Writer: Tini Howard
Art: Nico Leon
Colors: Veronica Gandini
Letters: Lucas Gattoni
Publisher: DC Comics
Price: $3.99
Release Date: April 18th, 2023
“The Godfather” meets “Orange is the New Black” in Catwoman #54, as Selina Kyle continues making allies in Gotham County Jail while plotting a breakout. The Queen of Hearts, member of The Royal Flush Gang, has recently been jailed there too, and begins forming her own squad called The Crazy Eights to take control of the jail population. Meanwhile in the outside world, Yakuza boss Eiko Hasigawa, Selina’s friend, runs her criminal empire while simultaneously posing as Catwoman at night. But Punchline, determined to get revenge on both Selina and Eiko, is about to throw chaos into everyone’s plans.
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The Story
Writer Tini Howard has created a wonderful microcosm of the DC Universe featuring Catwoman, Punchline, The Royal Flush Gang, Black Mask, Eiko Hasigawa and others, crossing over between Catwoman’s series and the recent Punchline miniseries, where the characters interact and come into conflict on the edges of Gotham City. Batman and other Bat-family members rarely get involved in their affairs. In this relatively small area of Gotham City, there has been a goldmine of great stories so far. Catwoman #54 continues Selina’s story as she gathers allies and plots an escape from Gotham City Jail while fending off The Queen of Hearts and her gang of Crazy Eights. As interesting as it is to watch Selina casually staving off attacks and winning new friends, I found the most fascinating character of this issue (and last issue also) is Marquise.
Marquise, with her Wolverine-style healing ability and Amazon build, is cynical, edgy, fearless and surprisingly loyal. The bond she forms with Selina during Selina’s sojourn in Gotham City Jail is a beautiful thing to read. The two characters, who seem to be the antithesis of each other, have ended up being a fun duo to read. Loyalty seems to be the overarching theme of the series and I love the loyalty between Marquise and Selina, as well as Eiko Hasigawa and Selina. Eiko has taken over the Catwoman identity while Selina’s in jail to throw off any public suspicion that Selina is Catwoman, and though her methods vary from Selina’s, it’s been a blast watching Eiko strut her stuff in a catsuit with the bumbling but lovable Tomcat at her side. Punchline finally gets her chance for revenge on Selina this issue, but their encounter ends with a surprise twist that’s going to change the dynamic between the two characters for some time to come. Honestly, I wasn’t 100% happy with the twist, but I’m interested to see where the book goes from here.
The Art
Nico Leon’s art on Catwoman #54 is his usual stylish beautiful work. Utilizing inventive panel layouts and detailed linework, you never know what’s going to happen from page to page and it makes the story doubly enjoyable. My favorite scene this issue has a character flipping from one panel to another during a fight sequence.
Final Thoughts
Catwoman #54 continues Selina’s story, as well as secondary characters Eiko Hasigawa, Punchline and Marquise. I’ve been loving this little corner of the DCU and Gotham City, and this issue has some very intense moments complemented perfectly by action and moments of dark humor. Recommended.