SYNOPSIS: Selina arrives in Tokyo looking for an old ally and a much-needed respite. Unfortunately for the feline fatale of crime, her enemies are already one step ahead of her. As she struggles to outwit them, Catwoman is offered a proposition: what if she were to completely disappear and give up being Selina Kyle forever?
Writer Torunn Grønbekk launches part one of “Long Time, No Time” this issue, but it really feels like part five of whatever international tale of intrigue he is weaving. It picks up with Selena still on the run from assassins out to murder her alias, Evie Hall, and flashes back to her time under that identity. Grønbekk opens with a compelling look back to a deadly interrogation years ago that Selena, as Evie bears witness to. It immediately drew me in with its film noir-style narration and moody colors by Patricio Delpeche.
When we jump to Tokyo in the present day, the palette is much more pop, and much more welcoming, even though the darkness we saw in the beginning is getting closer to hunting Selena down. Knowing her time is limited, we still see her utilize all her skills to blend in and get away, befriending a group of women she met on the plane.
Grønbekk’s Selena is far more lonely than the one we saw under Tini Howard’s pen. There is a melancholy to her as she ponders what a normal life could have been. I really appreciated seeing these little insights along the way as she goes to see another old contact of hers, adding another layer to her time away from Gotham. If Bruce could have traveled the world before becoming The Bat, I love having Selena have a parallel journey becoming The Cat.
We do get to see Selena don her nom de guerre as she infiltrates the Belov penthouse and it feels like we are building to a final confrontation, but not before we get to a quick action scene as Catwoman inadvertently rescues one of her would-be assassins. While perhaps not the most innovative-looking scene, the art is still well done by Marianna Ignazzi, who has a conciseness in how she tells the story.
As the issue ended, with Selena boldly calling out her pursuers, I thought of Jason Bourne on the run no more, ready to fight. I am ready to see the next installment and what this has all been building towards. Is this the final chapter in this tale, or one more step towards a larger narrative? I have no idea, but the current team on Catwoman has crafted an intriguing new thriller for fans to enjoy Selena in a way we haven’t seen her before! –Javier E. Trujillo
GRADE: B+
