Catwoman #41 – Tini Howard, Writer; Nico Leon, Artist; Veronica Gandini, Colorist
Ray – 8.5/10
Ray: Things have been picking up in Tini Howard’s hard-boiled noir take on Catwoman, which has Selina enmeshed firmly in a tangled mafia family feud. She wants revenge against the crime families for the murder of a dancer, and it all starts with Don Tomasso—the undisputed king of the crime scene. Her only way in might be the Don’s son Dario—who happens to be closeted and having a secret romance with the Don’s consigliere Noah. Oh, and Noah is perfectly willing to betray Dario to get an in with the boss. Then there’s the murderous vigilante thief Valmont, who has his own agenda. It’s kept Selina off balance—which is the perfect time for another player to come in. That would be Onyx Adams, the fan-favorite independent vigilante who has quietly patrolled Gotham for years. With a strict moral code and no direct ties to the Bat-family, she makes an interesting foil for Selina to play off.
I was a little critical of this run right at the start for jettisoning the entire supporting cast Ram V and Joelle Jones set up in the previous runs, but Howard is slowly coming into her own. The bond between Selina and the awkward Dario is the core of this book, as he slowly comes into his own as a contender for the title of Don and Selina tries to manipulate him into the right direction—and keep his simmering rage from literally blowing things up too early. Then there are the other players, including Selina’s manipulative ex, Eiko, who seems like she’ll play a big role in the next issue. Less interesting—Black Mask, who has quickly become Selina’s go-to villain and rarely develops in a way that takes him beyond a generic sadist. Still, this run is building momentum quickly, and while its take on Catwoman may be a bit more amoral than the last runs, I can see the through-lines from the last run to this one.
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GeekDad received this comic for review purposes.
