Catwoman #4

[aeka]

We learn a little bit more about Selina's past and are introduced to more people in her life. At best it appears as though the Frank Miller prostitute origin has been retconned out of continuity. So I guess one point for Winick?










Heh, I don't know about anyone else, but I thought Selina looked a bit like Sailor Star Fighter in those last few panels.

Anyway, from the last few pages of Catwoman #4, an interview with the boys behind this book:

1. What do you love about writing/drawing these characters?

Judd: Catwoman is brilliant, damaged, sophisticated, crass, and a born survivor who also seems at times to have a death wish. The complexities leap her.

Guillem: I like lonely characters so I can focus on the body language, facial expressions, how he or she interacts with the background.

2. What is your favourite thing about your part in the New 52?

Guillem: It will be long remembered and I'm incredibly happy I got the chance to be a part of it. I feel I'm adding something to the character, putting a bit of my own vision of Catwoman in the book.

Judd: The fresh stories we get to tell, how we get to hit the ground running, and how we can welcome new readers. All the stories are open to EVERYONE.

3. Can you tease the villains they will be fighting in upcoming issues?

Judd: Well, Catwoman's a criminal, so her adversaries cross a few spectrums. She'll have a run-in with an ugly mobster named BONE, have a budding romance with a member of the Gotham Police Department, and OH YEAH--there's Batman!

Guillem: See Judd's answer. I just want some of the villains we have in the book to stay for a long time because they're great. I love Bone.

4. What new things are you doing with these characters?

Judd: We are getting back to the core of Selina Kyle. She is, first and foremost, a thief. She steals not to survive, but because she digs it.

5. How will you shock readers?

Guillem: Every issue I've drawn to date has a very strong surprise or cliffhanger at the end. I'm always shocked when I read Judd's scripts.

Judd: As of Catwoman #1, pardon the pun, but the cat's out of the bag on one of our MAJOR surprises--the Catwoman/Batman romance.

6. What is your favourite page in the first few issues and why?

Judd: Am I allowed to say ALL of them? If I HAVE to choose, it's page 3 of the first issue. Catwoman crashing out her window in a hail of gunfire, half in her costume, whip in one hand, cat carrier in the other. This says EVERYTHING about our book and Catwoman. Dangerous, sexy, and unexpected.

Guillem: Issue #1, page1. All started there. I hope it takes a long time to finish.

Comments

[salinea]

am I the only one who likes Selina as a former sex worker?

[aeka]

I don't mind the idea of Selina being a sex worker, but not at the hands of Frank Miller who isn't known to have a positive attitude towards sex workers or women in general.

[salinea]

Ah, well. Okay. I didn't read the part written by Miller.

[aeka]

Yeah, The Dark Knight Returns particularly comes to mind. Wish I could brain bleach the scene of Selina being brutally beaten by the Joker out of my mind.

[salinea]

Yeah, but I just don't associate that origin with Miller - she's had a lot of stories written about her which includes that since.

[aeka]

Yeah fortunately her past as a prostitute was better handled by later writers who used it to build Selina's character. I especially liked that Ed Brubaker brought her back to the East End and used her past there as motivation for serving as 'protector' to that part of Gotham.

[q99]

I doubt the 'only' one... but most of her other origins click with me and that one doesn't.

I was introduced to her in B:tAS and that definitely played a role.

[salinea]

What are the other back-stories you find work better?

[q99]

Earth-2 works for me well. She's a socialite (so in the same circles as Bruce Wayne, with the parallels there) in an abusive relation, leaves him and breaks into his vault to steal his valuable jewels as she goes, and finds she's gained a taste for the experience.

Or the Batman Returns one, where she's a loyal corporate type, finds a nasty secret from her boss, is betrayed and almost killed by him, and something snaps and she embraces a mentality almost 180 from her old, being an untethered and free like her cats.

[salinea]

I remember the movie, yes, I don't think I like this one very much. The Earth-2 sounds... kind of so-so, but okay enough.

[q99]

The thing I like about the E-2 one is: One, she's a thrillseeker. She doesn't steal money because she needed it or someone else needs it (though once she has it, sure, she'll help people with it), but because of the challenge and excitement of the theft. Two, her origin is directly tied into why she's a *thief*. The Miller one explains why she can fight, but it's like she just kinda fell into becoming the world's greatest thief, the origin feels like she should've become female Daredevil who patrolled one area of the city and fights crime rather than traveling the world and stealing diamonds. Finally, the social thing, lets her trade barbs with Bruce before they dance as Bat and Cat, which is something I always loved.


I'm always a fan of Bat villains being some sort of parallel/mirror to Batman too. Joker is chaos to Batman's law. Two-Face is the dichotomy of Bruce and Batman. And Catwoman (at least to start with in her villain days) is someone who has the freedom, excitement, and skills of being a masked vigilante but doing so purely for the thrill of it rather than to protect others.

[aeka]

To be honest, I don't think her past was explored all that much in the pre-Crisis continuity. On Earth-2 she was originally a house wife who left her abusive husband and became a jewel thief after she found the success of stealing back her jewellery from her husband's vault very thrilling. Prior to that she fabricated the story about being flight attendent who became Catwoman due to amnesia in order to start her life over. I actually posted that story a while back, which is also one of my favourites from the pre-Crisis continuity.

[q99]

One thing I like about the E-2 one is it clearly explains why she's a *thief*, since the cat burglar thing is such a large part of the concept.

The Miller origin, I get something of a disconnect.

"Hard life... I must train to protect myself and my friends... oh, there's Batman, what an inspiration... thief!"

Why she becomes a mask is obvious, but why she becomes the world's greatest jewel thief less-so.

[aeka]

I also liked that in the Earth-2 origin, her stealing her abusive husband's material wealth was treated as a triumph over him since that was the only loss he understood. It's kind of like the story where Selina steals ALL of Hush's money in response to him cutting out her heart to get back at Bruce. It was very, very sweet revenge. ♥

[schmevil]

I've always liked the idea that we might not know her actual origin. Selina just making up stories about her origin, rather than telling the truth.

[salinea]

Interesting. But isn't that already The Joker's shtick?

[eyz]

I was ok with it.
Plus taking it out of continuity means taking out Holly too - which I luved very much. I miss Holly, even her short time as Catwoman!

So, boo to re-retconning that out..... :(

[salinea]

OMG yes, Holy D: argh, fuck that reboot.

[darkknightjrk]

I don't see any reason why Holly has to be taken out--even IF the sex work stuff is taken out of continuity (which I'm still not convinced is the case), who's to say that Selina only had one friend in Holly?

I do hope we see Holly at some point--if not just so her last story doesn't have to be freaking Countdown.

(frozen comment)

[saralakali]

Well, I can't speak for anyone else, but I absolutely hate that origin for her. Regardless of how many people try to defend that origin and sex workers, the first impression that the average fan (not to mention the average non-fan) is that Selina is a hooker with all the nastiness that that word implies. This series has done absolutely nothing to dispel that image and in fact only throws gasoline on the flames.

(frozen comment)

[aeka]

I know this series is problematic, but your comments here scream of slut-shaming, which I believe goes against this comm's ethos.

(frozen comment)

[saralakali]

Then you didn't really read my comment.

Stop trying to silence me.

(frozen comment)

[whitesycamore]

Did *you* read your comment? Stop trying to co-opt the concept of 'silencing' in order to dodge accountability.

(frozen comment) Mod Note

[salinea]

Thread frozen, and under discussion by the Mod team.

[benicio127]

Nope! I liked it as well -- moreso the Ed Brubaker run. Looooove that run.