Batman: One Bad Day - Catwoman #1

Batman: One Bad Day

by G. Willow Wilson, Jamie McKelvie (Inker)

Selina Kyle, a.k.a. Catwoman, is the greatest thief that Gotham City has ever seen. She’s effortlessly stolen countless items of immense value over the years and successfully evaded the GCPD and Batman. But when Catwoman finds out an item from her past is being sold for way more than it used to be worth, it sends her into a spiral, and she’ll do everything in her power to steal it back. Batman tries to stop her before she goes too far, and a mysterious figure known as the Forger will change Catwoman’s life forever. The all-star creative team of G. Willow Wilson (Poison Ivy, Ms. Marvel) and Jamie Mckelvie (The Wicked & The Divine, Young Avengers) unite for this epic story!

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Batman, Dc Comics, Superheroes, Graphic Novels Comics, Fiction

85 pages, Kindle Edition

First published July 18, 2023

About the author

Hugo, World Fantasy and American Book Award-winning author of novels and comics, including THE BIRD KING, INVISIBLE KINGDOM, and ALIF THE UNSEEN. Co-creator of Ms Marvel. Honorary doctor of letters, Rutgers University. I accidentally started a dutch baby baking cult during quarantine. Not very active on here right now, but often found on Twitter.

Reviews

[Anne · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ok, it's not a terrible Catwoman story.



It's one of the least memorable of the One Bad Day Series (so far) but I didn't hate it at all.
So, Selina steals back a piece of her childhood and learns a lesson about what makes art beautiful to each person.
There's more to the story, but that's the gist.



It's cute.
No real complaints other than it didn't knock my socks off.

[Robert · Rating 4 out of 5]

No so much a Bad Day as a one-off Catwoman adventure with brief appearance by Good Boyfriend Batman, gorgeous art helps it though as does the writer's esoteric knowledge about vintage jewelry and the like.


Damn, Selina! 😻😻😻

[Oscar · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty good!

[Lyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Eh.

I liked it.

Batman One Bad Day follows a villain from Batman’s rogues gallery and this one shot is of course about Selena Kyle and we get to see some behind the scenes about a jewelry heist with some interesting backstory.

Batman and Catwoman have a complicated relationship and writer G. Willow Wilson puts this all together for us. It’s a little preachy and a little too over the top for me to enjoy this more, but I imagine there will be some who like this more than I do.

I did enjoy the art and that’s one thing that is a constant in most graphic novels: the writing can be so so but you’ve still got the art to look at and this is just another reason to love this genre.

Not awful and Wilson does ask some good questions, but this one was not my favorite and if I’m being honest, I was a little disappointed.

[Rod Brown · Rating 3 out of 5]

A nice little Catwoman story that seems like it would be more at home as a three-issue fill-in arc in her regular series instead of a special one-shot, but here it is in a fancy hardcover, so what're you going to do but read it and admire the clean, sleek art by Jamie McKelvie? (It's so nice to see him doing something without Kieron Gillen for the first time in a while.)

[Diz · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a fun Catwoman story, but the one bad day concept is not as strong as in the other volumes in the series. It feels more like a regular Catwoman story rather than a story about a villain going over the edge. In fact, Catwoman is not portrayed as villainous in this story at all. Still, it was an enjoyable read.

[Joanna · Rating 5 out of 5]

The thing about fighting someone new is that you can never predict what's going to happen.
It's like dancing. You're figuring each other out. Seeing what works and what doesn't.

[James DeSantis · Rating 3 out of 5]

Inbetween a 3 and 4 star. Solid, looks nice, but it didn't fully capture me in the mood for a one bad day tale. It was way more light hearted than expected but also charming. Worth reading if your a Catwoman fan.

[leynes · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nobody, and I mean nobody, loves Catwoman the way that I do. I've yet to see an iteration of her that doesn't serve cunt 24/7 and which isn't just the most ICONIC OF THE ICONIC. I just love her so much. Also, her in combination with Batman/Bruce is one of my favorite ships of all time. I just love the two of them so much. (Can you tell I was a major fan of King's much-hated Batman run? It gave me so much life, ya'll. And Catwoman: When In Rome was my favorite instalment of the iconic Loeb/Sale run. I know, blasphemous, right?)

