Catwoman #32 – Ram V, Writer; Evan Cagle, Artist; Jordie Bellaire, Colorist
Ray – 8.5/10
Ray: The Magistrate is tightening his grip on Gotham, assassins have Catwoman in their sights, and the walls are closing in. But in this issue, with guest art by Evan Cagle, Selina Kyle is nowhere to be seen—at least in the present tense. Instead, we get a look at her complex history through the eyes of three people who know her best. And while this may feel like a filler issue, it’s anything but—Ram V is calling back to years of Catwoman stories here.
The first character to get the focus is Selina’s criminal partner and loyal ally, who has been one of her most loyal allies for a while. Now he finds himself in the clutches of the deranged religious maniac Valley, who slowly tortures the truth about Selina out of him. It winds up being a compelling story about their first case together, brought together by a veteran thief who met his end on the mission. It does a great job of showing us Selina’s darker side.
I’m keeping a close eye on any segment involving Shoes for the simple reason that now that we know her identity, this character is likely key to a LOT in the Infinite Frontier era. She’s also target #1 of the Magistrate’s goons, as they invade Alleytown and set their eyes on the Strays. Her segment is the most brief, but it also does a great job of setting up the character’s motivations and how far she’ll go to remain free.
The most dramatic and emotional segment goes to Maggie, who is being interrogated by some more friendly officers who want to get Selina into their custody safely before she gets found by some darker forces. This leads to a flashback of some of the darkest moments in Selina’s history. It’s an odd issue, but one that feels like it’ll be important to the character’s status quo later on as all these subplots converge.
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GeekDad received this comic for review purposes.
