More BatCat: Tim Sale's Date Knight

[chipsnopotatoes]

mystery asked about Tim Sale's Solo book. There are two stories in it that I really liked. Posting this BatCat one first. Superman's will follow shortly...





First of all, Tim Sale is one of my favorite Catwoman artists. He draws her so powerful, like a jaguar. I also know he loves the character, so even if he uses my least favorite costume with the Phelps goggles and the pilgrim boots, I still like it.

Date Knight starts out like any other night in Gotham ...



She wants to play, so they play. There is much romping around town before dinner...



She passed on the cat at the museum, but steals a shrimp from a diner! Tsk, tsk, Bruce is a cheap date :(



My favorite panels!


Suggested tags: char: batman/bruce wayne, char: catwoman/selina kyle, creator: tim sale, creator: darwyn cooke

Comments

[mystery]

Awesome!!! Awesome, awesome:) I'm running out the door, I'll be back to read! Looking forward to it!

[jaybee3]

I don't have all the issues but the "Solo" series and idea was one of the best things DC had come up with in years and years. Just give one artist free reign over one "solo" issue and any DC character to do what they want, continuity-free. I was pretty bummed when Didio said (aways back) when asked at a convention if DC would do another "Solo" kind of project that its not really in the cards.

[chipsnopotatoes]

I believe Wed comics is similar in concept in that they chose some great creative teams, let them pick the characters they wanted to write and got out of the way. Again Didio was also non-committal about that doing Wed Comics again too.

I think both are great ideas and I'm much more inclined to buy these innovative one-off books than the never-ending crisis ones that DC's been spewing out lately.

Not sure if they sell well though or maybe Didio's just being short-sighted as usual.

[jaybee3]

Come to think of it I don't think Solo did all that well when it was published. Maybe didn't know what to expect or what kind of quality was in them (though now I see back-copies go for a good) so from a financial POV Didio was right but from the creative side it was really good for DC's prestige (and would sell well collected later on).

[corrinal]

Sales-wise, Solo tanked.

I hate that it was canceled but I see why it was.

[jeyl]

$20 says that having a female character that can stand up to Batman like this in Chris Nolan's Batman universe would violate his idea of trying to make the franchise realistic.

[sistermagpie]

Oh god, yes. Not dark enough. In dark films the women need to be mostly held hostage and killed.

[chipsnopotatoes]

Can't say I was sorry to see her go though. She was bland as hell.

[sistermagpie]

I wasn't sorry to see her go either--which kind of makes it doubly annoying. I mean, that the woman has to be killed...and just be a symbol before that.

[01d55]

From a friend of mine: http://fifthfiend.blogspot.com/

You know what they should have done in Dark Knight, which would have pared back a lot of the dumbness in that, was just made Rachel Dawes Two-Face
Posted by fifthfiend at 11:10 PM 0 comments

I mean like they pretty much spent a whole previous movie making Girl Harvey Dent so why not just go all the way?
Posted by fifthfiend at 11:11 PM 0 comments

[sistermagpie]

That's a really great idea. I mean, yes, as you say, they make a point of her being like Harvey Dent, then for some reason once it comes to the point where she'd actually be a player in the story it splits off. So all her principles and skills as a lawyer didn't really matter in the end except to set her up to date Harvey as well as Bruce. Harvey, with the same principles, becomes important to the plot and, ultimately, Two-Face!

[janegray]

And girls don't even get that. Not even a name.

Me? Annoyed because little Barbara Gordon was pushed aside like furniture while the movie made a big deal of saving Gordon's son? Don't be silly!

I'm pissed off.

[chipsnopotatoes]

It's unfortunate that strong interesting women are sorely under represented in Nolan's Batman franchise.

[espanolbot]

Well, there haven't really been any female characters in the Nolanverse yet, so there still might be one.

They did make a callforward to Catwoman in the "Can this new suit protect me from getting mauled by dogs?" scene.

[zordboy]

Nothing says a hot date like a brawl and attempting to kick someone off a roof.

[nezchan]

That kick is a thing of beauty, though. All it needs is a big "BOOT" sound effect.

[mystery]

I really do love that it's foreplay for them.

[arilou_skiff]

I really like the big floppy bat-cape and bat-ears. It looks... Cozy.

[ravenous_raven]

I like the angle the bat-ears are at when he's looking at the statue. Don't know if this was the artist's intention, but they seem pricked forward, just as a cat's ears will do when he/she is piqued by something. If I'm right, it was a lovely example of foreshadowing!

