By Hunter T. Patrick

Keep reading this review if you have read Batman #50 (meow if so), or if sadly Batman #50 was spoiled for you (hiss). Do not keep reading if you have not found out what happens in the "historic" Batman #50. Catwoman is not a name known for being a hero. She is typically always conceived as a villain. Thanks to Batman #50, she may be the greatest hero of them all, abandoning Batman at the altar, all for the heartbreaking reason Batman needs to be miserable for him to stay Batman. The decision was ultimately, as expected for Batman and Catwoman, heartbreaking.

This, of course, is not a review of Batman #50, but Catwoman #1 which picks up after Selina Kyle’s decision. She is not in a good place emotionally at all. Of course, when a "Catwoman" starts terrorizing with a gun that seems to make matters worse for Selina, who has been keeping low. This first issue picks up with a down on her luck Selina who now must overcome it all to face off against a copycat. Oh, and there is a very haunting new villain. Very exciting indeed.

This first issue spends some time catching up on what Selina has been doing since Batman #50, but also it also spends a fair amount of time on the villains of the story. The primary villain is haunting and begs the reader to want to find out more about her if they could stomach it. The pacing is not breaking any grounds but still makes the story a fun read. Come for the character of Selina Kyle, who Joelle Jones makes all the more fascinating, but stay for the art. The art looks so slick, stylish, and sexy. Selina is in a horrible place when this starts, and the art captures this dark place for her. The action looks flawless and extremely strong. Colors are very complimentary and do not have anything to overpower another. There is such strong beauty to every part, through the raw emotions to the rawness of a character’s physical appearance. The book does not do or experiment anything whatsoever to paneling or anything shockingly new, but the art that is shown is too good not to be praised highly.

One of the most overdone tropes in superhero comics is the copycat heroes who make heroes lose strong public opinion. It is common to find an extremely rare to find one that achieves. At this point it does not look like this story will be one where it overcomes that trope. This first issue just does not have a lot to build onto for a series after one arc. Hopefully, the goal is literally to start with nothing then work up with a cast but that is for later issues. The story is the biggest downside to this. The emotions, action, and art are just way too good compared to most any other work on the newsstands. Despite the overdone story, Catwoman may have just found the perfect title for her.

Score: 4/5

Catwoman #1
DC Comics