Catwoman #14 // Review
Catwoman has fallen a great distance. She’s bleeding profusely into the river that she’s landed in. Things have gotten particularly upsetting for Selina Kyle in Catwoman #14. British author Ram V begins a two-issue story drawn with bounce and poise by Mirka Andolfo. Ram V had done a one-issue story for the issue number nine back in March. That chapter was one of the better in the current series. The beginning of the author’s two-parter lives-up to his work on issue #9. There’s a clean and simple motion and emotion about it that explore some of the protagonist’s deeper emotions around the corners of an enjoyable suspense thriller plot.
Selina has been contacted by the wife of an accountant. Who had a file detailing all of the seedy offshore bank accounts of the big crime syndicates in her adoptive home of Villa Hermosa. Reluctant to take the offer, Selina is persuaded by the allure of owning something that gives her leverage over everyone else in town. Unfortunately, things rarely go as planned, and more than one person is after the file. Catwoman quickly finds herself up against a tech-based thief who can turn invisible and a certain monocled ghost of a 9th-century British highwayman.
Ram V winds the tale pretty tightly. The forward movement of the action of the story catapults forward with twists and turns befitting a crime adventure drama. At the same time, Ram V manages to pull Selina’s past into sharp focus. The bulk of the issues of Catwoman’s current series have her mysterious and aloof. She’s not spending a whole lot of time thinking about the past. Under the influence of Ram V, she’s in a very reflective mood indeed. It’s a pleasant change of pace to see the more emotionally vulnerable side of Catwoman emerge, if only for a couple of issues.
Andolfo’s art serves the story well. Andolfo’s treatment of emotional realities is strikingly vivid, allowing the writer’s exploration of Selina’s emotional side to feel that much more powerful. The curvy springiness of her action has a lightly appealing agility about it. Catwoman has been scratching around in shadowy darkness for the better part of the past year. It’s refreshing to see things feel a bit more fun and light in a clean, simple adventure with ties to the deeper emotionality of the character.
Ram V teased his two=parter on Twitter back in May: “#14 and #15 see Selina going up against a gallery of villains for control of the city she calls home.” Sounds like fun. Gentleman Ghost was fun at the hands of Ram V and Andolfo. It’ll be interesting to see what they have in store for Catwoman next issue. In the course of the story, it becomes apparent that a price has been put on her head. Who will step out of the shadows to take down Catwoman?