I really enjoyed Wilson's One Bad Day take on her character, however, I felt that – out of all of the eight one-shots – this one was the most incomplete. Like, I know we're not getting a second part but this story is seriously UNFINISHED. Hello? What's up with the weird forger lady? I'm not that deep into Batman lore, so I'm not sure if most readers were familiar with that plotline, but this was my first tango and I just didn't get it.

However, Selina in that black dress which wonderfully showed her arm muscles (gotta love a muscular cat!) and her kissing Batman ("By now, we both know we can't stop it. This. Might as well try to stop the planets from orbiting the sun.") is a win for me, and I'll take it. This issue was fun and quick and Jamie McKelvie's art is as good and recognisable as ever (gosh how I loved it in The Wicked + The Divine, before that series went off the rails plot-wise, welp!), so I can't complain. I wouldn't recommend spending money on it tbh but if you can borrow it, go for it!

[Alexander Peterhans · Rating 1 out of 5]

What the hell was that..? An unsatisfying story, on every level.

[Mia · Rating 4 out of 5]

G. Willow Wilson needs to write more Selina and BatCat plus art is amazing.

[Molly™☺ · Rating 3 out of 5]

One fairly good day that sees Selina take on the Forger who gives her some food for thought when it comes to the real value of art. It's rather sweet, straying from the traditional concept for One Bad Day to give us a heartwarming one-shot that's less about Catwoman's 'villainess' antics and more focused on her relationships and heart.

actual rating 3.5 stars

[Jen · Rating 2 out of 5]

My thanks to NetGalley and DC Comics for an eARC copy of this book to read and review.

This one didn't quite work for me. I love Catwoman and seeing her with the Bats is just muy caliente, but I'm not a fan of this one, as she is kind of an idiot?

Like, I get it, she has this vengeance thing going on, but Batman gave her some REALLY GOOD advice and she just PFFT'd all over it, got her butt handed to her AND ruined his investigation.

So. Not exactly happy with how she was portrayed in this one. As another reviewer said, she was made to be TOO human, and I didn't appreciate it. I like my heroes/anti-heroes to be more intelligent than I am. And honestly, if the Bats told me something, I would at least LISTEN and CONSIDER what he has to say.

I would have been PISSED with her if I was the Bats and she ruined my months long investigation on this person. But I guess he thought it was par for the course with her?

Recommended if you like your comic book heroes/anti-heroes to be more human than super.

2, not what I was looking for, stars.

[akiiKOMORI reading · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am a Catwoman Fangirl~
I definitely enjoyed this story even if it was predictable but it was still nice, great story, loved the art - also mmmmm Batman.... <3

So far I think my enjoyment goes.

Riddler / Penguin / Catwoman / Freeze / Two-Face (but Catwoman and Freeze are essentially tied...)

[Nymphe · Rating 4 out of 5]

While in the other comics of this series Batman took a big or at least medium part in the story, he only appeared as a side character in this comic. But I have to admit that I didn't miss him much either. Instead, I found it nice to have just another Catwoman story supported by a great art style.

[Richard · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a pretty average Catwoman story, and not the stand-out examination of the character that I would expect from an entry in this limited series of one-shots. There's nothing all that bad about the book, it just doesn't say very much.

[OMNIBUS GOD · Rating 4 out of 5]

Finally! This series has balanced out with this Catwoman story. The previous two ‘One Bad Day’ one shots (Bane and Two-Face) were not great, so I’m relieved the poor streak ends with this one. Catwoman’s ‘One Bad Day’ shows Selina on her usual hunt for a valuable piece of jewelry, only this time there’s an actual connection with sentimental value. She’s after a brooch that’s being auctioned for a lot of money and it so happens that the brooch once belonged to her mother. She had to sell it back in the day to be able to afford rent, and keep a roof over the heads of a little Selina and her sister. She got $200 from a pawn shop, so clearly there was some sort of mix up cause now it’s worth around $30,000. She infiltrates the auction house and attempts to steal back the brooch. Not before bumping into an interesting lady however, who might be hiding something right in front of everyone's nose.

