Leaving the mob and Gotham City behind, Selina Kyle heads to New York City and returns to doing what she does best. No sooner is Catwoman back on the prowl than her favorite fence hires her for a job. The job: stealing the Frost Diamond, one of the rarest black diamonds in the world, for an anonymous client and a monstrous payday.
Unfortunately, only two people know the true value of the Frost Diamond: Selina’s mystery employer and the Penguin. And both will do anything to possess the gem, even placing a huge bounty on Catwoman’s head. Now Selina must fight for her life against the likes of Clayface, Killer Croc, Firefly, Victor Zsasz and Batgirl!
Writer Frank Tieri (BATMAN: GOTHAM UNDERGROUND) is joined by artist Inaki Miranda (COFFIN HILL), colorist Eva De La Cruz (COFFIN HILL) and others to put DC’s favorite feline felon through her paces
Maybe I'm alone, but I like that Selina is back to doing what she does best. And while I appreciate Valentine's classy run, it just didn't have enough of the fun factor for my personal taste. So. Catwoman is robbing people again! Yay!
Now, I can understand what some people are saying when they complain that there isn't much new to the story, but I flew through this volume! And lately, that's been a real problem with some of the comics I've been trying to read. I'm looking at you, Superman! So, just the simple fact that I picked this up and read it in one sitting says a lot to me.
The story is your basic heist gone wrong, with Selina getting caught in the middle of some powerful criminals who are all vying for the same score. There are some fun cameos by different Gothamites, but the main villain hails from elsewhere in the DC universe.
The last bit was my favorite! The peek at a younger (nicer?) Selina Kyle was just fantastic. Loved the originish feel of the story, and I'd love to see more stuff like that in the future. The last two issues were a big improvement in storytelling, which makes me think the author found his footing towards the end. Hopefully, this won't be his last time writing the character.
I'm not sure I've ever read anything by Frank Terri before, but I was impressed enough by this to want to read more.
Thankfully Selina's days as the Catfather are over. That story along with pretty much the rest of the DCYou initiative never worked for me. Selina's back to being Catwoman and has moved on to New York City for her hunting grounds. She gets trapped in the classic "framed for murder" scenario and a lot of Gotham's underworld comes after her for the million dollar bounty on her head. Once this gets resolved we get an untold story from Selina's past of a confrontation between Selina and Black Mask's father. I found the artwork and coloring in this volume drab and just blah.
This was more like it for me. It did seem a little rehashed since it was mostly a basic Catwoman cat burglar type story, but after the lofty "Godfather" arc, I was ready to see Catwoman like this again. The art was good and fitting, and the story was a good, old fashioned smash and grab.
While I do think it's cool to take characters in new directions, sometimes tried and true does work best.
Solid stuff. I loved the meta vibes of this volume (the Pfeiffer reference! the Heath Ledger nurse!!), and the multi-issue Run Like Hell arc was fantastic. Tesla is a great character. I liked the White Mask arc too.
I thought I was going to want a break after this run, but now I want to get caught up on the current one :D
Genevieve Valentine's year-long run on Catwoman really re-invented the character and took her to some new places. With this final trade, Catwoman gets back to basics, keeping the series in a bit of a holding pattern until it reaches issue 52 and disappears in the Rebirth shuffle for now.
It's not a bad little trade though. Run Like Hell is a four issue storyline that sees Selina fight all manner of Bat Family bad guys (as well as Batgirl) as she tries to recover a mysterious diamond that has secrets of its own. Tieri brings Alice Tesla (one of the few things from Ann Nocenti's run I liked) back to the fore too, giving Selina some continuity in her supporting cast. Plus Harley and Ivy show up, and I love Gotham City Sirens throwbacks.
This culminates in the extra-sized issue 50, which also has two back-ups, one of which is almost a Nuff Said as Catwoman tests out the JLA satellite's defense systems, and then another is a precursor to the final two issue arc, Faceless, which pits Catwoman against Black Mask and an old face from her past.
The art is mostly handled by Inaki Miranda of Coffin Hill fame, whose smooth lines remind me of neon, they're that distinctive, and she has some innovative single page layouts that I really like. We also get some fill-in stuff along the way, but it's mostly relegated to flashbacks so it's not a huge problem. I'm just glad Miranda is getting further DC work now that Coffin Hill has ended, because she's got a great visual style.