[retro_nouveau]

She doesn't care what the other girls say? I wonder just what it is that they say...

I am ashamed to admit that I had to think for a minute: "Phelps goggles? Phelps, Phelps... Oh, yeah, the Aquaman-kinda-guy at that sports thingy they have every couple of years."

I'm afraid that while I like Tim Sale, he's not on retro's List of Favorite Artists. The story, though - love!

[chipsnopotatoes]

p.s. i'm still prepping that black and white post for you :D

[retro_nouveau]

Thanks! :D

If you're curious, here's retro's current List of Favorite Artists, in alpha order... Jim Aparo, Darwyn Cooke, Colleen Coover, Amanda Conner, Shane Glines, Mike Grell, Terry Dodson, Carmine Infantino, Jim Lee, Rick Mays, Alex Ross, Cameron Stewart, Bruce Timm ... and The Black Cat!

[mystery]

Ha! Okay, this is fantastic! Thank you SO much for posting it! I LOOOOVE IT. I'm going to find a copy and read the whole thing.

OMG on them smashing through the window together!. I'm so glad you posted it! Wow!

I didn't even know this existed!

[chipsnopotatoes]

You're very welcome! I'm glad you like it. About time I returned the favor with some batcat posts :D

There's an even better story with Clark I will post tomorrow. That one I just love.

[ravenous_raven]

I love all of the diners' expressions. The guy in the brown jacket definitely has a "WTF!?" face. It's the little details that can make great art!

[chipsnopotatoes]

that's cause Selina stole his shrimp ;)

[sistermagpie]

That last shot is almost too adorable for words.

[chipsnopotatoes]

yes, especially the kick! really icon material :D

[retro_nouveau]

I was thinking that would be a great icon too. :D

[darkeyedresolve]

I actually really like Sale's style, even if the story is bad, it will be nice to look at.

[chipsnopotatoes]

I agree. I think a great artist goes a long way to make something readable.

[rhythmbandit]

Yessss this is great. I love the way he draws people, I could study each one.

[psychopathicus_rex]

Oh, Selina. You're such a kook.

[chipsnopotatoes]

isn't she? that's why i think she's perfect for Bruce. He needs someone who can take him down a peg or two from time to time.

[psychopathicus_rex]

She is that. Apart from the Joker and his ilk, Selina's one of the few crooks who even PHASE the Batman - yet for completely different reasons than the others mentioned.

[thandrak]

So, what _are_ your favorite Catwoman costumes? This one really isn't so bad, as long as it's zipped. My favorite of all time is the classic Earth-2 classy-dame skirt one, sans giant cat head, with mask. Then... well. I like the horrible purple leotard, because she's just so exposed in it. Out to the elements, risking everything. Then... mmm. Animated Series #1, with the light costume and dark mask like a siamese.

[chipsnopotatoes]

i like the skirt one best too, although her green cape clashes with the purple.

i don't mind the purple leotard -- why do you like it if you think it's horrible and flawed?

this current catsuit is fine, if a bit generic (doesn't Talia get into one when she does her whole Bond Girl schtick?). What I dislike most about it are the cowl and goggle combination. It's very unflattering not to mention uncomfortable. See my icon on why I think it channels Michael Phelps. I say lose the goggles.

On the early BTAS one, I never thought of it that way, but now that you mention it, she does look like a Siamese. Kind of cute.

[thandrak]

There is a fine line between 'dangerously exposed' and 'hay thar come wank off to me'. And the purple suit tended to cross it a bit. Impractical, a bit.

The boots on the one here just don't fit for roof-running, but the cowl is nice, even if I'm not a fan of the goggles, either.

[chipsnopotatoes]

ok. I might have misunderstood then. From your earlier statement, I thought you said you liked the purple leotard. Might just have been a typo.

Could the backlash to the purple leotard be due to how Balent drew it perhaps? It looks much better in Dustin Nguyen's version:

http://scans-daily.dreamwidth.org/1577738.html?#cutid1

I love the muted purple in his version although I think if they gave her current costume an indigo cast to it, i would also look good and distinguish it from your generic plain vanilla black catsuit.

[thandrak]

I do like the purple leotard. It's just a bit ambiguous. I like how Balent drew it, but... well.

[promethea4]

Unf. I love Sale's Selina. And Bruce. And I find his art just really interesting, though I can see how it wouldn't be everyone's cup of tea. Still, that's one interesting date there.