Batman/Catwoman

Batman/Catwoman #1-12, Special

by Tom King, Clay Mann (Illustrator), Liam Sharp (Illustrator)

The Bat and the Cat’s past, present, and future collide in a thrilling and romantic epic from the superstar team of writer Tom King and artist Clay Mann!

Tom King returns to the rocky, romantic saga of Batman and Catwoman with his frequent collaborator, superstar artist Clay Mann!

Echoing plot points from King’s epic Batman run, this sweeping tale is told across three timelines: the past, when the Bat and the Cat first fell in love; the present, where their union is threatened by one of Batman’s lost loves; and the future, where the couple have a happy life and legacy—including their daughter Helena, the Batwoman.

As the story begins, after a long marriage, Bruce Wayne passes away—which frees Selina Kyle to settle an old score. At every stage of their relationship, Bruce and Selina have an unwelcome chaperone: The Joker! Oh, and that lost love of Bruce’s? It’s Andrea Beaumont, a.k.a. Phantasm. Just thought you’d want to know.

This volume collects the entire series, including Batman/Catwoman #1-12 and the Batman/Catwoman Special.

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

272 pages, Hardcover

First published December 20, 2022

Reviews

[Anne · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm torn.
This is an epic start-to-finish story about these characters.
On one hand, I do like the whole Bat/Cat thing. On the other hand, I think it's never a good idea to show the end/death/etc of characters like this.
It's Batman. It's Catwoman. I don't want or need to know how their lives end because they are fictional characters who will outlive me.
But Tom King is gonna be Tom King, so whatever.



Also, this is a Catwoman book and you should know that before you pick it up as a Batman fan. <--I'm not saying you can't be a fan of both, but this is entirely told from Selina's point of view about Selina's life with Bruce. Buyer Beware.



Question: Did you hate King's Batman & Catwoman romance?
Then boy oh boy are you going to hate this.
Although one look at the title and the cover should be enough to let anyone know what they're getting, so I'm not sure that's even a warning I should worry about.



The Joker plays a big role in this and (once again) I'm seriously torn.
On one hand, I find it incredibly fitting that Selina just slits his throat and is done with it. That. is. hilarious. But also fitting that Selina is morally ambiguous enough to deal with him.
On the other hand, I could not for the life of me understand why she was friends with him when he kept killing people. Not just a work friend, either. Like, they're hanging out and painting each other's toenails.
There's a whole Mask of the Phantasm thing that I sorta liked and sorta hated - mostly because it didn't make sense. Because what it all boiled down to was that it was ok with her that he was killing families, but not ok if he was only pretending to be insane. What?!



I loved Selina & Bruce. They were adorable. Your personal mileage will vary but (again) not sure why you're reading this if you didn't want the Bat/Cat nonsense.
I also loved Helena and Dick when they were older. I wish Babs & some of the other boys were featured, but I didn't write the book. So.
I thought the mother-daughter stuff between Selina and Helena was also sweet and funny.
Though, it seemed weird that Helena turned her in for Joker's murder in the beginning. Why would you do that? Who turns their mom in for murdering a psychotic killer?
Nobody. Not even Batman's daughter.



I don't know. There were a lot of fun moments but ultimately this one is not going into my collection. It's too much. Too definitive.
It almost seems as though King wanted to write a death scene for everyone important in the Batman universe. He got Alfred in the main storyline and in this one he got Batman, Catwoman, & Joker. Well, done, you.
Normally for me, Tom King is either a love-it-or-hate-it writer.
This time I loved it and I hated it.



The art? I loved Clay Mann's stuff a lot and loved Liam Sharp's a lot less.
Again...torn.

[A.J. · Rating 1 out of 5]

”I fight my whole life since my stupid parents and that stupid gun and those stupid pearls flew everywhere. I try to do good. And what happens? Is there any good in any of it?”

“All right. Come with me.”

“I don't need cheering up. I'm Batman. Vengeance is the night. I'm fine.”

I actually cannot believe that is a real exchange Batman has with Catwoman in this book. Holy shit. And no, I did not change any of it, the dialogue is actually THAT bad throughout this whole book...

