In this review of Catwoman #73, while in Tokyo, Selina finds pieces of the plot against her.
Catwoman #73 main cover by Sebastian Fiumara (DC Comics)
Catwoman #73
Long Time, No Time, Part 1
Writer: Torunn Gronbekk
Artist: Mariana Ignazzi
Colors: Patricio Delpeche
Main Cover: Seba Fiumara
Variant Covers: Frank Cho, Dan Panosian, Leirix, Noobovich
Release Date: February 19, 2025
This review contains spoilers
Catwoman #73 begins years ago, where Selina, in her Evie Hall identity, finds the Belov family torturing a man in a basement.
Now in Tokyo, Alexander Belov learns “Evie” is alive. Selina makes friends with people on the plane to hide in plain sight, though the van she takes with her new friends is trailed by a motorbike working for Concrete. She loses the biker.
Alexander Belov tortures a hitman who was trying to kill Evie to find out who put out the hit.
Selina meets with a man who helped her disappear as Evie years ago, getting tools, a safe house, and C4.
That night, Catwoman breaks into Belov’s building, rigging the data center to blow. When her demolitions are set, she finds the tortured hitman and frees him, fighting a guard, but the hitman tries to kill her. She demands to know who ordered the hit on Evie, the hitman says “Belov” then shoots himself.
Selina leaves the building, then takes off her hood and invites the hidden watchers behind the camera to play.
Analysis
Conceptually, the idea of a Catwoman book where Selina travels the world, hiding from Criminal Big Brother and trying to find out who’s trying to kill one of her old identities is a good one. In practice, you have to make us care about the characters Selina interacts with, and though her writing is polished and professional, Torunn Gronbekk has completely failed to make either her villains or her allies for Selina stand out at all. The Belov family is a homogeneous mess of generic evil gangsters – no personality quirks or tastes or signatures that make them stand out.
All of Selina’s allies have potential for fun, but disappear after a few pages. The network of hitmen and shadowy Belov operatives is similarly unclear. All in all, the story’s execution continues to be a forgettable grey oatmeal that frustrates the mind when a new issue comes out and the reader has to figure out who everyone is. For all that Gronbekk doesn’t fall into the pitfalls Tini Howard dug for herself, at least I knew who Valmont WAS.
Adding to the frustration of the main plot is the pure self indulgence of the pacing. Two pages on a conversation about “are women funny” does nothing to further Selina’s character, nor add to the enjoyment of the comic unless you are really invested in that particular debate.
On the plus side, instead of coy hints at Selina being Catwoman, she finally puts on her costume and mask in the data center demolition job for this issue, which was good. Sadly, once she goes into action “rescuing” the tortured hitman, the action feels limp. The lighting is flat and unvaried, giving no atmosphere, and the bizarre choice to make gunsmoke pale yellow makes it feel like flower bursts rather than a serious threat.
Seba Fiurmara’s main cover is extremely stylish, highlighting an upside down Catwoman climbing a building in Tokyo with a bright golden key on her belt, as seen in the comic itself. Frank Cho’s main variant shows Selina in her new costume leaning on a fancy plant vase, tiny bat flying above her – a very nice work that also features in virgin variant as the 1 in 50 incentive cover. Dan Panosian’s variant shows Selina in a very sexy version of her new costume in a basement vault letting cats into a stack of gold bars. Leirix’s “Hush” variant shows Batman, Hush, and Catwoman looking over her shoulder on a lightning torn night. Lastly, Noobovich’s 1 in 25 incentive highlights Catwoman in her new costume without her bolo jacket leaning out over a neon hued Tokyo.
Let me know what you think on twitter @ibmmiller, or join the conversation in our Discord!
Final Thoughts
While Gronbekk and Ignazzi write a decent Catwoman sequence finally, the completely generic and painfully slow main plot continues to lack any real hooks for the reader to invest in. 2.5 out of 5 Batarangs.
