In Catwoman #59 from DC Comics, written by Tini Howard with art by Stefano Raffaele, Catwoman is taking serious risks now that she has nine lives.
We reviewed the book on the Stack podcast. But in the interest of highlighting more about the title, here’s a summary of the conversation with our thoughts. And if you prefer the longer audio version, that’s below as well!
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Catwoman #59 Review:
After the events of the Gotham War, Catwoman has nine lives. She’s using those lives to go on a series of missions that were previously too dangerous, starting with returning a cat to one of the deadliest killers in Europe. She’s also got some kitty-cat scratches on her back that let her know how many lives she has left.
Host Pete LePage noted that it was hard for him to see Batman and Catwoman separated after everything they’ve gone through. “I have a little separation anxiety because I’m rooting for the Bat-Cat relationship,” LePage said. “It’s hard to let go, but now I’m worried about Catwoman because she’s got a power level bar on the top of her screen at all times… She’s losing lives left and right… I’m a little worried about how quickly the lives are going.”
That said, LePage added that he thought the story was “still very enjoyable. It’s an amazing team on here. I like me some Catwoman. She’s one of my favorite characters. So yeah, great art. Great story. I just have a lot of baggage around the event.”
Alex Zalben noted that he “really liked this premise a lot.” However, he wasn’t sure “the issue fully played with” the idea of the nine lives. “It’s the sort of thing that I need another issue to get a sense of how it’s going to play out. I love the idea that she has nine lives and she’s going on these insanely dangerous missions. But one thing that I don’t think they’re dealing with here, and I wonder if they will deal with is: Catwoman is always at risk of dying. Is she taking more of a risk? Is she being sloppy?”
Zalben noted that it does feel that way in this issue given — spoiler — Catwoman already has died twice by the end. However, he felt it was an emotional thread he is curious to see if they will deal with in the upcoming issue.
“I don’t know how much that’s going to play into it,” Zalben continued. “But as an idea, it’s intriguing.”
Catwoman #59 Official Synopsis:
NINE LIVES. NINE HEISTS. NINE WAYS TO DIE. The Catwoman we know has vanished. Selina Kyle is gone. She’s no longer Gotham’s fugitive—she’s its ghost. After the events of “The Gotham War,” Selina leaves the city a forever-changed woman with a plan: nine deadly missions, each one set aside for their certain lethality—only possible for a cat with nine lives.