Batman/Catwoman finishes off Tom King’s ~epic~ Batman run, as he teams with Clay Mann & Liam Sharp for a crime story following three separate timelines. There's the past, when the Bat and Cat first fell in love. There's the distant future, where after a long and happy marriage together, Bruce Wayne has passed and Selina Kyle decides to settle an old score without having to worry about Batman objecting to Catwoman getting some much-needed revenge. And there’s the present, where Bruce and Selina's union is threatened by the arrival of one of Batman's past flings, Andrea Beaumont, the Phantasm. So how does Tom King close out his subpar Batman run? Well, with a pretty nonsensical story filled with horrendous dialogue. Oh fuck yeah baby!!!

Tom King clearly sees him and his wife as Bat & Cat in some weird way, and all I gotta say is maybe try going to some couples therapy bro. Jesus Christ. If I’m being completely honest, I thought one of the twists of this book was going to be that Catwoman was fucking the Joker behind Batman’s back like some shitty porno, but thankfully it’s not that bad. Actually, on second thought, Joker cucking Batman is rife with story potential, but this story sadly doesn’t use that gem of an idea, with Tom King instead just choosing to go off the fucking rails for 13 over-indulgent issues.

Oh yeah, and there’s also actually a wedding this time around! I was debating on marking this review with spoilers because of that, but it’s literally in the summary of the book and mentioned multiple times before it happens, so whatever. Even though I have my problems with this series, I will admit it was fucking amazing and easily the best part of this series to finally see Bruce and Selina tie the knot. Loved everything with that, and I was even one of those people who was pretty cynical about it when I saw this issue solicited. It was so fucking nice to finally see Bruce get that happy ending after all this time even if the wedding itself was a bit too short and could be a little goofy at times. It didn’t bother me too much, but it is a YMWV type of thing.

But was this wedding worth plowing through 12 fucking issues of meandering shit to get to that one good part of an otherwise dreadful issue? No, not really, especially when it should have just happened back in Batman #50, and not in the final issue of some out-of-continuity Black Label book that probably will never be referenced again by any other writer. I know, I’m as thrilled as the rest of you. I was never mad about the wedding stunt King pulled like some were, but after reading this, why not just do it then? I guess editorial, but I have no clue. I did like PARTS of the final issue, but there’s still a lot of weird shit in there that I don’t like at all.

I also did enjoy the Christmas special/tribute issue to John Paul Leon a great deal, especially since he’s one of my favorite artists (dude drew some of the best-looking issues of Static, haters be damned), but at the same time, Mitch Gerads should never be allowed to draw a child’s face again. Like, what the fuck was that bro? I also loved the three Liam Sharp fill-in issues, but I also unironically think Batman: Reptilian is the best Batman comic of the last decade, so maybe don’t take like any of my opinions too seriously.

Clay Mann’s art is fine at best (see, I told you not to take them seriously!), and I know people love it, but once my friend pointed out to me that all his characters have the EXACT same face, I haven’t been able to enjoy it in the same way I used to. And even though I loved the last issue, there was some weird shit from Mann in there. There was a certain splash page in that final issue that really puzzled me with just everything about it. Such a weird page, but the rest of the issue is drawn fine, especially the last splash page.

I have liked some of King’s one-shots & Black Label titles in the past, and all of his Batman Annuals were fantastic, so I decided to give this a chance based on my enjoyment of those, and I just really wish I hadn’t. It’s pretty funny that the first two King minis I decide to not trade wait are one of his best runs ever in Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow, and one of his worst runs ever in this abysmal shit.

I would recommend this book to those who liked King’s run or really want to see Bruce get that happy ending, but everyone else should probably just avoid this one. It’s just not all that great saying it’s 12 issues of buildup for a wedding with maybe 6 pages dedicated to it at the end, most of which are pretty goofy. As I said before, it doesn't bother me, but I doubt everyone will feel the same way, especially after waiting so long for it. That final issue does have a few great moments, but it wasn’t worth sitting through this entire series for.

