“Nine Lives” – Part Five
Writer: Tini Howard
Artist: Carmine Di Giandomenico
Color Artist: Veronica Gandini
Letterer: Lucas Gattoni
Catwoman #63 brings us back to individual, vignette-style heist stories. Her antics have taken her all over the world, and each issue has been remarkably different in terms of its action, visuals, and tone. This creative team has been at its best trying to create a unique comic book experience.
The latest chapter sees Selina Kyle settling beneath the ocean to find a lost stranger. I’ve found in previous issues that the story, and the back-and-forth antics between herself and others, such as Amanda Waller, last month.
In this issue, there was a great deal of explanation at the beginning as to where Selina is and what she’s doing.
All this explanation is mitigated by some of the best and most contrasting artwork in the entire arc. The page right after the title is bookended with Catwoman at her best in the deep ocean, while the detailed visions of her target treat the eyes with expressive characters and rich colors unlike those on the first and last panels. The vibrant purple of her suit deeply mismatches the ocean’s blue in a way, leaving her as the strong visual to dominate the action. The issue handles the rest of the underwater battles with great effect.
Conclusion
As a longstanding reader, I’ve been enjoying these independent stories, wondering if there was a bigger narrative at play. Catwoman #63 gives us the first inkling of a connective thread between these five issues of this mini-arc. The mystical element to what’s been occurring across the recent issues, plus the first glimpse at a connective arc is very welcome in this ongoing story. I trust this creative team to tell any Catwoman story.
Images Courtesy by DC Entertainment