When Torunn Grønbekk started her Catwoman run, there was a lot to be excited about. One of those was the return to form of Selina Kyle being the hero of her own story once more, and without centering her storyline or character on her complicated romance with Bruce Wayne. This led to the other exciting thing about Grønbekk’s run: the expansion of Catwoman’s world. This included exploring other relationships that are important to her, but aren’t tied to Batman or his family.
For her first nine issues, Grønbekk has been delivering on all those fronts. Aside from exploring a hidden chapter in Selina’s past as a thief, Grønbekk brought back an idea that was seemingly lost to the Golden Age and early post-Crisis: the idea of Selina using various aliases to infiltrate the circles of the wealthy elite and robbing them blind. Grønbekk has even created two new, compelling characters as part of Selina’s supporting cast for this run: Suzy and Shota. Lastly, Grønbekk opened her run with a compelling mystery: “Who wants Selina Kyle dead?”
DC Comics
Though Grønbekk has delayed answering the biggest question of her first storyline until Catwoman #78, she made up for this by fleshing out a dangerous heist from Selina’s past and reuniting her with her former comrades in the present. This did a lot to further develop Selina’s character and her own personal values. It also led to a fun storyline that capitalized on neo-noir tropes, but also presented itself like a Hollywood heist movie. Of course, the only drawback to slowly building a mystery is that it has to end in a shocking reveal, and this is unfortunately where Catwoman #78 falls short.
Prior to answering the storyline’s biggest burning question, Grønbekk opens this oversized issue with a deadly chase, in which Catwoman finds herself having to kill a hitman in order to save her own life. The issue even presents Catwoman working out who among her former teammates wants her dead, which effectively showcases Selina’s own detective skills. Unfortunately, when the big reveal finally arrives, it’s shockingly underwhelming.
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The reason for the hit on Selina’s head has nothing to do with any major thefts she actually committed as Catwoman that led to her rocking a deadly boat. Instead, it turns out to be a case of her being at the wrong place at the wrong time with the wrong people, and learning a Belov family secret she wasn’t supposed to find out about. This puts Selina in the position of being a loose end that a Russian crime family wants to dispose of, which also makes her a victim of circumstance.
A reveal of this nature wouldn’t normally be a problem if the Belov family secret was something actually worth hiding from Catwoman, the series protagonist. One example of this would be the Belovs having a secret connection with Selina’s biological family, or somehow being responsible for the difficult circumstances she dealt with in her early life. Such a reveal would actually impact Selina as a character, and would cause her to actually question her own alliances. Instead, it turns out to be a mundane case of the family matriarch committing infidelity with a French politician who doesn’t play a significant role in the story.
DC Comics
This reveal only impacts Selina’s primary antagonist, Mitya Belov, which unfortunately takes the focus away from Selina. Since there are no repercussions for Selina apart from her needing to permanently close this chapter of her life, there are no opportunities for her own character growth. Thus, a storyline that opened with a strong premise and a promising mystery sadly ends on a whimper. This is unfortunate because there were far more interesting places this could have gone that could have expanded Selina’s own character lore. It also comes off as a case of Grønbekk writing herself into a corner and not knowing how to properly conclude an otherwise compelling mystery.
Though Grønbekk’s first storyline doesn’t end with the impact it’s clearly aiming for, there are still other things that are enjoyable about Catwoman #78, like Danilo Beyruth’s art and Patricio Delpeche’s colors. Beyruth’s pencils coupled with Delpeche’s colors evokes neo-noir aesthetics similar to Francesco Francavilla, which helps to sell the dark tone of the story. The use of shadows and sharp contrasts between cool and warm colors throughout the issue also does a lot to convey the deadly circumstances Selina is trying to escape. The only other thing that would add more weight to these stunning visuals, however, would be a more shocking reveal than the one Grønbekk ultimately goes with.
All in all, Catwoman #78 ends Grønbekk’s first storyline on a mixed note, but it definitely had the potential to be something far more interesting, given the buildup.
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