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Catwoman: One-Shots
Catwoman: Defiant
Since Catwoman made her debut in Batman #1, in 1940, she has become one of comics' most popular villains. CATWOMAN: DEFIANT is the first graphic novel to feature her.
48 pages, Paperback
First published March 3, 1992
128 people want to read
About the author
Peter Milligan
1,301 books391 followersLibrarian note:
There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name
Peter Milligan is a British writer, best known for his work on X-Force / X-Statix, the X-Men, & the Vertigo series Human Target. He is also a scriptwriter.
He has been writing comics for some time and he has somewhat of a reputation for writing material that is highly outlandish, bizarre and/or absurd.
His highest profile projects to date include a run on X-Men, and his X-Force revamp that relaunched as X-Statix.
Many of Milligan's best works have been from DC Vertigo. These include: The Extremist (4 issues with artist Ted McKeever) The Minx (8 issues with artist Sean Phillips) Face (Prestige one-shot with artist Duncan Fegredo) The Eaters (Prestige one-shot with artist Dean Ormston) Vertigo Pop London (4 issues with artist Philip Bond) Enigma (8 issues with artist Duncan Fegredo) and Girl (3 issues with artist Duncan Fegredo).
Series:
* Human Target
* Greek Street
* X-Force / X-Statix
There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name
Peter Milligan is a British writer, best known for his work on X-Force / X-Statix, the X-Men, & the Vertigo series Human Target. He is also a scriptwriter.
He has been writing comics for some time and he has somewhat of a reputation for writing material that is highly outlandish, bizarre and/or absurd.
His highest profile projects to date include a run on X-Men, and his X-Force revamp that relaunched as X-Statix.
Many of Milligan's best works have been from DC Vertigo. These include: The Extremist (4 issues with artist Ted McKeever) The Minx (8 issues with artist Sean Phillips) Face (Prestige one-shot with artist Duncan Fegredo) The Eaters (Prestige one-shot with artist Dean Ormston) Vertigo Pop London (4 issues with artist Philip Bond) Enigma (8 issues with artist Duncan Fegredo) and Girl (3 issues with artist Duncan Fegredo).
Series:
* Human Target
* Greek Street
* X-Force / X-Statix
Ratings & Reviews
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 33 reviews
October 17, 2024
The first Catwoman graphic novel is a not good.
Selena's face on the cover is terrifying. But the whole comic she's seen as a sex object - beautiful. That gets the irr of a new super villain called Mr Handsome... basically a jealous Snow White queen. Batman recruits her to track the villain down. Pretty simple story with some fun twists and turns near the end.
The endless panels of Catwoman's butt was too obnoxious.
Selena's face on the cover is terrifying. But the whole comic she's seen as a sex object - beautiful. That gets the irr of a new super villain called Mr Handsome... basically a jealous Snow White queen. Batman recruits her to track the villain down. Pretty simple story with some fun twists and turns near the end.
The endless panels of Catwoman's butt was too obnoxious.
April 29, 2021
Catwoman: Defiant is a one-shot story published by DC Comics in 1992. Written by Peter Milligan and illustrated by Tom Grindberg, it focuses on the Catwoman and her interactions with Mr. Handsome and his gang, who is out to get her and then destroy her.
Selina Kyle as Catwoman, Batman's sometimes foe, sometimes friend, is being pursued by hoods working for a demented Gotham gangster named Mr. Handsome. Handsome likes to collect beautiful things and then destroy them. Batman persuades Catwoman to help him stage a trap, but things go awry when Catwoman is captured as one of the beautiful things that Handsome likes to collect and eventually destroy.
Peter Milligan penned the entire trade paperback. For the most part, it is written moderately well. Milligan pens a nice, well-paced little action-thriller, which has Batman more of a cameo in the narrative, which makes this graphic novel a Catwoman story. Milligan scripts well, mixing humor, mood, action, and even some deeper emotion, but with an unmemorable storyline with a greater unmemorable villain.
Tom Grindberg penciled the entire trade paperback. Since he was the only penciler, the artistic flow of the trade paperback flowed exceptionally well. For the most part, Grindberg's penciling is serviceable, a tad dated, but considering when it was published – understandable.
All in all, Catwoman: Defiant is a mediocre story centering on Catwoman in a very nineties entry of the depiction of the character.