Heist capers and sleuthing, not bad but rather disjointed and you don't really see much of Selina's character. The end just peters out to nothing, sets up some interesting things but...
Catwoman: Run Like Hell picks up where the previous volume left off collecting the last six issues (Catwoman #47–52) of the 2011 on-going series collects two stories: "On the Run" and "Faceless".
"On the Run" is a four-issue storyline (Catwoman #47–50) has Selina Kyle now back as Catwoman framed for a murder she did not commit in New York City. Wanted, Catwoman is on the lam, while trying to uncover the true culprit. Furthermore, a bounty is placed on her head by Oswald Cobblepott as the Penguin as she is in possession of the Frost Diamond, which he wants against the likes of Clayface, Killer Croc, Firefly, Victor Zsasz, and Batgirl.
"Faceless" is a two-issue storyline (Catwoman #51–52) has Selina Kyle as Catwoman taking on the False Face Society, a secret society created by Richard Sionis – the father of Roman Sionis as Black Mask, but a protégé in the form of White Mask wants to take everything Roman Sionis has built and Selina Kyle is trapped in the middle.
Frank Tieri penned the entire trade paperback. For the most part, I enjoy the narrative and the fact that Selina Kyle has returned to her roots as Catwoman. Tieri has written two wonderful and fun adventures for Catwoman and despite his short tenure, it was written rather well and I wished that he had more time to write for the series.
With the exception of two issues who were co-penciled by Geraldo Borges (Catwoman #50) and the co-penciling team of Giuseppe Cafaro and Pop Mhan (Catwoman #52), the entire trade paperback was penciled by Inaki Miranda. Since he was the main penciler, the artistic flow of the trade paperback flowed exceptionally well. For the most part, I enjoyed his penciling style.
Overall, this Catwoman series is a hodgepodge of a series. With four distinct writers the series waxed and waned rather abruptly. Judd Winick reintroduced Selina Kyle as Catwoman for the New 52 reboot and did a wonderful job for what was given. The run of Ann Nocenti and sadly the more prolific of the writers was much to be desired. While the run of Genevieve Valentine writing was significantly better, despite the direction of the series. Finally, the short run of Frank Tieri finished the series on a high with Selina Kyle returning to Catwoman. Likewise, without a central penciler the artistic flow of the series is rather turbulent.
All in all, Catwoman: Run Like Hell is a wonderful continuation to a hodgepodge series which gives a mediocre feeling overall.
Better than anything since Vol 1 but thats pretty faint praise. I cant quite figure out how this title made it so long with DC. Here's hoping the next version of this title is much better.
HERE WE GO! No more crime syndicate foolishness for Selena, just back to robbing and running (with style) that Catwoman is best known for. On the trail of a diamond, exposing Penguin's secrets, testing security for the Watchtower, a story from the past, and getting caught between Black Mask and White Mask, this Volume is very paced and full of what makes Catwoman a great read. Glad to see it get back to what made it excellent in the first place. Not sure what's happening with Selina post-Rebirth, but I'll be right on her heels when she shows up. Recommend.
As far as the series run goes, the beginning and the end are good, but I didn't enjoy the stuff in the middle when she was the Calabrese Crime Boss. Overall, very good though.
So far, most of the New 52 series that have lasted the entire five years are ending with a whimper.
Genevieve Valentine wrote some great Catwoman stories, as Selina Kyle found herself head of one of Gotham's large crime families. No longer part of the mob, Catwoman's book gets a new writer who returns Selina to her thievery roots, but doesn't come up with anything all that interesting. There's a story about a power play between Catwoman, the Penguin, and a surprise player, but so much of it seemed out of character for all of them. These stories just didn't move me at all, and although I'm sad to see Catwoman's series end, it's better that it goes if these are the types of stories we'd be subjected to reading.
Oh how I already miss Selina Kyle the Mob boss and the stand in Catwoman. This is an attempt to return to what Catwoman is famous for, stealing incredibly important and valuable objects for fun and profit. If there is anything I've learned from this series that it is never a good idea to be a fence for Selina Kyle. It is the kiss of death. On the plus side Selina isn't getting half naked every other issue just for the sake of gratuitous boobs but the story isn't that compelling and taking her out of Gotham removes a lot of what helps to make her interesting.
