Review: The Best of Cat Girl

You may think that the UK comics scene is 2000 AD and little else. Whilst that may be true of nowadays, odd issues of Commando and UK reprints of DC and Marvel comics notwithstanding, back in the day there was a plethora of home grown stuff form Misty to The Eagle with Dan Dare pilot of the future and the tv-tie ins for the Gerry Anderson shows. Yep, before the Mega corp of Mega City One and its no-nonsense Judge took over, there was a diverse comics range in the UK; something 2000 AD tries to ensure still exists with its’ anthology style of storytelling.

Cat Girl is one such comic character. Aimed squarely at kids, presumably girls, Cathy Carter (alliteration exists over here too), dons a bequeathed African suits that gives her cat power, which she uses to fight crime, ably and hindered by her not so fantastic private detective father. Fast forward to present day, and Cathy has grown up and is now a CID officer. Cathy has a daughter of her own, Claire, who in true Batgirl fashion, needs a fancy dress costume. One quick rummage later and a new Cat Girl is born.

The book starts with the more recent Cat Girl story from 2020’s Tammy and Jinty Special. Written by Ramzee, the story is a simple enough caper, with a touch of charm thrown in for good measure. By ageing Claire, Ramzee is able to bring Cat Girl into modern-ish surrounds. There is a casual diverse nature to this story, though as the original Cat Girl was about the inclusion of girls into comics, I am happy to see that this ideal has been carried across. The settings may have changed, but Ramzee’s writing remains on point for the original audience; will this work as homage or not? I am not sure as todays readers have been brought up to expect snappy banter akin to Ms. Marvel rather than witty repertoire akin to British humour trope. Elkys Nova provides the pencils in a style that mixes action well with caricature. There is an ease to the look of the book; nothing is too over the top and no character is sexualised, thankfully so when you consider the target audience. In fact I would go as far to say that the art has a cleverer look than quite a lot of books; the storytelling and pace is perfect. The Bowlands, Pippa and Simon are on colors and letters respectively. Where these two are concerned you know you are going to get strong colors and excellent lettering that will not hinder the action. Given how strong their work is, it is a surprise that neither get a mention on the cover.

The remainder of the book is made up of reprints of Cat Girls original adventures, written and drawn by Giorgio Giorgetti. There is a certain endearing look to theses adventures. Giorgetti may have been ahead of his time; whilst his American counterparts were putting thoughts and inner monologues into balloons, Gioegetti was using boxes to tell part of the story; this seems to be the industry standard now.

As my colleagues on The Ol’ Timers Comic Book Show are fond of saying, “this book is of its time”. Cat Girl is as quintessentially British as Superman is quintessentially American. Enjoy this blast from the past!

Writing – 4 Stars
Art – 5 Stars
Colors – 4 Stars

Overall- 4.5 Stars

Written by; Ramzee & Giorgio Giorgetti
Art by; Elkys Nova & Giorgio Giorgetti
Colors by; Pippa Bowland
Letters by Simon Bowlans
Published by; Rebellion / 2000 AD

Author Profile

Johnny "The Machine" Hughes

I am a long time comic book fan, being first introduced to Batman in the mid to late 70's. This led to a appreciation of classic artists like Neal Adams and Jim Aparo. Moving through the decades that followed, I have a working knowledge of a huge raft of characters with a fondness for old school characters like JSA and The Shadow

Currently reading a slew of Bat Books, enjoying a mini Marvel revival, and the host of The Definative Crusade and Outside the Panels whilst also appearing on No-Prize Podcast on the Undercover Capes Podcast Network