I also technically read this thing twice, since I read the singles as they came out and reread them all together just now, which is a bit tragic. If you are gonna read this, just read the wedding parts of the final issue, as I think they are great but I can’t say I’d recommend anything else regarding this book. Maybe flip through the art? I enjoyed some of Mann's work, and Sharp's guest issues are fun.

I’m debating giving this two stars, but I think I’ll keep it at 1 just because most of this book is such a fucking mess, even if there are some individual parts I liked here and there. I loved the art, for the most part, some future sequences had their moments, and the wedding itself was incredible and made me happy, but everything else about this book was such a fucking drag.

I’m glad Tom King & his fans finally got a non-rushed conclusion for his Batman run, but I would never recommend this to any casual Batman fan, let alone someone who didn’t even enjoy King’s time on the main Bat book in the first place. This is probably my least favorite Batman title from Black Label so far, even more so than Three Jokers and Damned (which are both horrendous so that’s saying alot!!), but it just wasn’t ever for me. But hey, maybe you’ll like it more than I did!

[Sam Quixote · Rating 2 out of 5]

Batman/Catwoman is the coda to Tom King’s Batman run - or, perhaps more accurately, a lengthy and increasingly dull victory lap that amounts to 12 issues (13, if we count the bumper special) of back-patting!

There are two overlapping storylines: in the present, Phantasm is hunting Joker and Bat and Cat are involved; in the future, Bruce is recently deceased so Selina decides to do what always needed to be done and kill Joker, much to the dismay of her daughter, Helena, aka the new Batman of Gotham, who takes it upon herself to bring Joker’s killer to justice.

I really enjoyed King’s Batman run so I wanted to like Batman/Catwoman but there’s so little to it. Honestly, I’d so often put down an issue and wonder, so what happened in that issue again? Oh right - NOTHING.

I’ll say SPOILERS at this point as I do mention some things that some readers might prefer to be left as surprises when/if they read this one, though there isn’t really a story to spoil. And if you’re going ahead with this one, while I’m not recommending it, I’d say to keep those expectations really, really low going in - it’s not great, unfortunately.

King brings Phantasm/Andrea Beaumont into the DC main comics universe - she was the other villain in the 1993 Batman: The Animated Series movie, Mask of the Phantasm. It’s an unusual and unexpected choice but not an inspired one either. She kills a bunch of Joker henchmen - nothing too exciting to really warrant her significance in the story.

One of the bugbears of King’s critics is his overuse of songs/poems in his comics and that cliche is in full effect here with each issue opening, and often closing, with the lyrics to various Christmas carols. It never really bothered me before but I’m beginning to see why it’s annoying after this book. It’s too much.

I’m struggling to remember what actually happened. Bat and Cat talk a bunch, Cat and Joker talk a bunch, Cat and Helena talk a bunch. It’s definitely more of a Catwoman book than a Batman one, though I’m not sure what we’re meant to be taking away from it all. Selina had a tough life and she’s a tough, complicated lady. Or something? 13 issues, guys.

I really don’t get this “Black Label” label. I thought it meant “grown-up” so the comics would print swears and show violence and bewbs and such, like in the Vertigo days. But despite being “Black Label” all the swears are blanked out, so that’s a pointless label to have!

Of course there’s some decent stuff to be had here. Clay Mann’s art is superb as always and the scenes early on between Selina and Joker, particularly the pages leading up to Joker’s murder, are genuinely chilling. It’s a shame Mann doesn’t draw all 12 issues - Liam Sharp takes over 3 issues in the middle and the comparison is not flattering. Sharp’s art becomes quite Sienkiewicz-ian at times, particularly when he draws Joker, and I’m not a fan of that style.

It was interesting to see future Gotham with Helena and Dick succeeding Bruce and Gordon. Joker’s death is a good scene, and there’s the famous wedding that was teased in King’s run but got faked-out - we finally get that for realsies, for whatever that’s worth, assuming anyone cares at this point.

I think that’s it - painfully little that’s worth noting.

