“Nine Lives” – Part One
Artist: Stefano Raffaele
Color Artist: Veronica Gandini
Letterer: Lucas Gattoni
After the dramatic conclusion of “The Gotham War”, Selina ventures out across the world on her own once again, in Catwoman #59.
A new and mystical concept for the cat is paired with a perfect look from comics past.
DC’s greatest thief is doing her best to become DC’s greatest antihero and go against the most unlikely and vile specimens of humanity from across the world.
The art in this series is always phenomenal, but I have to talk about Veronica Gandini’s colors. The classic 90s purple Catwoman costume is just so iconic, and Gandini’s colors make the look truly pop from the issue’s outset.
It’s difficult to make something that came from comics’ past work so well today. Every issue always feels dynamic and powerful with the deep greens of the sewers, and the bright yellows of the town above. It’s all contrasted with the calming muted purples showing Catwoman in thoughtful respite.
Comics is a collaborative medium, and the people behind exactly what we read sometimes don’t get the love they deserve from reviewers like me. Lucas Gattoni has created one particular narration text box that left me deeply thoughtful.
When Catwoman was thinking of her mortality, while most of her boxes are black on purple, with a slight dot matrix style fade, there’s one that has lines across both sides. Are they TV static? Are they cat scratches? I’m okay with not knowing because how often do we get to be left thoughtful by wonderful lettering?
Conclusion
Catwoman #59 starts DC’s greatest thief in a race against time and a magical mystery. This storyline sets her on a journey across the world now that the things tying her to Gotham have been reconciled. She could go anywhere and do anything, and this reviewer is confident that this stellar creative team will handle whatever happens next phenomenally well.
Images Courtesy of DC Entertainment