“The Gotham War” – Chapter Five
Writer: Tini Howard
Artist: Nico Leon
Color Artist: Veronica Gandini
Letterer: Lucas Gattoni
Review by Adam Ray
Catwoman #58 bleeds with tense action and rich, colorful visuals. This issue leaves us eager to see what Vandal Savage’s plan could possibly entail.
The war between Bat and Cat is truly taking some interesting turns. After the shocking mental whammy put on Jason by Bruce in Batman #138, we get to see the consequences of said act and feel the tension of the city’s true evil starting to deepen the effects of the power struggle.
Tini Howard has done a remarkable job of balancing the intricate and emotionally heavy story beats that Chip Zdarsky set down in Batman #138. There’s no drop in story gravity in the events that just happened or in the characterization of the big personalities in both issues. In fact, it almost feels like it’s been one mind handling the stories across these issues. I knew that I could trust these creative teams to handle a consistent and satisfying story about anything.
Nico Leon and Veronica Gandini are both on top form bringing us a choice of art and colors to match the internal feelings of the beaten and broken Jason Todd. I had a long look at Red Hood during his involvement in the Gotham War and this Jason is a shadow of the character seen in his own issue, but it all still feels natural in terms of how he’s written.
We see his fluctuating emotions on show in the deep swell of fear in that sewer system, with the danger of the bright yellow and orange fires. The immense fear inside him doesn’t deter him, and that’s something that we can believe simply from the perfect art and color choices of true masters of their craft.
Conclusion
Catwoman #58 brings us the actions of a big cast of characters in the midst of a disastrous turf war, and one that’s about to see a third player enter the game. A good comic story should build on what’s already there and progress the tale to the next issue. A great comic, like this one, leaves its readers hungry for more.
Images Courtesy of DC Entertainment
