Someone has been aiming for Selina Kyle since Torunngrønbekk’s run began with Catwoman #69. Her assassination attempt took Selina out of Gotham, brought her back to Japan and Europe, reuniting with some old allies. After a few trips, Serena begins squeezing the list of suspects, but what she learns doesn’t please her.
One of the strengths of Grønbekk’s Catwoman storyline is that he continues to speculate with readers who want to kill “Evie Hall,” one of Selina’s old identities from previous robbers. At best, Grønbekk continued to hint that it was someone in the inner circle of Selina’s allies in previous issues. However, in Catwoman #77, she begins to reveal that the plot against “Evie” is beyond one person with grem.
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It’s not a shock that Mitya Belov is involved in a plot to kill “Evie Hall”, but the real surprise is who else wants her to die. The fact that Serena’s closest allies (the people she considered her friends) manipulate her and leave her to a vulnerable position, playing her succinctly to issues of Selina’s trust. Who can Selina Kyle trust if there is no honor among the thieves? It appears to be at the heart of Gronbeck’s “Evie Hall” storyline. Selina herself recognizes this possibility, but is still disappointed.
Another thing Grønbekk does well in Catwoman #77 is that she continues to explore how important she is to Selina and why it hurts her betrayal. In this respect, Grønbekk’s run was run by Ed Brubaker and Darwyn Cooke’s iconic catwoman in the 2000s, but explores the idea in a whole new way. Brubaker and Cooke explored the dangers of others involved in Selina’s Catwoman lifestyle, but Grønbekk does the opposite.
This premise also allows Grønbekk to explore Selina’s intelligence in a way that has not been seen for a while. Since its inception in the golden age of DC, Selina has always been a crafty thing. She is particularly prone to developing clever ways to get out of trouble, even breaking herself out of prison. It was fully on display in previous issues, but Bellov was impressed with her robbery skills in Catwoman #77. But how does Serena drive herself out of entanglement with the Russian mob? Bellov is already presented as ruthless, not a threat that Batman could easily send out.
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Batman naturally sticks to his “not kill” rules and prefers to put gangs in prison, but the downside of this method is that gangs are always connected within the judicial system. This is why they are constantly leaving prison and continuing to target more casualties. Selina is very well aware that this does not work with other members of the Russian mafia or with other members. How will this affect her moving forward?
Selina is one of those who thought her friend had already lost her life in Catwoman #77, but maybe they’re not the only ones. After Selina goes to rescue this friend, whom she thought had been accused of by Bellov, she quickly discovers through circumstantial evidence that acquiring her is a set up to catch her. Questions remain. How many more bodies need to pile up before Selina is finally free? This means that the cliffhanger Gronbeck ends and rises effectively even higher. This is also captured in Danilo Beyruth’s artwork and Patricio Del Peche’s coloured artwork. Patricio Del Peche effectively conveys the harsh and deadly nature of Selina’s latest conflict.
Grønbekk has done a lot to keep his readers on the edge of the seat of her previous issues, but one thing that has hurt the momentum of her illustrious story arc is her slow pace. Stories are most experienced when read at once on a monthly release schedule, but make it difficult for readers to keep track of them or even remember what happened with previous issues. By the time new issues arise, it feels like the story is still waiting to pick up the pace, despite Grønbekk revealing all the issues with her murder mystery.
Overall, Grønbekk’s Catwoman remains a solid run, but can be at a slightly faster pace to get readers engaged each month.
“Catwoman” #77 reveals Selina Kyle’s most deadly enemy
Catwoman #77
Selina Kyle slowly begins squeezing the list of suspects, but the list of betrayal becomes longer when she learns who wants her death.
Torunngrønbekk has raised interests since the previous issue.
The gorgeous art and colours by Danilo Bayruth and Seba Fiumara
Pacing is slow and you need to reread the previous issue.
