Catwoman #25 Review

by Carlos R. on September 15, 2020

Catwoman #25 Cover Image
“Duende”
Written by: Ram V
Art by: Fernando Blanco
Colors by: FCO Plascencia
Lettered by: Tom Napolitano
Publisher: DC Comics

“Return to Alleytown”
Art by: John Paul Leon
Colors by: FCO Plascencia
Written by: Ram V
Lettered by: Ariana Maher
Publisher: DC Comics

“Cat VS. Woman”
Lettered by: Ariana Maher
Written by: Ram V
Art by: Juan Ferreyra
Colors by: FCO Plascencia
Publisher: DC Comics


I can’t tell you how much I’ve loved Joëlle Jones’ run on Catwoman, but after loving the heck out of Ram V’s work on Justice League Dark, I was excited to see what he has in store for Selina. The issue is composed of three stories and each is all I could hope for.
This first story ties Selina into the Joker War and sees Catwoman juggling her previous actions in the Joker’s twisted game. Ram V’s second tale sees Selina’s return to Alleytown and the residents’ response to her arrival. I won’t spoil too much about the final story, but Ram V dips his feet into the fantastical and follows a resident of Alleytown who’s weary of Selina’s resurgence.

Ram V does such an excellent job on this title; each part of this issue is its own story, but each build upon the other, be it thematically or develops the plot further. The first story is a great tie-in to the Joker War and seeing Catwoman’s interactions with Riddler and Penguin is a treat, I love that you get a sense of their history through their dialogue and facial expressions. Ram V also sets up what Selina’s starting point and motivation will be at the start of his run. This issue makes for a lovely sampling of Ram V’s take on Selina and you’re definitely going to want to be around to see where Catwoman goes from here.

If you’ve seen the preview of this issue, you’ve likely seen the panels of Selina dancing flamenco with a tiger. If that’s not enough to draw you into this issue I don’t know what will. Blanco and Plascencia choose to use minimal colors in this scene and the orange, black, and white highlight the danger, excitement, and mystery of Selina’s environment. Each story tackles the art differently but do excellent work on the focus of each tale. The first highlights Catwoman’s movements and action sequences while Paul Leon and Plascencia develop the surrounding and background areas to highlight Selina’s new home base. The colors of the last story have a vibrant, fantastic feel to them, especially when looking at the deep blue of the evening sky. I really enjoyed the voice and manner in which Maher wrote the protagonist’s thoughts of the last story.

If you’ve been a fan of Selina’s current run or recent issues of Justice League Dark, you’ll definitely want to check out this issue. Feel free to comment below where you hope to see Catwoman go during this run.
 

Our Score:

9/10

A Look Inside