Catwoman Vol 1 #83 Review

SCAVENGER HUNT

Released: Aug 2000

Writer: Bronwyn Carlton

Penciller: Staz Johnson

Inker: Wayne Faucher

Colourist: Albert T De Guzman

Coming back to our Catwoman saga involving Harley Quinn and her manipulation/rescue of Selina..

and opening on the aftermath of the ambulance ambush.  

Commissioner Gordon laughs off no news about the Cinque centre situation because it's out of his jurisdiction, dammit! That'll teach them to privatise prisons! Then some one makes him do work because they just found the ambulance paramedic/driver in a critical condition - no mention of his co-paramedic? I love how Gordon's not his usual super-cop 'I'll stop all the crimes' self in this comic.

His co-worker comes in and tells him about the report regarding the abandoned ambulance and he's just like "Is it full of orphaned kittens Allen? Well, is it? Why should I care!?"

Geez Allen, get your shit together. 

He also sasses the Cinque centre director off screen but to be fair, the cinque centre hostage situation is still on-going so they have had other things to deal with over there and weren't aware that Catwoman and the 'guard' were missing. I assume they've also either repaired the phone lines or moved out of the centre because they can use their phones now. 

Man, that SWAT guy is mad keen on killing some punk ass rioters but his squad just seen keen on fraternising with the cinque staff. 

Gordon has no chill - DAMN those cinque centre staff for being 'soooo busy' with their stinkin' riot to follow up on the wounded inmate. Kinda like you laughing about it being their problem, man, you can't sit back and not help and then get angry when they get stuck solving their own problem. 

So they go to the crime scene and Batman's there already because OF COURSE HE IS, HE'S BATMAN~! Gordon, again doesn't really shiv at this and gets down to business. 

The police realises the medications stolen are for treating a serious wound. Batman points out that the doors were open and this is Gotham so any asshole could have stolen these things but Gordon tells him to get over his boner because they're going to have to find and bring Catwoman in again. 

Batman still doubts that Catwoman has done the crimes here because she doesn't usually take hostages but Gordon points out that she started this whole rigmarole AFTER already taking a hostage. 

The best way to shut a cop up is to find missing evidence so Batman of course finds a clue that they didn't. It's the aforementioned scavenger hunt in the comic title! 

Gordon has a pretty multicultural staff roster - we've already seen a black man, a Latino woman and an Asian guy as well as the expected old, white cranky man, but no one feels shoe-horned in or like a stereotype. They do however, all seem to work on the stereotype that a grown man can't read comics, which is pretty annoying to read in an actual comic book. 

Especially when they'd all be stuck on this clue if the comic guy wasn't around. 

Meanwhile, Harley has Selina stashed up somewhere and is treating her with good ol' fashioned medication and hypnotic suggestion therapy. 

You get the impression that as well as being alone in this operation that she's in Splitsville from Joker because she's pretty ticked off at the shit Selina's been put through and how she's been used by Batman, probably equating it to her life but ironically not able to deal with her own situation. 

Again, this art is beautiful and detailed - the eyes and lips are a little abstract but look at how much effort has gone into things like Harley holding the syringe, the way her foot rests all curled up and the realistic way she puts the needle down. The only fault I can really say about this page in particular would be the way her eyes seem unfocused in the second panel but it's not even a really bad thing. 

Having being foiled at the Lexcorp tower, where everyone thinks she already stole the Crystal Spire on a previous escapade in #78 (She didn't, actually) and the staff's main concern is that there's spray paint everywhere, the crew are picking up on how to decipher the clues. 

Gordon, Montoya and Batman realise that they're looking at a mockery of some deeds that happened during No Man's Land and run off to investigate. 

They're referring at this time to a gang battle orchestrated by the cops that resulted in several deaths. 

Harley Quinn also made her main stream appearance during No Man's Land. 

Can I just say that I love the way Gordon runs in this issue?

He looks pretty athletic on the cover art but inside he runs and jumps with wild abandon. It's awesome. 

Gordon and Montoya reflect on whether they did the right thing or not during NML, which is good to see. That sort of event shouldn't just vanish from your mind straight away. See, back when DC could do events right? Hell, I miss Cataclysm, NML, Aftershock and Contagion storylines so much. 

Anyway, they come across this one guy who looks a lot like Selina's dad and talks the same way. What the hell is a Deezee? I understand that it has to be some kind of racial slur but strangely enough no Google search I did shed any light on it? 

This guys hilarious apart from that.. "I just want my step ladder back, man!" and his reaction to Batman is priceless. 

Batman just admitted to the cops that there are things that he wasn't aware of!

Next issue - the world self destructs!

So, Gordon realises where this is all leading. He's being pulled down memory lane through all the strife of No Man's Land. 

This one is of course referring to his trail by Two-Face but when he comes across a doll representing his deceased wife, killed by the Joker, it's almost too much for him. 

Batman remarks there's no note left here, but Gordon flatly states they don't need one, he knows where to go. 

They discuss the scene, that it couldn't possibly be Catwoman because she wasn't there in NML except.... uh, oh, a secret mission from Batman? Hmm. Looks like even Gordon's in the dark on that one. 

Batman offers to come along, but Gordon says that it's all about him and he must do this alone. In hindsight, this is pretty silly because Batman's like the best secret weapon ever but then again it would be a pretty short story if he did come along. So they bro-fist and carry on their ways. 

Harley would then go on to a successful career as a host on 'Who wants to be a millionaire?"

I remember being so angry about this page when I first read it. Why does she have white shoes and gloves?! I thought. That's not her colour scheme! She had the correct colours on the cover? Where are her arm diamonds?! 

Oh, if past me could see into what poor Harley's been through now in regards to costume mess ups... why, I'd still be in therapy.  Of course, I still am, but my point still stands. 

It's pretty emotional watching Gordon find his way back to the basement of the GCPD headquarters where Joker killed Sarah Gordon when she tried to defend all the babies he had stolen from NML. 

He has second thoughts, hoping that maybe "BLAMMM" means something else apart from that fatal gunshot. Afterall, Catwoman didn't shoot Sarah? He barely gets time to breakdown after seeing a chalk outline with a freaking smiley face head when Catwoman, semi-comatose appears amongst the GCPD archives and spouts badly written punny dialogue. Gordon offers to arrange medical assistance but Harley Quinn appears and steals the spotlight, as well as the closing words. 

To recap - this issue focused mainly on the police and their history of the area in relation to the NML crisis. It's good that we know who the puppet-master is here because Harley Quinn is so beneath the cop's radar... if she hadn't appeared at the end, she could have made a clean getaway and blamed Catwoman for absolutely everything. The interesting thing is with Harley though, is she's not after justice (like her new anti-hero persona of Hardly Quinn) or crime for crime's sake (like her New 52 murdering clown persona), she's making a point and using Catwoman to do it. 

Despite the witnesses describing the perp as not Catwoman, committing crimes that Catwoman is not known for, putting smiley faces everywhere, the onomatopoeia, bad puns, obvious over the top jokes and a crime scene involving the Joker - the cops and even Batman were so in the dark!  

This issue shows Harley's smarts - not just in medications but leading quite a few people, including the G-D Batman on a wild goose chase and her skills, meticulously bringing the past back to life, wreaking havoc across the city without being caught and sneaking a drugged Catwoman (who's pretty high on the most wanted list right now) and herself into the basement of the freakin' cop shop!! 

Good reading if you like classic Batman Detective comics, an intriguing story, like Harley Quinn or Catwoman and stories that aren't your usual DC fare. 

Harley in NML