G. Willow Wilson is the writer on this project and she does a wonderful job of giving us a one and done AND fun story. Her overall premise was interesting and made it feel personal for the character of Catwoman. The story didn’t include many other characters, so it was a lot of self narration, and for the most part it was really engaging narrating with Catwoman’s voice being captured really well. Wilson does include Batman towards the end though, and in the short time he was in the story, I really enjoyed how she wrote him. It was so good I wouldn’t mind seeing Wilson tackle a full Batman book. My only small gripe with Wilson’s story was her direction of the main antagonist, as a lot feels left on the table, and for a one shot I’d want a bit more closure when it came to that character. It’s bittersweet because she writes such a good one-shot, but I want more, and felt like I could’ve gotten a tiny bit more even in this one issue.

Biggest props and MVP of this book however has to go to artist Jamie McKelvie. He absolutely crushes this book and I loved the style and mood he added to the story. He draws a very natural looking Selina/Catwoman, and the physique he gives her is so different from what we’ve seen before with the character. He also draws really great faces with amazing detail and really great body language. Along with his ability to draw natural looking characters his way of drawing movement also looks really realistic and swift. Add some really stunning colors with cool features, like what he does with Catwoman’s suit, and you get an all around 1 of 1 great artist.

Overall; Thank goodness for this team and not having me read another bad one-shot ,as this series was seeming to go off the cliff. A really solid story with really stunning artwork. A great one-shot that interests me in both creators and makes me want to check out more of their individual works. Hell I hope these two work together again, cause if I see their names together, I’ll buy it!

[Dakota Morgan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Catwoman has a million little heist stories and here's another, but G. Willow Wilson's One Bad Day rendition is nonetheless very fun, smart, and surprisingly unique. It's always a hoot to see the hero one-upped by a grannie. Jamie McKelvie's clean artwork looks great.

Also: I'm not sure this tale meets the "everyone is just one bad day away from madness" concept from The Killing Joke. Honestly, I'd say this is a good day by Catwoman standards. A much sweeter story than I expected, very much in the vein of Tom King's "the Cat and the Bat."

[Edward Covington · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.75 ⭐️ I wanted to like this more, I really did. I know the OBD stories are meant to be circular, ultimately ending where they began, but most have informed the character in some important way. This one just felt like spinning wheels. I MO a lot of predictable, on the nose storytelling all for a not very interesting Catwoman escapade. The art was good and the initial heist sequence was well done, but overall I would rank this on the low end of the OBD stories…unfortunately.

[Kieran McAndrew · Rating 5 out of 5]

Batman - One Bad Day: Catwoman

What starts out as a simple heist throws Selina Kyle for a loop when the brooch she was at such pains to steal is not everything it appears to be.

The character design for Salina is graceful and flawless. There is a softer touch on the Batman design to make the scenes between the two characters a bit more romantic. A fun romp of a story.

[Sid · Rating 4 out of 5]

bruce has no business being this funny. i get it selina, i really really get it.

[Alex Sarll]

Obviously my baseline interest in a series of 80-page giants addressing the backgrounds and motivations of Batman's villains is nil, especially when they're so doggedly taking on the usual suspects – do Egghead, Maxie Zeus and Condiment King and it might be a different story. Set against which, this is the first comic with full McKelvie interiors since...surely not WicDiv, is it, but damned if I can think of any others. Hell, he even does the colours too, which are fine in a modern film sort of way, though do make me realise how much Wilson contributed to making their collaborations pop. Nor is the writer any disincentive – G Willow Wilson, most famous for co-creating Ms Marvel, but with plenty of other good work under her belt. Obviously there's still a limit to how much anyone, however talented, can now find to say about a character who's already been so exhaustively explored as to have become nearly as dull as her inamorato-cum-foe: poor background, balance of flash and stealth in costumed crime, capitalism bad even when the hero is a billionaire – you know the drill. But we do get to see McKelvie draw an elegant rogue and an awful lot of cats, and considered as a twisty heist narrative rather than any kind of grand statement on the character, the story ends up reasonably fun too. Hopefully next time they'll do someone with a bit more mileage, like Zelda the Great.