Selina Kyle as Catwoman, Batman's sometimes foe, sometimes friend, is being pursued by hoods working for a demented Gotham gangster named Mr. Handsome. Handsome likes to collect beautiful things and then destroy them. Batman persuades Catwoman to help him stage a trap, but things go awry when Catwoman is captured as one of the beautiful things that Handsome likes to collect and eventually destroy.
Peter Milligan penned the entire trade paperback. For the most part, it is written moderately well. Milligan pens a nice, well-paced little action-thriller, which has Batman more of a cameo in the narrative, which makes this graphic novel a Catwoman story. Milligan scripts well, mixing humor, mood, action, and even some deeper emotion, but with an unmemorable storyline with a greater unmemorable villain.
Tom Grindberg penciled the entire trade paperback. Since he was the only penciler, the artistic flow of the trade paperback flowed exceptionally well. For the most part, Grindberg's penciling is serviceable, a tad dated, but considering when it was published – understandable.
All in all, Catwoman: Defiant is a mediocre story centering on Catwoman in a very nineties entry of the depiction of the character.
November 6, 2025
2/10
& that's for Dick Giordano's inking that tried to save the ugly penciling.
But the writing? No chance of saving that!
& that's for Dick Giordano's inking that tried to save the ugly penciling.
But the writing? No chance of saving that!
March 22, 2019
Apparently this short tale is the first original graphic novel featuring Catwoman.
The art work is very interesting and the story is well written.
A very enjoyable novella...
The art work is very interesting and the story is well written.
A very enjoyable novella...
January 10, 2021
whenever men try to tell a story about beauty standards and the pressure women go through to always be perfect, young and beautiful... it never sticks the landing.
these stories almost always end up feeling fake-deep or just unauthentic, they don’t understand the complexities and all the factors involved in this phenomenon.
my recommendation is to leave these stories to women, we know better.
these stories almost always end up feeling fake-deep or just unauthentic, they don’t understand the complexities and all the factors involved in this phenomenon.
my recommendation is to leave these stories to women, we know better.
November 22, 2015
Mister Handsome wants all the beautiful things in the world to destroy them and he set his sights on Catwoman.
With the help of that rodent Batman, can they both escape Mister H's clutches?
Meh, Im glad this only cost me fifty cents. It's not worth much more than that.
With the help of that rodent Batman, can they both escape Mister H's clutches?
Meh, Im glad this only cost me fifty cents. It's not worth much more than that.
April 6, 2009
Catwoman and Batman team up in this rather bad excuse for a romp into a grisly mystery. Ah, well. It's rather delicious all the same.
May 24, 2018
Edición española en el formato denominado pretige.
February 12, 2019
Me encantan los cómics cuando son sencillos y sobre exagerados, cuando los personajes icónicos son forzados a aparecer con las frases más domingueras y telenovelascas posibles. Un giro de tuerca que parece muy superficial sin embargo hay un tema potente en este cómic, la belleza y lo que perdura en el tiempo. Porque los cómics no son historias para siempre, son necesarias una vez y se guardan para cuando se necesita. Un tema un cómic una reflexión.
La vida y la belleza no son para siempre pero no los gasta el tiempo.
La vida y la belleza no son para siempre pero no los gasta el tiempo.
August 31, 2021
An odd curio in Catwoman's comics history. For a supposed first graphic novel for the character (something that should feel significant!), it reads like something that was churned out in an afternoon or two; not terrible, but just mediocre all the way through. Great for fans, worth missing otherwise.
March 13, 2022
2.5 stars
Decent quick read while you're waiting for your pizza order to arrive. The story had some promise but ultimately fell flat, while the art is ok but rather bland - neither of these two areas is memorable in any way, making this book just a time filler until something more meaningful is happening in your day.
Decent quick read while you're waiting for your pizza order to arrive. The story had some promise but ultimately fell flat, while the art is ok but rather bland - neither of these two areas is memorable in any way, making this book just a time filler until something more meaningful is happening in your day.
April 21, 2022
I find the cover of this comic so unappealing. The contents are enjoyable though. I like that it starts as a Catwoman/Batman teamup, but it doesn't take her long to ignore his plan & do her own thing, lol. Some interesting themes here, & I'm a sucker for a deep pit with a monster at the bottom of it. It's a nice candidate for someone to adapt & tighten up the story.
