Similar to how Catwoman has a new creative team, the title has a new reviewer as I take over from the long-suffering William. Now I wanted to approach this series with fresh eyes, and as such I chose not to read any of the previous issues of the run in hopes that this would provide me with a perspective similar to that of a new reader. So, let’s see if this issue manages to stick the landing like a cat.
Let me start with some genuine praise – I love how this issue looks. I’m a sucker for a good noir-ish environment, with the constant rain in the background being the cherry on top. Fabiana Mascolo does amazing line work and is complimented well by Patricio Delpache’s coloring. Additionally, I want to give a shoutout to the lettering by Steve Wands as I love the simple yet elegant font choices for the large background text meant to inform us of where and when we are.
Selina’s new costume looks a lot better here than it did on the coverHowever, the writing holds this back a little bit for me. I will admit I wasn’t very familiar with Torunn Grønbekk’s work before, but I did read some of her Red Sonja comics to get a feel for her writing. And…there’s nothing I can point to as wrong here. The writing does exactly what it needs to put Selina on the path she needs to follow, but it fails to do much more than that. Now, this is the first issue for a new creative team, so I feel that they will only get better from here onwards. But speaking strictly about this issue, it’s a standard Catwoman story utilizing one of the few usual plots that Selina takes part in. This one involves something from Selina’s past coming back to haunt her – in this case, it is a false identity she used to use, who has seemingly ended up dead. And with the people behind that making an attempt on her life as well, she’s got to unravel the conspiracy like a cat playing with a ball of yarn.
If that sounds familiar, it felt that way reading it. One of the big issues I have with Catwoman stories is that when a writer tries to make her come off as nonchalant and “cool” to everything going on around her, it can make her appear almost disinterested and aloof to her surroundings. Which makes me ask if I should care about the story when she doesn’t. But I like how good Grønbekk is with Selina’s inner monologue and she seems to have an idea in mind for where her story intends to go. Fingers crossed.
This monologue in particular felt fresh, even though what it was saying wasn’tRecommended If
- You wanted a clean start to get into Catwoman.
- You like good old-fashioned Catwoman stories where she’s doing her thing.
- You’re a fan of Patricio Delpeche’s colors.
Overall
Going into this issue relatively blind was certainly an eye-opener as I was able to enjoy the story on offer despite having a few issues with it. As a jumping-on point, it does everything right to hook a new reader, however, similarities in structure to past stories might make this appeal less to more experienced ones. However, Torunn Grønbekk’s writing and the overall art made this comic a pleasant read.
Score: 7.5/10
English (US) · 