REVIEW: ‘Catwoman,’ Issue #31

Catwoman #31 is published by DC Comics, written by Ram V, with art by Fernando Blanco, colors by Jordie Bellaire, and letters by Tom Napolitano. Having infiltrated Siddhart Roy’s art exhibit, Selina moves to escape the scene of her latest theft. But before she can make her getaway, she finds herself held at gunpoint, with her host demanding to know how she has gotten Ivy out of the building. While Selina’s never been one to brag, she can take a little time to toot her own horn just this once.

Since I started reviewing Catwoman back in issue 25, I have praised the style, coolness, and strong aesthetic that writer Ram V and company have brought to this book. Whenever I think they have worked every classic angle or trope from the heist/classic action genres they have so liberally dipped into, they prove me wrong. They deliver Selina in another circumstance that allows them to harken back to a classic heist situation executed so flawlessly that I can’t even complain about how familiar it feels. You don’t have to be overly original if you can deliver the classics with enough skill. Once again, this creative team shows that they have that skill.

As Catwoman #31 opens, we see Selina dispatching several guards as she makes her escape from the Roy Estate. But just before she reaches safety, a bullet clips her arm, stopping her. With Roy himself behind the pistol, he demands she tell him how Ivy has been smuggled out of his home. As Selina informs her opponent which tricks and skills she used, we are given the burglary as it happened, complete with breaks of bantering between Selina and Roy.

To go any deeper into specifics of this issue would be to delve into spoilers. And I don’t need Catwoman at my window tonight because I stole her moment from her. Suffice it to say, the heist is as clever, ingenious, and smooth as its mastermind.

But while Ram V does pen a clever, multilayered heist in Catwoman #31, he never gets too clever with his tale. Stopping just short of the Byzantine intricacies of an Ocean’s plot, Ram V keeps the plan just calm enough that I never had to suspend my disbelief completely.

With no undo surprise, artist Blanco once again captures every aspect of Selina’s personality brilliantly on the page. From her ability to own the room before the heist begins to her confident skill, she plays out the situation for her host, Blanco’s understanding of the character is as perfect as one could ask for. His has become the definitive Catwoman for me.

Catwoman #31’s art is strengthened further by Bellaire’s wonderful colorwork. Utilizing cool blue tones for the oft returned to “parlor scene” between Catwoman and Roy as a breaker, the story’s colors create beautiful contrasts as it bounces from the then to the brighter looks of the story’s other scenes.

Lastly, we have Napolitano’s lettering. Napolitano’s letters deliver the story to the reader in a manner as smooth as the tale’s narrator herself.

Bringing it all together, Catwoman #31 delivers another spot-on story from this fantastic creative team. As the tale wraps up, we are left with hints of future foes, unseen dangers, and a rematch in the works. I can’t wait to see how this team delivers everything that is to come.

Catwoman #31 is available now wherever comics are sold.