SYNOPSIS: What’s the saying-two cats are better than one? Unless you’re in Gotham and the two Cats in question disagree on how the city should be run. With Selina freshly out of jail, Eiko Hasigawa has some unfinished business as Catwoman that Selina confronts her about. Meanwhile, Selina has some unfinished business of her own…and pays a visit to her sister, Maggie.
While I am interested in a Catwoman/Black Mask rivalry, the turf wars between the other respective gangs just never grabbed me. Having Eiko be Catwoman never really felt like it has served much purpose yet and I am not invested in her squabble with Ibanescu, and neither is this comic, apparently, which chooses to relegate its outcome to a line of dialogue.
Art duties are split by Marcus To and Marco Santucci. Fortunately, the combo works well together, if not perfectly in sync. It lacks some of the excitement of Nico Leon, but it gets the job done.
I enjoyed seeing Dario’s confrontation with Noah. Not only has he become physically stronger since his time with Selina began, but he’s become more mature, too, learning from her mistakes. It gives more weight to Selena’s killing of Valmont, serving a purpose narratively beyond her going to jail. Given where this book is due to go next, I look forward to exploring this thread further.
Catwoman’s confrontation with Black Mask was the climax, with the villain trying to get personal and attack Selena where she lives. Despite the stakes and some decent action, the denouement somehow felt rushed to me, even though Howard devoted a fair amount of space to it. The outcome definitely leaves some room for the story to go, as I’m sure we’ll see more of next time, with Selena taking more of a Robin Hood role in Gotham.
Unfortunately, we have to be patient for just a little bit longer. “Knight Terrors” are spreading across the DC Universe this summer and all the main books are on hold until the event is over. So those waiting for more Bat/Cat have to continue to hold tight until September. We’ll have to see if Howard utilizes any of Selena’s recent struggles in the summer crossover.
Catwoman #56 offers quite a few resolutions but somehow falls short of being entirely fulfilling. Maybe my anticipation for the crossover with Batman is getting to me, but I am ready to move on from Catwoman’s time in prison and this turf war that’s not reflected in other Bat titles. – Javier E. Trujillo
GRADE: C+