Gotham City Sirens #4 is written by Leah Williams and published by DC. Artwork is by Daniel Hillyard and Brandt&Stein, colours by Marissa Louise & Triona Farrell and letters by Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou. Main cover art (left) is by Terry and Rachel Dodson.
Gotham City Sirens #4 is available from today, in print and on digital platforms where all good comic books are sold. Grab your digital copy from Amazon Comixology UK right here.
Synopsis
When a violent and highly illegal energy drink-sponsored hunting operation threatens the lives of wildlife and the residents of Gotham City alike, the only ones fit to save the day are the criminal trio of Catwoman, Poison Ivy, and Harley Quinn. Back together again for the first time in years. Sometimes the only way to fight bad is with even worse! With special appearances by White Rabbit, Punchline, and introducing the himbo cowboy henchmen sensation soon to be sweeping the nation known as “The Nasty Boys!” Get your chaps, spurs, and hats out cause it’s hunting season! By the end of story you’ll be covered in guts, goo, and grit! Featuring the talents of Leah Williams, Matteo Lolli, Daniel Hillyard, and more! If you’re not chanting “Hot tubs and headshots and hotties, oh my!” by the end of this four-week-long series, you’re doing it wrong!
Review
Today marks the final in DC’s four-part, four-week Gotham City Sirens experiment. Rather than making this a limited series running over months, the publisher boldly decided to make this an August-focussed event running in tandem to Absolute Power. With a story set in isolation to its big summer blockbuster, DC banked on a built-in fanbase returning to catch up with this team of anti-heroes.
Reaching the final chapter, Gotham City Sirens #4 finds writer Leah Williams sprinting at top speed. Our heroines are in the middle of the fight of their lives and Williams is scooping up the audience in her grip and aiming not to let go until the bitter end. There will no doubt be an argument for reading this miniseries as a binge. Opting to play out the story in one sitting will perhaps be more exhilarating than breaking it up in to chapters. But I can’t argue for or against that approach. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed the short break between issues and so my anticipation was high coming in to this final chapter.
Punchline made for an interesting choice of villain for the Sirens to go up against. It feels current. It also feels intrinsically tied in to the fanbase the series is aimed at. Punchline was created as a contemporary Harley Quinn successor. A new love interest for Joker with Harley now squarely ensconced with Ivy. Here’s Williams has allowed Punchline to completely disconnect from Joker. Now very much functioning under her own steam this isn’t a battle of the sexes book. It’s more matter-of-factly a story of female anti-heroes versus outright female villain.
I’ve never thought of Punchline as a particularly formidable character. Whilst she represents a vision of chaos she isn’t particularly powerful or threatening. So the idea of her using financial backers and an army of himbo cowboy goons feels authentic and has actually worked well across the series. If you haven’t been able to take her plans seriously by this point it’s unlikely to win you over at this stage. Between her plant-based hideout and her zombie army there’s a lot to take in. But it does provide our heroes with a potentially deadly threat to fight against.
Williams writes in some genius connection between Punchline’s scientific formula and Poison Ivy which allows the series to wrap up quickly. The context given in-story works and doesn’t rely heavily on breaking up the action with exposition. Likewise allowing Ivy the ability to undo what has been done doesn’t artificially accelerate the plot to get us across the finish line. Everything has its place and feels organic to the sandbox in which Williams is playing.
Art duties on the final issue are split between Daniel Hillyard and Brandt & Stein, a likely consequence of the need to push these issues out so quickly. It’s a shame the series couldn’t have wrapped up at least with Matteo Lolli returning for a few more pages. That being said there’s ample opportunity for all the artists involved to impress and they surely do. Between a giant Ivy and the milieu of heroes there’s a lot going on.
The switch between art teams is relatively imperceptible. I believe it comes when Catwoman and White Rabbit are poisoned. That moment leads to a fever dream sequence which really pops on the page, taking the book to almost Looney Tunes territory. There’s a subtle shift in the approach to design after this sequence which is the only tell that the pencil has changed hands.
Verdict
DC’s grand Gotham City Sirens experiment makes a smooth landing. A fun blast of storytelling which certainly proves there’s still an audience for this all-female team up. This four-part/four-week structure could certainly provide a cool blueprint for other limited series in the future.
⭐⭐⭐⭐