January 12, 2019
This is Catwoman's first graphic novel. The main antagonist's name is Mr. Handsome and he kidnapped Catwoman because he wants to destroy beautiful things. Yup, this sounds like it was going to be a trainwreck but, oddly enough, it wasn't that bad. I enjoyed Grindberg's art as well.
August 19, 2025
Peter Milligan continues to reinforce my opinion that he is not a very good writer. Mister Handsome is a mobster who likes to collect beautiful things and then destroy them. He sets his sights on Catwoman. Blah blah blah. This stinks.
October 31, 2020
(3.5)! batman is so annoying tbh i’m only reading for selina kyle
January 22, 2021
A quick but entertaining read. The surprise ending is a little hokey, but whatta ya gonna do?
September 12, 2021
This was actually a fun quick read when I wasn't expecting much at all!
May 10, 2022
Not too shabby. I feel like DC never properly capitalized on Michelle Pfeiffer’s Catwoman. This is pretty close, only sans the white stitches that add a whole lot aesthetically and metaphorically.
August 16, 2025
Öncelikle kapak bok gibi,
Sonralıkla bunu okuyacağıma gider şerefimle hentai okurum
Sonralıkla bunu okuyacağıma gider şerefimle hentai okurum
June 28, 2024
This is a Catwoman graphic novel from 1992, and I've had my copy since the 90s as well. It's very short for a graphic novel and I think it would probably just be considered a "one shot" issue, were it to be published today.
It was apparently the first graphic novel to focus on Catwoman as the lead character and would have come out prior to her ongoing solo monthly series in 1993. I've kept this in my collection mainly because I love Catwoman, but . . . to be honest, Catwoman: Defiant just isn't my cup of tea.
I love most Catwoman stories. I love her character. But this hits on some tired tropes that frequently get trotted out for female characters. I can't get into it too much without giving total spoilers. But suffice to say, the villain is trite, the story is very thin and doesn't make a lot of sense (and there's a random monster that doesn't need to be there and is never given a satisfying explanation.)
Oh, and Batman comes across as a real stuck-up jerk.
Also, on the more nit-picky side of things, I'm not a fan of this iteration of her costume, and the cover is just plain ugly.
It was apparently the first graphic novel to focus on Catwoman as the lead character and would have come out prior to her ongoing solo monthly series in 1993. I've kept this in my collection mainly because I love Catwoman, but . . . to be honest, Catwoman: Defiant just isn't my cup of tea.
I love most Catwoman stories. I love her character. But this hits on some tired tropes that frequently get trotted out for female characters. I can't get into it too much without giving total spoilers. But suffice to say, the villain is trite, the story is very thin and doesn't make a lot of sense (and there's a random monster that doesn't need to be there and is never given a satisfying explanation.)
Oh, and Batman comes across as a real stuck-up jerk.
Also, on the more nit-picky side of things, I'm not a fan of this iteration of her costume, and the cover is just plain ugly.
February 16, 2016
I very recently acquired this at a used book store for fairly cheap. I am not a fan of the gray suit but considering this is touted as being Catwoman's first graphic, I couldn't not bring it home with me.
The artwork is less than stellar in my opinion. Granted, it is pretty much what I expected from a 90s comic but it isn't so much the art, but the design of things that I wasn't cray about. As I previously stated, the gray suit isn't my favorite version of the feline fatale, but it is more than that in this book. Tom Grindberg's "sleek" version of Selina just looks bad. She is much too skinny and bland.
Peter Milligan's story was as expected as well. Short, slightly cliche and had a storyline involving Batman. It wasn't a bad little story, but not terribly interesting. Slight twist ending, perhaps but nothing so great that it makes this a must read.
It was worth the $2 I spent on it, but I can see how even that much might seem steep to non-hardcore fans of Selina.
The artwork is less than stellar in my opinion. Granted, it is pretty much what I expected from a 90s comic but it isn't so much the art, but the design of things that I wasn't cray about. As I previously stated, the gray suit isn't my favorite version of the feline fatale, but it is more than that in this book. Tom Grindberg's "sleek" version of Selina just looks bad. She is much too skinny and bland.
