Series writer Paul Dini takes a break from
GOTHAM CITY SIRENS #8, but it's still written by a series regular.
That's right. The story for this Ivy-centric tale is provided by none other than artist Guillem March with a dialogue assist by Marc Andreyko (who's been massively impressing me with his work on the Manhunter back over in STREETS OF GOTHAM).
First of all, it's cool to see Ivy take center stage. Everyone is familiar with Catwoman, and Harley Quinn gets lots of attention from her creator Dini in these pages, but Ivy certainly remains very interesting, very sexy, and very, very dangerous. The story begins, however, with Ivy herself in great danger, before flashing back to what happened and moving forward with a creepy resolution.
Someone is killing people in the park. All the evidence points to Ivy, and the cops are ready to take her down fast. Jim Gordon, however, doesn't believe it's Ivy, while Selina and Harley don't want to believe it. And as much as the ending troubles me, I love it for that, because it's a good reminder of the book's basic premise -- that these girls are trying to be good in a world where they know how to be bad. I wonder if the moral ambiguity shown in this issue will be forgotten or discussed in next month's issue. I'd like to see it addressed again. I was also slightly disappointed with the Riddler's role here, but fear not -- it's nothing like the character assassination provided by Tony Daniel in this month's BATMAN.
Andreyko has a gift for words, and March's plotting proves that Dini's magic touch has rubbed off on him as they've worked together on this title. GOTHAM CITY SIRENS began its life as decadently self-aware cheesecake that engaged with great characterization. The book has gradually gotten more serious both in appearance and tone, with March's art maturing and the darker colors bringing a bit more gravity to the proceedings. This is a really solid issue with a simple but very effective cover.
And Mr. March, you should be very, very proud of this.