Catwoman is back to doing what she does best, and we the fans are the ones who are rewarded by it. My only complaint was the clipped story line due to the "Rebirth" that's about to take place.
The previous two volumes of Catwoman were so smart that Frank Tieri's sloppy crime caper is a total letdown. Many were happy that Catwoman "got back to basics", but a mediocre caper story we've read multiple times before is nothing to celebrate.
Tieri's idea of cameos is that if one is good, eight is better and he fillsmthis story up with plenty of Gothamites who have no reason to be there. Particularly lame is the arrival of the Riddler, who goes from being a criminal mastermind in Snyder's year zero tale, to comedic relief here. Isn't he still in prison? Also strange was the characterization of New York City police as murderous scumbags who don't even bother to clean up after themselves. Corrupt cops don't bother me, but ones so dopey and maniacal they'd seem more natural in an Austin Powers film than a supposedly gritty crime comic.
The art is really sub-par. I am shocked DC can't find artists with more of an eye for the female form to draw one of the most iconic women in pop culture. The way panels were placed seemed inscrutable at times, and the lettering occasionally seemed to caption the wrong people.
Happy to not have a Catwoman book for a while. She is good enough to deserve her own book, but the editors at DC have no idea what to do with Selina when she is on her own.
Loved this one! The two stories were excellently written, the art is fantastic, and the action is wicked. There are tons of DC characters crossing paths with Gotham's Cat. I absolutely love Catwoman and the complications to her moral code, and it's always thrilling to watch her handle herself and escape the most dire situations. She is my favourite DC character and deserves more solo outings!
Really the only positive thing I can say about this collection is the art, which is pretty cool and unique. Inaki Miranda is the artist on the majority of the chapters, and although this is a name I am not familiar with, I will be keeping an eye on (her?) for awhile.
It was alright, back to basics, but Black Mask felt much less dangerous than when Valentine was writing him. The stakes just weren't there anymore, and everything felt more like your traditional masked romp.
While I enjoyed individual issues, Catwoman was all over the place. Having been able yo read the comics so close together, I honestly thought I had picked up different series.
She's back. Just as its all about to end in the New 52.
Selina Kyle makes her living as a thief as she pulls a job that becomes larger than she can handle. Thankfully she manages to make it out alive but ends up in one pickle after another. Its the journey not the destination that matters. But after the horrendous Mafia Queen collections, its a breath of fresh air reading this.
The final volume of this Catwoman series is the only one I could stomach reading more than 1 issue of. It was a blessed relief to find the final volume at least is a relative high to end on.
Inaki Miranda’s art is gorgeous so that was a big plus.
Frank Tieri’s writing is a lot of fun, making for a good combo.
It’s not a must-read story by any stretch but Run Like Hell is everything Catwoman should have been: heist gone wrong, framed for murder, characters like Killer Croc, Batgirl and Penguin sticking their nose in. It’s just a lot of fun.
Selina’s characterisation works and she’s supported by Tesla, her techie girl (don’t know if she’s new for this volume or been in the series before).
The second and final arc in the book Faceless sees Selina caught in the middle of a civil war between the False Face Society. Richard Sionis is dying so his son Black Mask and new villain White Mask are battling for control.
I don’t know what this does to Black Mask’s continuity but I liked the way he was written. He was a fun psychopath and he didn’t have a magic hypnosis mask like he did at the start of the New 52. White Mask’s identity is very predictable and I would have preferred more focus on Black Mask but Tieri’s writing continues to be fun and Miranda’s art is still top notch.
One last note, Selina gets a Michelle Pfeiffer hair restyle for a large part of the book so you may enjoy that.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
This volume wasn't as innovative as some of the past efforts, it seemed like work to fill in the time to me, as if the baton was passed and the job was to simply, basically, run until the end or when the next author shows up. It wasn't the worst, but not the best this title has had to offer and by that I mean it's best days were pre-New 52 when Brubaker, Cooke, and Stewart were at the helm.