Peter Milligan's story was as expected as well. Short, slightly cliche and had a storyline involving Batman. It wasn't a bad little story, but not terribly interesting. Slight twist ending, perhaps but nothing so great that it makes this a must read.
It was worth the $2 I spent on it, but I can see how even that much might seem steep to non-hardcore fans of Selina.
September 12, 2010
Otra obra de Milligan que no le llega ni a los tobillos a sus guiones más inspirados pero tampoco es tan horrible que digamos. El guión no es malo de por sí, a lo sumo un poco cliché y con pocas sorpresas, pero el dibujante es tan pero tan malo que lo vuelve apenas legible. Uno de los temas centrales de la obra es "la belleza", que en el dibujo no se ve por ninguna parte. Parece dibujado a las apuradas, sin ganas y hasta con cierto desprecio contra la protagonista y el género femenino en general. Un detalle menor pero bastante perturbador es la posición de la cola del traje de Catwoman y los insólitos lugares de donde parece partir. En otras palabras, en algunos dibujos parece que la estuviera cagando.
Pensaba subir la edición en castellano de Zinco, que es la que tengo, pero ni sé si vale la pena para un comic tan prescindible. Si encuentro la tapa en buena calidad quizás lo haga.
Pensaba subir la edición en castellano de Zinco, que es la que tengo, pero ni sé si vale la pena para un comic tan prescindible. Si encuentro la tapa en buena calidad quizás lo haga.
December 23, 2015
I really prefer Milligan's work when he lets himself go and really goes all in (think Shade, the Changing Man which was ridiculous and brilliant all in one go), and as I've been reading through all the titles in this Pre-52 Timeline (http://ultimatebatmancomicswebsite.we...) I've been seeing a lot of the same tropes and bits and set pieces of Batman repeated over and over. Taken spread out over the years it's probably less noticeable but after a while it starts to get a bit tiresome and repetitive. Catwoman's adventures are much more interesting when they're not as involved with Batman as this one is. It's clear that male artists enjoy slobbering over every curve of the Catwoman costume which is part of her whole sex appeal schtick, but the chemistry between her and The Bat just isn't very sizzly in this title.
August 12, 2011
Catwoman: Defiant by Peter Milligan uses Batman’s sometimes companion sometimes enemy Catwoman to explore idea of beauty.
Catwoman and Batman become entangled with a criminal called Mr. Handsome. Mr. Handsome makes his henchmen wear masks of handsome men to disguise their identities and keeps them so frightened of giving Mr. Handsome up that they would rather kill themselves or be tortured than reveal any information to the heroes.
When Catwoman finally does begin to make headway on the case, she is confronted with a twist on beauty that neither she nor the reader expects.
Batman remains a minor character in this story. Catwoman is definitely the star of the show, and she manages to one up him in the cute ending.
Catwoman and Batman become entangled with a criminal called Mr. Handsome. Mr. Handsome makes his henchmen wear masks of handsome men to disguise their identities and keeps them so frightened of giving Mr. Handsome up that they would rather kill themselves or be tortured than reveal any information to the heroes.
When Catwoman finally does begin to make headway on the case, she is confronted with a twist on beauty that neither she nor the reader expects.
Batman remains a minor character in this story. Catwoman is definitely the star of the show, and she manages to one up him in the cute ending.
April 15, 2015
Mr Handsome is collecting all things beautiful, and Batman uses Catwoman as bait. Things go wrong and Catwoman has to survive without any help from Batman. This is actually a decent story, with good artwork. Just ignore the terrible cover. The twist is clever, and the characterisations are good. A good read.
Read
August 15, 2007Although the dialogue is cliche and the story not as compelling as it could be, (they can't all be Frank Miller) it's still a fun, quick read for the Batman fanatic. And Catwoman looks great in all her slinking glory.
August 3, 2011
Just as good as Penguin Triumphant - the art is in a kind of scruffy grown-up style which suits it well, the story is fairly tense throughout, amusing in places with an amusing ending after a slightly peculiar twist. A 'traditional' kind of Catwoman story.
February 22, 2013
Not a bad little done in one story about Catwoman as she takes on a job that may be more trouble than it's worth, has to deal with a villain worse than her and has to dodge Batman.
July 18, 2016
Very short but good. I still am not sure how I feel about Catwoman but I am glad to learn a little more about her. I didn't know she wasn't one for killing before I read this.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 33 reviews