Someone has been gunning for Selina Kyle since Torunn Grønbekk’s run began in Catwoman #69. Her assassination attempt took Selina out of Gotham and brought her back to Japan and Europe to get reacquainted with some old allies – or so she thought. After some back and forth traveling, Selina begins to narrow down her list of suspects, but what she learns doesn’t please her.
One of the strengths of Grønbekk’s Catwoman storyline is that she keeps readers guessing about who wants to murder “Evie Hall,” one of Selina’s old identities from an earlier heist. At best, Grønbekk kept hinting that it was someone from Selina’s inner circle of allies in the previous issues. But in Catwoman #77, she starts to reveal that the plot against “Evie” goes above and beyond one single person with a grudge.
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It comes as no shock that Mitya Belov is involved in the scheme to kill “Evie Hall,” but the real surprise is who else wants her dead. The fact that Selina’s closest allies (people she thought of as her friends) have been manipulating her to leave her in a vulnerable position succinctly plays into Selina’s trust issues. Who can Selina Kyle trust if there’s no honor among thieves? That appears to be at the heart of Grønbekk’s “Evie Hall” storyline, with Selina herself being aware of this possibility, but still being disappointed.
Another thing Grønbekk does well in Catwoman #77 is she continues to explore how important relationships are to Selina, and why betrayals hurt when they happen. In this regard, Grønbekk’s run is similar to Ed Brubaker and Darwyn Cooke’s iconic Catwoman run from the 2000s, but explores this idea in a whole new way. Whereas Brubaker and Cooke explored the dangers of other people being involved in Selina’s Catwoman lifestyle, Grønbekk is doing the opposite: she’s exploring the dangers of Selina surrounding herself with questionable friends.
This premise also allows Grønbekk to explore Selina’s intelligence in a way that hasn’t been seen in a while. Ever since her inception during DC’s Golden Age, Selina has always been crafty. She especially has a penchant for developing clever methods for getting herself out of trouble – even breaking herself out of prison. That was on full display in the previous issues, with Belov even being impressed with her heist skills in Catwoman #77. But how does Selina get herself out of her entanglement with the Russian mob? The Belovs are already presented as ruthless, and they’re not exactly the kind of threat Batman can easily dispatch of.
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Whereas Batman understandably sticks to his “no kill” rule and prefers to put mobsters in prison, the drawback to this method is that mobsters always have connections within the justice system. This is why they always get out of prison and continue to target more victims. Selina is very much aware this won’t work with the Belovs or other members of the Russian mafia, which leaves her with only one option: who does she have to let die in order to truly free herself from her “Evie Hall” past? What impact will this have on her moving forward?
One person that Selina considered a friend already lost their life in Catwoman #77, but they may not be the only one. After Selina went to rescue this one friend she thought was abducted by Belov, she quickly discovered through circumstantial evidence that the abduction was a setup to trap her. The question remains: how many more bodies will have to pile before Selina is finally free? This is the cliffhanger Grønbekk ends with, effectively raising the stakes even higher. This is even captured in the artwork by Danilo Beyruth and the colors by Patricio del Peche, which effectively convey the grim and deadly nature of Selina’s latest conflict.
While Grønbekk does a lot to keep readers on the edges of their seats from the previous issues, one thing that’s hurting the momentum of her otherwise brilliant story arc is the slow pacing. Though the story is best experienced when it’s read in one sitting, on a monthly release schedule, it makes it harder for readers to keep track or even remember what happened in the previous issues. By the time the new issue comes out, it easily feels like the story is still waiting to pick up pace, even though Grønbekk has been revealing her murder mystery every issue.
All in all, Grønbekk’s Catwoman continues to be a solid run, but could benefit to be a bit more fast-paced to keep readers engaged every month.
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