Catwoman #40 Review

Writer: Tini Howard
Art: Nico Leon and Jordie Bellaire
Letterer: Tom Napolitano
Publisher: DC Comics
Price: $3.99
Release Date: February 23rd, 2022

Catwoman #40, Tini Howard, and Nico Leon’s sophomore issue, continues Selina Kyle’s war on organized crime on the fringes of Gotham City. In this issue, she targets Don Federico Tomasso, who killed her informant Kristi’s last issue, and Selina wants revenge at any cost.

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The Story

I’m loving Tini Howard’s version of Catwoman, writing her as an almost “Elektra” style martial artist who lives in the shadows, and is relentless in her goal of taking down the organized crime families. If Wilson Fisk existed in the DC universe, he’d be watching his back when Selina drops into his city. This isn’t the flirty swashbuckling cat burglar of the past, this is a woman on a mission, at the top of her skills and fighting form. She’s more like Batman now than Batman.

In Catwoman #40, Selina slowly gathers information on Don Tomasso, and uses one of his family members against him. It’s hilarious watching her use the family member’s paranoia against him. This guy is the “Fredo” of Don Tomasso’s family, a cowardly guy who’s not the sharpest knife in the drawer.

We also get another appearance by the mysterious Valmont, who seems to know more about Selina than everyone short of Bruce Wayne knows, and we get another fantastic fight scene between them and Selina. It really makes me interested in seeing more of Valmont’s guild, who are trying to get Selina to join them. Honestly, I find Valmont’s story far more interesting than Selina’s quest to take down the crime families, so I hope we get to see more of Valmont and their guild next issue.

The Art

Nico Leon’s art for Catwoman #40 is beautiful and stylish. He draws Catwoman to look much like Michelle Pfeiffer’s version of Catwoman from “Batman Returns”, so maybe I’m a bit biased, because to this day, that’s my favorite version of Catwoman.
Catwoman’s outfit almost glistens under Nico’s pencils, and Jordie Bellaire’s colors make certain scenes seem accentuated by neon lights.

One page, where Selina crashes her motorcycle through a window at night time, has pinkish-red lighting accentuating the bike. With the dark silhouettes of the people standing in the room, the cycle’s coloring really makes the page pop. Nico’s panel layouts are jagged in places and every page has a different variety to it, enhancing the story rather than distracting from it. Beautiful work.

Final Thoughts

Catwoman #40 continues Selina’s vendetta with some great action scenes, gorgeous art, and a great twist at the end. Though her quest to take down Don Tomasso is not as interesting as her dealings with Valmont, there’s a lot of fun here and I look forward to the next issue.