SYNOPSIS: What’s one Catwoman between good friends? Selina’s international hunt brings her to Stockholm in search of an old acquaintance who has become a crime lord there…Of course, she’s pretty sure he might be the one who’s put a price on her head, so she’s going to need to sneak in if she wants to get answers. Luckily for this cat, there’s a fancy-dress party that’s the perfect opportunity to slink in unnoticed.
“Rules of The Land, part 1” kicks off, with writer Torunn Grønbekk joined now by artist Marianna Ignazzi. The story opens in a flashback to ten years ago, somewhere in Europe. We see Selena in her time as Evie, doing what Catwoman does best.
We then cut to the present day, Selena still on the run, now somewhere in Sweden. The international intrigue seen in the last two issues is still very much present as Selena changes disguises as she moves around the city.
An encounter with the assassins pursuing her leads to some deadly action as the issue reaches a crescendo.
This issue didn’t thrill me as much as the prior two. Grønbekk continues to lay down the espionage/infiltration vibes and while I enjoy that, I’m starting to feel disconnected from everything. Perhaps it was just me being tired, but I seem to have lost the plot a bit and am not sure who’s narrating, pulling the strings, or why I should care about some of these new characters.
Ignazzi is an artist I’m unfamiliar with, but I enjoyed her work here. I can’t quite put my finger on her style, but there is a classic look to the characters and I loved how the confrontation at the end was staged.
Speaking of that fight, that was the highlight for me. Grønbekk made Selena indifferent to her foe’s plight and it was a stark reminder that she was once thought of as more of a villain. I appreciated that she wasn’t bluffing and slinked her way to safety, much like a cat.
While this issue may not have knocked my socks off, Catwoman is still an enjoyable read with a great set piece at the end. The art was very clean, with a classic, retro feel. I’m just puzzled why this is a new part one when it feels more like it should be part 3 of last issue’s story. – Javier E. Trujillo
GRADE: B-