Catwoman #46 // Review
Selina isn’t exactly sentimental. What she’s feeling isn’t nostalgia, though. There’s something deeper. She’s remembering one of the most powerful guys in Gotham City. Y’know...the one with the cape and the cowl and the pointy ears. She misses him, but she’s got work to do in Catwoman #46. Writer Tini Howard continues an engrossing run with Selina in an issue that’s craftily stolen onto the page by artist Sami Basri. Color stylishly resonates through the visuals courtesy of Jordie Bellaire. Having given Selina quite a bit of time navigating through things under the power of her own charisma, Howard takes a clever look back at the relationship that has defined Catwoman over the decades before moving her forward into the murkiness of her current situation.
Gotham City is a dark metropolitan nightmare. A nightmare is nothing without bright points to define the darkness. Selina knows that there are good people in the city. She knows that she can’t exactly trust Eiko Hasigawa, but she can’t NOT trust her either. Eiko is lowering her guard too. Things could get dangerous. It’s enough to make Catwoman long for an accomplice like Batman. Perhaps she could choose the white knight of Valmont over a darker one. Still...one of the most altruistic guys in the whole city was nothing if not reliable. He always had her back, even if he didn’t always approve of what she did.
Howard’s distinct take on the relationship between Batman and Catwoman is strikingly fresh. The crime fighter/criminal romantic dynamic is a very tricky one to bring to the page in a way that feels both believable and intriguing. Howard has a deft handle on relations between the shadowy millionaire and phantom thief. There’s so much that they don’t say to each other that speaks to so much more. That distinct rapport is contrasted against so much that’s going on in the present with Valmont. Catwoman is lost in a maelstrom trying to work it all out. Howard cleverly contrasts the storm against the relative stability of her past.
Basri gives equal visual weight to everyone. Batman and Catwoman are some of the most iconic figures in all of comic books, and they land on the page with the same impact as Eiko and a few prominent thugs here and there. Basri trusts the visual strength of the icons to stand out on the page while allowing the visuals to spill out in action and drama that is captured in panels from a lot of interesting angles. Bellaire drapes it all in an appealing quasi-neon electric haze around the edges of the darkness.
Selina may have had a bit of a road trip with Harley in recent months, but she hasn’t had a chance to really explore what it is that she’s doing. This issue allows shadows from her past to overshadow the page. Issues like #46 allow Catwoman a chance to put everything into perspective before it all gets plunged into danger in the next storyline. Howard has had one of the more satisfying runs with Selina of the past few years. It’ll be interesting to see where Tini Howard ushers the story next.
