This month Tini Howard wraps up her two-and-a-half year run on Catwoman and the ten-part “Nine Lives” arc with a final action extravaganza. It’s no secret that, as this arc has progressed, I’ve grown increasingly dissatisfied with it, despite a strong start. Can this finale give some meaning to the protracted story I’ve been reading for eleven months now? Let’s see!
It’s an odd experience reading this comic. It’s not good yet it does successfully close out this run coming off what has been built up. So, rather than diving deep into the details of this issue (not that there’s much to sift through anyway) I think looking at this arc as a whole is the best way to come to any conclusion. The first question is whether this arc (or run for that matter) will have any long-lasting effect on Catwoman. Has she had a strong character arc? Well, that’s a no. After all this, Selina hasn’t changed at all because she hasn’t been challenged. Physically, sure, she’s fought people and died as a result of it but I’m unable to verbalize any kind of perspective she has gained. She goes through the same motions again and again with each issue of this arc, never changing her mode of operation: charge in and figure things out on the fly. Here, in the end, she defeats her enemies without losing anything and walks off a brain surgery. I can see an argument that Catwoman learns a lesson about the value of her life and the people in it after nearly losing it but we simply don’t see this happen. She can’t continue to act in the same careless way with no qualms for nine issues and then suddenly have a revelation in the tenth. Well, I guess she can but I can’t give that kind of shoddy writing a pass. Even if we accept this, it only manifests in Catwoman choosing to spend the night with an injured friend instead of sleeping. When was the last time she abandoned her friends to sleep?
I also find it odd how disconnected “Nine Lives” is from the rest of Howard’s run. Everything that was built up in those issues is not present in “Nine Lives.” Some characters occasionally show up (like, spoilers, the annoying appearance of ghost Valmont in this issue) but they feel like afterthoughts, unimportant to the plot at hand. It’s like Howard is unsure if the earlier part of her run matters anymore but is still attached to the characters that featured in it. In the end, the inclusion does nothing for either the characters or the story.
If anything builds organically in this arc it is the formation of the White Glove. Each member has run afoul of Catwoman and she has escaped their wrath each time with help from her nine lives. Thus, they team up to kill her. I won’t claim it’s a very interesting plotline but it makes sense and has a convincing enough buildup. Then this panel happens in the finale:
It was already lame that the White Glove is a low effort rip-off of the Black Glove but calling attention to it and allowing characters in-universe to find it laughable instantly destroys their credibility to me. The members of the White Glove are already mostly uninteresting C-list characters who Catwoman bested before. Banding together was the only thing that made them feel like something of a threat. Take away what credibility they have left and this whole arc feels even more pointless. This is the finale of a lengthy run! It would be nice if it was emotionally weighty but, if it can’t be that, I’d at least like a spectacle. Instead, I’m confronted by the irrelevance of this comic.
To avoid completely neglecting the art, I will say it’s a little better in this issue than the last one. Di Giandomenico did have an extra month to draw this after all. Still, I found the art nearly as unexciting as the script. There are strong moments but the quality is too inconsistent… just like the writing of this run!
Recommended if…
- You’ve been reading this run for the past two-and-a-half years and you can’t quit now
Overall
We’re looking at an issue and a run that will be utterly forgotten sooner rather than later. It’s not good enough to be remembered nor is it (consistently) bad enough. I sometimes think back to issue #61 and the hope I had for this arc at that point. It’s unfortunate how lackluster it ended up being but hopefully next month Torunn Grønbekk can inject some new energy into this series. As for me, this will be my last review of Catwoman. Akash will be covering the title going forward and I’ll be looking forward to his take on future issues!
Score: 4/10
English (US) · 