Batman begins his return to Gotham City. Catwoman is sent on a mission to tail investigative reporter Vicky Vale and monitor the information she’s been gathering.
Of course, I’m going to buy the comic because it has Catwoman in it (I should be pretty predictable by now), but is the comic any good? Well, yes and no. It’s all part of the DC money plot, as in how many comics and how much money can they gain from the “totally saw that coming” return of Bruce Wayne. It’s a one-shot featuring Catwoman and Vicky Vale, two of Bruce Wayne’s main flames. Personally, it’s been awhile since I’ve seen Vicky Vale in the Bat books, so this was a nice reminder that she exists.
The story, though, was pretty generic. Catwoman crashes a party, which is then really crashed by Harley, and Vicky Vale is piecing together the identities of the Bat family. At the beginning, we are, in a way, led to believe that this might be the story of how Selina reacted to first hearing the news of Bruce’s death, but it’s not. I honestly couldn’t tell you where this fits in to that whole story. I guess this mysterious person in a funny suit who shows up at the end of the comic is supposed to be Bruce, but I don’t know. It’s really hard to place this comic anywhere important in the current timeline of the goings on in Gotham. Since I am an avid reader of Gotham City Sirens (which is not coming out this month!), I know this comic has no direct relation to the current story in Sirens. It’s just filler. That’s it, like the frosting in the middle of a sheet cake. It really doesn’t serve any purpose except to make something seem a little more exciting. Derek Fridolfs spins a good yarn for what it’s worth and I do like Peter Nguyen’s artwork. I just think their talents could have been put to better use on a comic that meant something.
In the long saga of Bruce Wayne’s triumphant return to the city of Gotham, Bruce Wayne – The Road Home: Catwoman doesn’t seem to play a big role other than putting Selina on the main stage in a comic, a spot she already occupies. The worst part, though, is that this is a one-shot that is continued in Bruce Wayne – The Road Home: Commissioner Gordon, which means I have to drag myself all the way back to the comic shop to find out if Catwoman starts a heist. Strangely enough, the comic is good enough for me to want to finish the story. Take or leave it, this is a quantity, not quality DC comic.