Eiko Hasigawa believes in Selina’s work. Now that Selina can do Selina’s work, there’s going to be a bit of a clash. After all...Eiko was really developing into the role that Selina was unable to play. Now, the two are up against each other in Catwoman #55. Writer Tini Howard continues her run with the cats in an issue drawn by Nico Leon. Veronica Gandini handles the colors. Though the detail may feel a little awkward in places, the writer and artist frame a fun action story that gracefully glides from cover to cover. Eiko is still MUCH more interesting than Selina, but there’s more of a balance as the two meet face-to-face once more. 

Eiko knew that Selina was breaking out of prison. She would have helped her, but she had a meeting that she had to be at. And now the two of them are in trouble with a very powerful criminal organization that’s out to kill both of them. They aren’t going to get along, but they don’t exactly have a choice as things heat up, and the two Catwomen have to lay low until they can figure out what it is that they’re going to do about their enemies and each other. 

Howard has been working towards a showdown between Eiko and Selina for quite some time. With all of the story that rests between the two of them, Howard hasn’t really had much of a chance to develop a great deal of contrast and animosity between the two Catwomen. The conflict may have been established for a long time, but Howard hasn’t spent nearly enough time developing it to make the showdown in Issue #55 feel nearly as satisfying or frustrating as it should have been. The cover is a little misleading…no physical confrontation, but the two of them DO have some very tight words that advance the overall plot.

Leon is brilliantly fluid with the sense of motion in the action. Drama may not rest naturally on the faces of many, if any, of the characters, but there’s a definite sense of sweeping momentum about the larger scope of dramatic action. Some of it is framed almost brilliantly. A vertical stack of six panels early on in the issue gives a brilliantly cinematic feel to the tension in a chase sequence. Kicks, shots, and punches seem every bit as powerful as they should be, and the backgrounds are absolutely gorgeous in places. The Gotham City that Leon and Gandini are bringing to the page is sleek, stylish, and deeply atmospheric. 

It’s the style that really sells the series more than anything else. There’s a real sense of urgency about the action, even if the overall framing of the story lacks some degree of satisfying definition. Catwoman has been through a lot over the course of the past few years. Howard has a distinct perspective on Selina and her world that has been enjoyable thus far, but there hasn’t been enough time with any one element of that world to fully explore its potential.

Grade: B