Get ready, folks, because things are about to get more . . . catty.
That’s right, Catwoman‘s solo issues are getting the collected treatment, courtesy of DC Comics!
Since she first hit the pages of Batman #1 back in 1940, this felonious feline has bewitched the Dark Knight – and audiences, as well. Sometimes hero, sometimes villain, Selina Kyle’s cat-themed capers have graced the big and small screens, with varying levels of success (although, to be fair, Halle Berry’s Catwoman movie is about a different character). Julie Newmar, Lee Meriwether, Eartha Kitt, Michelle Pfeiffer and Anne Hathaway have portrayed the sinful seductress in live action, while a similar complement of actresses have given voice to the Catwoman in animation and video games. But despite her fame, Catwoman was unable to sink her claws into an ongoing solo title until 1993…
Before Rebirth, before the New 52 (but after the Crisis and during Zero Hour – sheesh, these continuity reboots are hard to keep up with!), Jim Balent was the chief architect of the Catwoman we all know and love. The series, which ran for 94 issues and almost eight years, focused on Selina’s rather ambiguous morality as well as shining a light on her backstory and origins (which were revamped by Frank Miller in Batman: Year One), including her combat training under the tutelage of Ted “Wildcat” Grant.
The first collection will encompass issues 0 – 14, which kicks off with the “Life Lines” storyline, in which Bane runs Gotham City and Selina is, as usual, right in the thick of things as his henchperson. But the Cat’s globetrotting adventures also include parts of the “Knightsend” storyline, in which Azrael had taken up the mantle of the Batman, and the aforementioned Zero Hour, a company-wide crossover that acted as a “soft reboot” of the DCU, thanks to Hypertime (anyone remember this?) and also brought us Parallax, which is what Hal Jordan’s Green Lantern becomes on a bad day.
Look forward to Jim Balent’s Catwoman, Volume One this September!
