Kyra warming up to Tabi, and supporting and helping her out. It's a nice touch, and seeing female friendships like this is always welcome.

'We Could Be Magic' - a magical time, a wonderous trip, an enchanting place, even if it didn't reach its full star potential. I mean, it's a cute graphic novel (I'd say it's for all ages, even though it's marketed as YA; is this to do with author Marissa Meyer's name being attached to it?) that is needed in this increasingly divisive, cynical, apathetic, and violent and dangerous world of ours. We all need something like it to brighten our hearts, to clear and crystalise our minds, and to inspire and encourage creativity and art.

Okay, I admit that I care more about its cute, positive atmosphere, and diversity pluses and minuses, than its romance, but I can't help it. Any book that has magical girls and princesses in it, and a behind the scenes media deconstruction theme, is a win for winsome old me.

That's what 'We Could Be Magic' ultimately is: charming and winsome.

Is its magic for real? Well, you can read it and judge for yourself.

I personally wish to believe in its magic and messages, certainly.

An optimistic and idealistic child at heart - someone who believes in something, who has values, morals and ethics - is someone who will always be wanted and needed, during trying times.

Final Score: 3.5/5

Graphic Novel Review - 'Catwoman, Vol. 1: Dangerous Liaisons' by Tini Howard (Writer), Nico Leon (Artist), Bengal (Artist), Jordie Bellaire (Colourist), Veronica Gandini (Colourist), Tom Napolitano (Letterer)

Finding a 'Catwoman' comic that I enjoy is like finding a diamond in the rough - where the diamond is appealing, and the rough isn't so bad, and it reminds me why I should indeed like the feline antiheroine Catwoman. Luckily, 'Catwoman, Vol. 1: Dangerous Liaisons' by Tini Howard is one of those precious, enjoyable comics.

It's the first 'Catwoman' comic I like that's written by a woman. Go girl teams!

It's dark, gritty, intriguing, action-packed, clever, cool, sleek, polished, mysterious without being too frustrating, and is rich with femme fatale/female support. It is ripe for it. And yes, it is sexy, but it isn't obnoxious about it. There's no cheesecake, nothing pervy and fanservice-y - just natural humanity and human storytelling here.

How Catwoman/Selina Kyle is drawn, especially in some of her facial expressions when she's committed to a task, it's like she's purring off the page without actually having to purr; she's naturally sexy, but dangerous and not someone you'd want to cross casually. She's a heartbreaker and a bonebreaker.

'Dangerous Liaisons' might be the first 'Catwoman' comic I've read that acknowledges and factors in her bisexuality. She may be hung up on Batman (yeah, any real reason why didn't they get married, DC?), but she's explicitly into women, too, and she loves and cares for them, and wants to protect them. When she fails at that, she is devastated, and revenge will be her life's next goal, never forgetting what and who she is fighting for.

Her determination to defend the vulnerable in society - the poor, the female, the feline, the underdog - is her strength, her animal magnetism, more so than her sex appeal.

I've noticed that a lot of Catwoman's stories revolve around her avenging the murder of a prostitute friend/lover of hers. Why do comics (and films) keep doing this? It's a tired, sexist and degrading cliché at this point.

There are other LBGTQ+ elements and characters in 'Dangerous Liaisons', as well, and it manages to subvert the Bury Your Gays trope. Awesome. Keep at it, DC.

Although, I have to mention that the comic is noticeably, strictly focused on the gender binary, for something that came out in 2022. For all its feminism, it doesn't seem that inclusive and progressive, and in spite of the presence of Onyx Adams, a League of Assassins-trained killer and vigilante (and another of Selina's exes?), who is minor in the grand scheme of things, plus the lone female crime boss (and ditto an ex of Selina's) Eiko Hasigawa, whose importance also diminishes and is forgotten about by the end, the comic veers perilously close to white feminism turf/TERF. I ask DC Comics: Have they had the gemstones to include a nonbinary character yet - minor, superhero, civilian, or any other?

I'm not sure if this is a spoiler, but the main villain that Catwoman faces (heh) up against - in Gotham with its legion of organised crime families - is Black Mask. Wow is he one of the most evil, sadistic bastards in the DCU. And he's an outright misogynist, which makes him extra dangerous and loathsome. He's a villain you'll love to hate, and seeing him get his comeuppance by our heroine at the finale - the greatest wound to his toxic masculine pride and ego, by which he ties his whole identity - is very satisfying.

Others highlights in 'Catwoman, Vol. 1: Dangerous Liaisons' include:


• Selina receives a new pet cat called Duchess ('The Aristocats', much?), who is beautiful and mysterious, and possibly supernatural and cosmic.

• Catwoman pulls off some awesome martial arts and parkour moves, including a Chun-Li boot-pinning-to-the-chest. The comic also never forgets that she has a whip.

• On the subject of her attire, I only just now realised that her black spandex costume has holes cut at and under her armpits. It looks bloody strange. Is this a practical choice? For better movement and body circulation, and less sweat and sound? Or is this yet another way for the patriarchy to get away with showing fanservice without cleavage? Is side-boob the new cleavage? How long has it been going on?

• Why does Catwoman continue to wear high heels?!

• I like the Michelle Pfeiffer-esque Catwoman homage on the cover, however. She was truly one of the best Catwomen.

• Catwoman looks like Enid from 'Ghost World' in a few panels with her mask on.

• There is a nice, funny, and colourful two-issue Catwoman and Harley Quinn story at the end of the volume, that continues Selina's story (and her trips in and out of Gotham, which are constant). It is a girls' road trip comedy-action-drama, full of girl power, feminism, roller derby, car-and-motorbike chases, more female assassins, and the backs of the Bat Family in Gotham on the final page. As great as it is, I don't like when Harley suddenly gets mad at Selina near the end for no reason. Selina did nothing wrong, and she didn't keep anything from Harley! Despite this, they are an absolutely, ridiculously adorable duo, who love each other very much, and manage to stay platonic, as their hearts belong to other people. It's a treat to see how they are together, without Poison Ivy.

• The artwork all around is fantastic.


A 'Catwoman' comic recommendation by me, alongside 'Catwoman: Lonely City' and 'Catwoman: When in Rome'.

(Meow! Another 'Catwoman' review of mine containing no cat puns! Restraint!)

Final Score: 4/5