[Ehsan'Shokraie' · Rating 3 out of 5]

Catwoman the ultimate partner To Batman is essentialy a rebelious character,despite comin out of diffrent roots than the bilionnaire Bruce Wayne on a cold cynical misson sacrificing himsrlf to become the ultimate Dark Knight ,Selina kyle however lived a harsh impoverished life in which she eventualy decides to defect,to defy to start anew as Catwoman,who unlike Batman lives life to its fullest,whilst the Batmask denounces Bruce Wayne,as Batman  becomes the real identity and Wayne the mere mask,the Cat mask only promotes the wearer to be more herself..as the year goes by it seems the Batman and the Catwoman startin their journeys on opposite poles,are on their way of reachings to an equilibrium through the love and the attraction they bore to eachother..

Catwoman makes him More Human..more alive

[Adriana · Rating 5 out of 5]

It could partly be that I love the Batman/Catwoman relationship, but this is one of the best One Bad Day issues. Not only is the story original and interesting, but it's also full of great moments of character development that give Catwoman and Selina Kyle great depth. It has moments that made me laugh and think and some super fun Batman banter. It really is a great little issue.
The art is good, nothing spectacular or really eye-catching but solid and a good fit to the story.

Very happy thanks to NetGalley and DC Comics for the great read!

[Mohan Vemulapalli · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Batman - One Bad Day: Catwoman", also titled “No Small Scores”, is a near perfect tale of the felonious feline that suffers slightly from being shoehorned into a particular format but should still delight most readers. The fast pace, thought provoking dialogue and striking artwork of this book clearly set it apart from similar works.

G. Willow Wilson, as her work on Ms. Marvel” shows, is a writer well versed in creating complex, believable female protagonists. This is clearly evident in this book. Selina comes across as strong, intelligent and independent from the start and G. Willow Wilson ensures that her voice is heard throughout the book.

The strongest feature of this book is Selina’s internal dialogue as she plots and plans to steal a valuable brooch of historical importance that once belonged to her mother. Selina proves to be a complex and nuanced individual with deep intellectual capabilities and firm distaste for the abuse of power.

Throughout the book Selina’s story is strengthened and enhanced by Jaimie McKelvie’s thoughtful and nuanced artwork. He succeeds where many other artists have failed and portrays Selina as glamorous and sexy, without ever oversexualizing the character. More importantly, Jaimie McKelvie telegraphs Selina’s mental and emotional state directly through the artwork. This is particularly notable in one of the first panels where Selina seems to break the fourth wall and reach out directly to the reader with a single glance.

There are a few elements of this book concerning supporting characters that feel a little rough. First the villain introduced in this book has a lot of promise, especially since Selina cannot figure out if they should really be friends or foes. Sadly, though, The Forger just does not get enough airtime. The same could be said about Maggie, Selina’s sister, who is key to this story since Selina desperately seeks her approval and support.

The most unfortunate issue with supporting characters in this book is the portrayal of Batman / Bruce Wayne. As Bruce Wayne he comes across as a generic Ken doll of a boyfriend. As Batman, he exhibits more personality but also seems more like a besotted suitor than a tortured crimefighter and there is little of the tension, sexual or otherwise, that one would expect in a Bat- Cat relationship. The bit where he “batsplains” crime to Selina is also out of place and drags the story down a bit.

However, the biggest problem with this book is that it does not fit well into the “Batman - One Bad Day” series, which is based on the original “One Bad Day” one-shot. That story told the origin of the Joker, who was transformed after one specifically horrible day from an average loser and loving husband to an insane and homicidal supervillain.

Yet, that sort of dramatic transition does not really work for Catwoman, who does not really have bad days as much as she has suddenly changing plans. In fact, this is really not a “bad day” story as much as it is a “nine lives” story. Sure Selina, has a bit of a dust up, but like any cat she lands on her feet, a little worse for wear, and then struts of stage with her tail held high.

