Gotham City Sirens #12-19

Gotham City Sirens #12-19

Originally released in 2010

Written by Tony Bedard (#12-15), Peter Calloway (#16-19)

Art by Peter Nguyen (#12-13), Andres Guinaldo (#13-17, 19), Jeremy Haun (#18)

I wanted to continue Gotham City Sirens to get an idea of what it would be like without Paul Dini writing it.  One thing that I noticed right away is the shift in focus - Harley seems to become less prominent in these issues as Catwoman and Ivy get a lot of the spotlight. (though that seems to change by the end of issue 19)

The tone of Tony Bedard's writing didn't really fit with the tone of the series to me, taking things in a darker direction.  Selina is trying to track down her sister, Maggie Kyle, who went insane. (not in the goofy way that Harley is, but in the sense that she thinks that Selina has been possessed by a cat demon and she's being guided by an angel to murder Selina and become the next Joan Of Arc)

Meanwhile, Ivy's job at STAR Labs isn't going well - she had taken on a job there to get ahold of a way to rapidly grow plants, which STAR Labs had been developing.  However, she discovers that the source is a plant alien who has an effect on her like how she effects men with her pheromones.  She's effectively brainwashed to fight Harley and Catwoman, along with preparing the world for the alien queen. (doing that involves covering the world with plants, which she'd normally be fine with, but it's incredibly clear that the aliens would kill Ivy afterwards for being part human)

Bedard's time as the writer lasts four issues, and after that, Peter Calloway takes over until the end of the series.  These first few stories primarily focus on Catwoman, and her knowledge of Batman's identity.  Batman's still dead at this point, in the aftermath of Final Crisis, but Talia Al Ghul is concerned that Selina's knowledge of Bruce's identity could be taken advantage of. (though naturally, the fact that they're romantic rivals for Bruce's affection also plays a part)

Zatanna's also involved, and she makes for a fun (albeit overpowered, especially when compared to the rest of the cast) addition.  She makes a mention of having manipulated Catwoman's mind or memories in the past to make her more heroic, though I'm not sure if Catwoman was ever outright villainous. (then again, maybe she was crueler in her earlier appearances)

I think I preferred Paul Dini's sillier tone for this book, though I like how the later issues incorporated Talia and kept me guessing on whether Zatanna would wipe Catwoman's memories or not.  These issues were all right, though the cliffhanger that issue 19 ends on doesn't seem like it will go anywhere for obvious reasons. (maybe it will lead to Harley breaking up with the Joker in no uncertain terms, but I'm pretty sure that's not for a few more years beyond this point)