Cats and water don’t really mix, which becomes evident once again when Catwoman begins to drown, both literally and figuratively.
Catwoman is a series that has been consistently been a disappointment. It’s never been downright awful, but it has never gotten even close to its full potential. The art has consistently been the best part of the series and it continues to be great in this issue. However, the writing finally catches up to the art in this issue. Ram V had previously penned an issue of the series that was pretty solid and he does so again here. In fact, this is probably the best issue of the series so far.
One of the reasons that the writing is so good in this issue is that Selina is actually allowed to show her emotions. This is one of the few times post “The Wedding” that, as an audience, we’ve gotten to see Selina dealing with herself. We’ve only got bits and pieces of her thought processes and how she was dealing with her decision early on in the series, but that wasn’t really enough. With this issue though, we finally get it in a way that ties into the story in an organic way. This really enhances the issue in several excellent ways. It’s too bad that it took a year to finally delve into this, but at least it’s obvious that this story is set before “City of Bane.”
The way that the story is told in this issue is heavily-based on noir films as well, just from the use of narration. It’s honestly something that I never even thought about anyone doing in a Catwoman comic, but seeing it here, it works incredibly well. Actually, the use of narration here is perfect. It sets the scenes well, but never includes too much exposition. It lets us dive into Catwoman’s mind without compromising the flow of the story. And, above all else, it’s interesting to read which is necessary for narration.
Mirka Andolfo’s art pretty much nails the aesthetic of Catwoman in this issue as well. Her art is perfectly stylized for a Catwoman story, but not overly stylized that it doesn’t fit the rest of the universe. Her art honestly feels more fitting more an indie book that a DC book. However, on a personal level, Catwoman has always looked better with more stylized art like Andolfo’s.
Other than just her style though, her pacing is absolutely magnificent. Nothing ever lingers longer than it has to nor goes too fast, so you really appreciate the art even more and it also enhances the writing. Pacing is something extremely difficult to get right and, for the most part, Andolfo does so with this issue.