As such, in addition to this book not really fitting into the series for which it was commissioned the ending feels more like a jumping off point than an actual ending. Perhaps, we readers will be lucky enough to see G. Willow Wilson and Jaimie McKelvie develop the storyline they have set out in this one-shot in a longer series That would surely be a run worth reading.

All in all, this book is a gem with a few flaws and rough edges. 4.5 stars rounded to 4.

Thanks to Net Galley and the publisher, DC Entertainment, which provided me with a eARC in exchange for my honest feedback.

[D. H. · Rating 4 out of 5]

You read a Batman Comic?
Yeah, I know I’m not a DC guy, but a Goodreads friend made it sound interesting, and it was written by G. Willow Wilson, who I’ve liked since Alif the Unseen.

So what did you think of the art?
It was glossy and soft, with sharp contrasts and dark shadows. It seemed just right for telling a story about Catwoman.

Well is she a good guy or a bad guy?
Yes. She’s presented in a favorable way, and I felt sympathy for her as she learned the lesson.

How was the storytelling?
Slick. Things are more than they seem, but then they’re kind of less than they seem too. Everyone remembers the MacGuffin differently. Some memories are better than others. And the story moves so smoothly and seamlessly, yet with subtlety.

What was the lesson?
Trying to address the perceived wrongs of the past may blind us to the good we can do in the future and the joy we can find in the present.

[RoseDevoursBooks · Rating 4 out of 5]

When Catwoman finds out a family heirloom that was pawned off during her childhood is being sold for way more than it used to be worth, she’s determined to steal it back. Batman tries to stop her before she goes too far, and when she’s faced with another master thief known as “The Forger” it seems she’s finally met her match…

This was a fun and quick read that left me satisfied but also wanting more. I enjoyed seeing a different side to Selina Kyle as details are given about her childhood and how her family struggled due to poverty. It was truly emotional and explains why she’s always been drawn to shiny things!

The artwork is major eye-candy galore and I kept taking my time to take in all the spectacular details. The anatomy was spot-on, line work and use of textures were nothing short of amazing. Jamie McKelvie is a very talented artist.

I’ll definitely be picking up the follow-up to this issue once it’s out! If you’re a fan of Catwoman and especially the Batman/Catwoman relationship - I highly suggest keeping this on your radar.

[Marius · Rating 4 out of 5]

Worth

Wilson yet again killing it with an amazing story. Everything you are looking for in a Catwoman story is here: cool action scenes, Bat/Cat moments, philosophical self reflection and fancy graphics. A new enemy is introduced - the Forger, who teaches Selina a lesson in "not everything is the way it looks". The whole issue discusses the question of worth. What's the worth of an item as well as a person? Who defines it? How can it change over time? Extremely well made narration which is much easier to follow than in other comics (I'm looking at you "Batman: Damned"). The art is very clear and straight forward. Definitely reminds me of the current Catwoman series. All in all a very pleasant reading experience which isn't as innovative and shocking to me as "One Bad Day: Riddler" has been. 4/5

[Stacy (Gotham City Librarian) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Honestly, I had no problems with this one! The art was great, the story was fun, and the characters were well written. Loved the Bat Cat chemistry. Not really sure if Selina belongs in the lineup for this “One Bad Day” theme though, as I’ve never thought of her as a full on villain. (And she doesn’t even do anything that bad in this story.) Perhaps an Ivy issue may have been a better fit? Regardless, I gave this a perfect score because I have no complaints!

1.) Bane
2.) Catwoman
3.) Mr. Freeze
4.) Clayface
5.) Two-Face
6.) Penguin
7.) The Riddler

Still trying to get my hands on the Ra’s Al Ghul issue.

[Adam Fisher · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 Stars.
This one was a little bit of a typical Catwoman thieving story, not as original as some of the other "One Bad Day" stories, but still good. It deals with a whole story around a broach that her Mom sold to make rent when Selina was younger. She gets it back and then there is a back and forth with whether or not it is real or fake....
Overall, this story just made me miss Bruce and Selina being together. I hope that gets resolved soon. They both deserve the happiness each other gives.
Recommend.