Writer: Tini Howard
Art: Nico Leon and Veronica Gandini
Letterer: Tom Napolitano
Publisher: DC Comics
Price: $3.99
Release Date: March 16th, 2022
Gotham’s crime lords, including Don Tomasso and the Black Mask, are freaking out as Catwoman continues her assault on them. In Catwoman #41, we get a crime lord meeting, a cannibal, Valmont, and a visit from a member of The League of Assassins. And that’s just in the first 10 pages!
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The Story
Catwoman #41 is an issue filled with meetings. Don Tomasso meets with the other crime families and Catwoman has several meetings, some more violent than others, as she plans her next hit on the crime families.
My main problem with the issue is that Don Tomasso, usually a man of quick temper and quick to hit back, seems very mysterious with what he plans to do in retaliation to Catwoman’s attacks. The Black Mask seems more in control here than Tomasso, making some valid suggestions during their meeting. I would have liked to have seen more of the other crime families, which we may get to see in the future, but here, they’re just window dressing.
Valmont’s “wow factor” is diminished this issue. He started as a very interesting character, but he seems to have no direction and is basically just another killer now, no different from any member of Batman’s Rogues Gallery.
In terms of the overall story, I’m loving Catwoman’s blitzkrieg on the mob families of Gotham. She varies from doing full-on assaults to micro-attacks that target a few leg-breakers, but she’s slowly widdling down the families and getting them to turn on each other. It’ll be interesting to see if she eventually succeeds in taking them all down. Black Mask seems like he’ll be the toughest of the bunch.
The Art
Nico Leon’s art on Catwoman #41 is a continuation of his fantastic style. He has some of the best panel layouts in the business, usually off-kilter and unique but always an asset to the story. The costumes and backgrounds are drawn with incredible detail. In one panel, Catwoman is pushing a thug against a brick wall to interrogate him, and the brick wall looks so detailed, you wonder if you’ll feel the grit of the wall if you run your finger across the page.
Final Thoughts
Catwoman #41 is a great continuation of a story that further separates her from Batman, as she fully takes on the anti-hero role, using brutal efficiency and using methods Batman would never use to rid Gotham of the crime lords. It’s a side of Catwoman I hope we get to see for a long time.