The Huntress and her reporter pals figures out that The Chairman, Ibn Hassan, plans on camping out at a grand hotel that was once a 12th Century monastery.  Already there are Italian crime boss Moretti and Hassan’s son Mustafa.  (Blooper: Morretti calls Mustafa “Ibn.”)  Huntress sneaks outside of their room and plants a bug, but is quickly discovered by the police and must flee.  Meanwhile, Ibn Hassan is en route to Italy and explains his plan to his younger son Abdullah, which is to step down for the press and the outraged citizens of their country Kufra.  Mustafa will step into power and assure the world that he is taking their nation in the opposite direction that his father had, when secretly, Ibn will continue to call the shots from behind-the-scenes.

After dining with her reporter associates, Huntress boards a yacht headed out with all lights turned off.  On board are Moretti, some thugs and the women brought along for “entertainment.”  Helena moves like a pro, blocking outgoing radio transmissions, knocking some thugs unconscious and shutting the engine down.  Things don’t go perfectly as Moretti’s men attack.  She suffers an injury, but manages to take out his guards, leaving nothing between her and Moretti.  But rather than deal with him herself, she turns him over to the women he has victimized!  She escapes via boat just as the police arrive.

Marcus To’s dreamy artwork (right) continues to delight!  He’s fairly new to DC, having done a few issues of ‘Red Robin,’ but I’m looking forward to much, much more from him.  (Plus, I should probably dig up those ‘Red Robin’ back issues.)  There’s just so much subtlety and intricate detail to his work.  He works with two inkers this issue, John Dell and Richard Zajac and both deliver, with very light, thin lines.  The coloring in this is excellent too, thanks to Andrew Dalhouse.  The colors of the characters just pop against more rustic backgrounds.  If I had nothing else to say about this book, at the very least, it’s damn pretty to look at!

The plot is still pedestrian as I stated last issue.  Crime bosses and corrupt politicians.  But it’s certainly not bad.  Helena is handled extremely competently here.  There is another nod to cats, once again harkening to the character’s original origin as the daughter of the Golden Age Catwoman.  Is it too early to call that she will be revealed to actually be the daughter of the Golden Age Catwoman and Batman?  Her flawless skill and professionalism seem to point in that direction.  Her name on her passport was Helena Bertinelli, but could that have been fake?  There have been no references to any other super heroes.  I’m wondering… is this book set on Earth 2?  Is this the original Huntress, Helena Wayne?  I may be off base… or am I?

If you’re looking for a smart, competent, intelligent female hero, look no further!  Helena’s got it all!  She does, in fact, come across like a female Batman!  (Well, minus the neuroses.)  Sadly her opposition leaves a lot to be desired.  I hope we get to see many more adventures starring this character and hopefully, she’ll face some more daunting tasks.

Verdict: Buy

HUNTRESS #4
Written by Paul Levitz
Pencils by Marcus To
Cover by Guillem March and Tomeu Morey