REVIEW: ‘Catwoman,’ Issue #27

Catwoman #27 is published by DC Comics, written by Ram V, art by Fernando Blanco, with colors by FCO Plascencia, and letters by Tom Napolitano. Selina sets out to strike a blow against the local drug trade and hopefully earn herself a powerful ally in one fell swoop. It looks like it’s time for Gotham to be reminded that the Catwoman has claws. And just how sharp they are.

Our story opens with Hadley puzzling over the vehicle break-in in the last issue. Something doesn’t sit right with how things look. When he realizes what’s really going on the GCPD immediately starts acting to intercept what they now believe is a shipment of drugs. Unfortunately for them, someone else is gonna beat them to it.

Catwoman #27  proceeds to take us to our titular character as she perches over her query like a veritable bird of prey.  The van carrying the drugs is about to pull out, and Selina’s people are all in a position to hijack some drugs. While I won’t spoil the sequence that fills the bulk of this issue, I will say it continues to deliver the sleek presentation I have been raving about in this book for two issues now. Selina’s cool control over the situation gives her the air of a puppeteer who knows every string to pull. And once the van is taken out of commission we are treated to a quick and hard demonstration of Selina’s combat prowess. The sequence almost makes you feel bad for those poor goons. They never had a chance.

Once Selina’s put the bow on her newest heist she visits her would-be partner to see if she is willing to hold to her side of their previous deal. And while all this transpires, there is still a silent figure shadowing Selina’s movements.

Just as Catwoman #27’s story continues to deliver the calm, cool, and controlled Selina Kyle, so too does the art. The classic action vibe extends its run of being the dominant tone throughout the visuals. While the combat doesn’t hit as hard as I often prefer, it’s a style more than makes up for the slight lack of kinetics. Blanco continues to be the King of Cool with the lines he once again delivers.

The cool in these panels are further enhanced by a wonderful, and varied, selection of colors by colorist Plascencia. Whether it’s a back alley brawl or a negotiation at a strip club, the colors always work wonderfully to enhance the potency of the images.

Lastly, we have Napolitano’s superb lettering. Along with smooth, easy-to-follow dialogue, the letterist also does a pitch-perfect job designing the various sound effects that fill the action scenes here. The designs chosen by Napolitano further nails that classic action vibe the story delivers with every panel.

So to wrap it up, Catwoman #27 is yet another amazingly cool ride from this superb creative team. Under these creatives’ talents, Catwoman continues to climb up in my rankings of most looked forward to comics each month. I can’t wait to see where our supremely confident cat burglar is going next.

Catwoman #27 ‘is available November 17th wherever comics are sold.