Catwoman: Nine Lives of a Feline Fatale

Catwoman (1993) #54

by Ed Brubaker

Spanning over six decades as Batman's greatest nemesis/love, Catwoman is one of comics' most popular and enduring villainesses, and now the star of a new movie! These stories cover the entire spectrum of Catwoman's thrilling adventures - from her first appearance as a jewel thief in Batman #1 in 1940, to her modern day role of 'champion' of Gotham City's East Side in a story from the current Catwoman series. Featuring classic 'tails' from some of the greatest comics creators in the business - from the man who started it all, Bob Kane (the creator of Batman) to acclaimed modern day writers such as Doug Moench and Ed Brubaker - this is surely the ultimate Catwoman kitty collection!

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Dc Comics, Graphic Novels Comics, Comix, Comic Book, Superheroes

204 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2004

About the author

Ed Brubaker (born November 17, 1966) is an Eisner Award-winning American cartoonist and writer. He was born at the National Naval Medical Center, Bethesda, Maryland.

Brubaker is best known for his work as a comic book writer on such titles as Batman, Daredevil, Captain America, Iron Fist, Catwoman, Gotham Central and Uncanny X-Men. In more recent years, he has focused solely on creator-owned titles for Image Comics, such as Fatale, Criminal, Velvet and Kill or Be Killed.

In 2016, Brubaker ventured into television, joining the writing staff of the HBO series Westworld.

Reviews

[Immigration Art · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Nine incarnations of Catwoman, from the 1940s through today. Her outfits evolve; her sensibilities regarding good v. evil evolve; her desire for not only Batman, but also for more latex-wear and leather-gear, evolve as well.

What isn't to love? A great overview and intro to the ever changing character -- Catwoman.

[Andrew Alvis · Rating 4 out of 5]

I admire the evolution Selina Kyle has gone through, definitely ditching the OTT outfits of the pre-80s Catwoman certainly improved her sex appeal but also made her less comical and more serious.

Jim Balents' art is still my favourite design twinned with Staz Johnsons follow-up costume choice for Selina.
Gotta say I really loved Devin Graysons' debut writing Selina so I really must look into her other Catwoman work.

It got bogged down, imo, in the middle of the book but I'd still heartily recommend this exploration into Catwomans' character development over the years since her humble beginnings in Batman #1

[Andrew Shapter · Rating 3 out of 5]

A definite for Catwoman purists and completists. In essence, a reprint collection highlighting the character's evolution from the 40's to the Noughties, that also shows how much comic book writing and art has also developed.
And so using the Christian Bale Batman voice for 1940's Batman dialogue really doesn't work...best use the Adam West one.

[Nicole · Rating 3 out of 5]

I remember this being the first Catwoman graphic novels I bought. An interesting look at how the character has evolved over the decades. Some stories I enjoyed more than others.

[Jane · Rating 5 out of 5]

An awesome collection of Catwoman stories throughout the years.

[StrictlySequential · Rating 3 out of 5]

Here are nine classic Catwoman yarns which show how she has evolved in context of the fashion of the times. Clothing is only the tertiary part of such fashion- behind current evolution of the female main character and the taboos of the times.

The stories from the "Warren Commission" comics censoring era and those during the climate McCarthy was leading in the 50s and early 60s are especially interesting simply for how she was portrayed in adherence.

At "face level" this book isn't that good- IT'S EITHER CHEESE, CHEESECAKE OR CHEESY CHEESECAKE but starts with an informative and illuminating introduction

BUT if the above context-induced variations interest you enough then the rest of the stories do a good job of showing how she has integrated into The Batman's cast before she found her current fit.

I have a soft spot for The (Selina Kyle starting as a prostitute*) Cat and The Bat of the 80s-00s. They're the only "capes & tights" books that I'll read even if they aren't by a great author/artist. I'm still picky but read if the story looks appealing and the price is right.

*"Catwoman: Her Sister's Keeper" by Mindy Newell (1990, 1991) is the only origin I go by and IS ONE OF MY HIGHEST RECOMMENDATIONS IN ITS GENRE.
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A plug for those who may like DC Comics' characters inserted into popular story lines from literature: ELSEWORLDS! I have enough of them to give a category but they're all in my "Gotham" list. They take the characters outside of the confines of the DC universe and appropriately alter them, in many regards, to interesting settings that are mostly (at least the ones that I read) from interesting history periods/ events and classic literature.

[Spring Holbrook · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a fun read through some of Catwoman's history, and her many different outfits. The introduction is full of interesting information. The stories themselves though....I'm not sure I'd ever get serious about reading/collecting Silver Age Catwoman, the stories are too full of cat puns. Not even really cat puns, just constant emphasis on the word "cat." Despite that though, there's a lot of entertainment to be had. I never knew Catwoman turned Superman into a cat once!

[Maarit · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting anthology about Catwoman and her years as the female criminal mastermind of Gotham. Liked most of the stories well enough, some were a bit too cheesy or nothing that much special. My ultimate favorite ones were "A Town On The Night" (originally from 1986) and "Object Relations" (originally from 1998) as I liked both of their stories and artwork. On the whole I'm glad that I read this as it gave me a good picture of Catwoman's many different looks, obsessions and character.

[Hannah · Rating 4 out of 5]

A nice set of comics which I did enjoy (and Tweeted and Snapchatted about). It's a great introduction to Catwoman and comics in general - at least, they were the first I read, and I really liked them. I enjoyed the characterisation and seeing lots of different styles helped me to understand the sheer amount of different writers out there! I look forward to reading more comics in the future, and more Catwoman and/or Batman!

[Margot · Rating 4 out of 5]

A delightful saunter down memory lane with past incarnations of one of my favorite female superheroes--independent, unpredictable and kick-ass. Some years she was less kick-ass than others, some more good than bad, put overall this was a very interesting collection. It was particularly fascinating to see the plot and character shifts through time, depending on the current social mores of the era.

[Cody · Rating 4 out of 5]

I mean, I'm a huge Catwoman fan, so this was cool. Some of these comics were pretty lame, a little hilarious. The newer ones were more up my alley, at least in the style I like. I'm still on the fence about what Catwoman would be more empowered, when, and blahdy-blahdy-blah.

[Clare Graf-Mitchell · Rating 3 out of 5]

Quite a few of these stories made me eye-twitch like crazy, but I did enjoy the chance to "get to know" Catwoman a bit (I'm still a Marvel girl, but I like to diversify) & I loved seeing Catwoman and Lois Lane go head to head.

[Marissa · Rating 2 out of 5]

While I kind of enjoyed seeing snapshots of Catwoman's evolution over time through her various costumes and incarnations, the actual stories in here mostly ranged between campy as hell and super dullsville.

[Tedders · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great anthology.
All of the stories were great (even the super cheesy early stuff), and well chosen to represent my first anti-heroine.
Must say though the foreword giving kudos to the nearly universally hated Halle Berry Catwoman really kicks your credibility in the crotch.

[Paul · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good collection of Catwoman stories which show the evolution of comics and the character.

[Yosef Shapiro · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book features nine versions of cat woman from several eras.

[Graham Barrett · Rating 2 out of 5]

Got as a random gift from a distant family friend. Ultimately kind of unimpressed.