Thanks to the flash forward back in Batman #28, we know that Selina Kyle’s new status quo coming out of Batman Eternal will see her ascend to the role of Gotham City’s #1 crime lord. Back in July, it was revealed that a new creative team consisting of writer Genevieve Valentine and artist Garry Brown will take over the book in October, starting with Catwoman #35. New blood is definitely needed on that title and I’m interested to see where it goes.
Valentine recently spoke with Newsarama about the tone and direction of her opening arc. Seeing as how Selina is now a crime boss, the book will have more of a noir feel to it. A question on the mind of many is whether or not she will continue to don her Catwoman costume. Here’s what Valentine had to say:
There’s definitely a Cat-suited malcontent racing across the Gotham rooftops for reasons of her own. The question is whether it’s Selina.
When it comes to dealing with the ramifications of a story that hasn’t finished, she had this to say:
At the end of the day, the collaborative beast that is comics means you have to treat it as something of an agreed-upon fade-out; we’ll fade out on her in Batman Eternal and fade back in with Catwoman at a later point in time, saving the in-betweens for when the story needs them. The nice thing about Catwoman is that she’s clever and determined enough that the interim is a How, not an If.
It’s highly possible that they’re just teasing us with the notion of a new Catwoman; writers do stuff like that all the time to leave readers in suspense. When I originally saw Jae Lee’s cover for November’s Catwoman #36 (below), I took it as metaphorical. We’ll have to wait a couple months to see how literal it may be. Selina Kyle/ Catwoman is my favorite female character in all of comics. I’ve always preferred her as more of a “grey” character who sometimes works alongside Batman. All I ask is that if we do see someone new take up the mantle of Catwoman, that she be as compelling and lovable as Selina…. and that Selina one day return to form.
Catwoman #36
Source: Newsarama