If you’re a fan of King’s Batman run like me then you’ll read this one anyway, but don’t expect the same highs achieved in that series with this book. Batman/Catwoman is a disappointingly unimpressive way to close out an otherwise remarkable run on Batman.

[Khurram · Rating 5 out of 5]

I waited a year for this book to come out. The book did not disappoint, but it was slightly different from what I was expecting but definitely good. I would have given this 4.5 stars as I had a couple of complaints but it does deserve a round-up instead of down. Great story and artwork.

The complaints I had are:

This is more of Catwoman and Joker's story with Batman more as a side character.

The book is set in 3 time periods (as seems to be Tom King's style), which is a little confusing I am glad to have all the books collected together makes it easier to buy the monthly would have driven me mad.

The book is set in the far past, then in the near past (our present), and the future (the book's present). It is like reading 3 stories every issue/chapter.

The book is definitely from Catwoman's perspective. It does a great job of showing her developing relationships, and character. As I said Batman seems to be a side character and a couple of steps behind everyone else and gets beaten up a lot. It is the extra issues that add great details to Selina and Bruce's (Cat and Bat) relationship. It is a quite dark and bittersweet story/book. However definitely enjoyable.

This collected edition contains all 12 issues, Batman Annual #2, Detective Comics #1027, Catwoman 80th Anniversary 100 page Super Spectacular #1, and Batman/Catwoman Special #1. The book has a thumbnail regular and variant cover gallery of all 12 main issues than a full page variant of the rarer issues.

[Chad · Rating 3 out of 5]

I do have to say I expected more if this is what was supposed to have ended Tom King's 100 issue Batman run. This is really a Catwoman story that Batman appears in. Well, three of them actually. The story flicks back and forth between three stories, one in the past where Batman and Catwoman are falling in love and Selina is buddies with the Joker, one in the present where Phantasm from the animated series shows up and serves little purpose, the last in the future where Batman has died and Catwoman feels free to finally seek her revenge on someone. All three stories go through the Joker and are set at Christmas. For all of King's detractors, each issue begins and ends with a different Christmas carol. This is really bloated at 13 issues and could have easily been broken down to 6 (probably by just eliminating the Christmas carol lyric pages).

Clay Mann's art is excellent. I love his crisp clean lines. Unfortunately, Liam Sharpe draws three issues in the middle. He adopted a Bill Sienkiewicz look, especially for the Joker and it doesn't mesh with the Mann issues at all.

[Diz · Rating 4 out of 5]

This graphic novel explores the relationship between Batman and Catwoman from a future perspective. The story is told from Catwoman's perspective, so her motivations in the relationship become much clearer. The only downside for me were a few issues in the middle that have a very different art style, an art style that is confusing and messy. That section of the story is a bit too experimental so it is hard to follow the story. The other issues that make up this collection are great.

[Rod Brown · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tom King writes my favorite version of Catwoman and her relationship with Batman. I'll show up any time he puts the two together and be happy as hell. The Catwoman appearances during his run on Batman were my favorite parts of that series. And now he gets to pick up the threads of that aborted storyline with a Black Label sequel that seemingly goes into Elseworlds territory, but I'm going to personally consider canon.

The story jumps between three points in time. At some point in the past, Catwoman vexes Batman by hanging with the Joker. A few years down the road, in the present, Kyle vexes Wayne by getting involved in Phantasm's revenge spree against the Joker. In the far future, Selina vexes Bruce's daughter Helena by seeking her own long-overdue revenge on the Joker.

I'm not a fan of Phantasm, not the incarnation that appeared in the Batman animated series or the character's original inspiration, the Reaper, who appeared in Batman: Year Two. But really, Phantasm's machinations are just an excuse to have the Bat and the Cat get into some conflict and don't play that big a role in the overall story. Joker's presence looms larger, but he too is just a point of tension between the title characters.

The short stories that fill out the back third of this thick book wonderfully complement the main story.

My only complaint about the collection is that I wish they had included the title cards and credits that appeared in the original comics. I like the mood those pages set between chapters.


FOR REFERENCE:

Contents:

Bat & Cat

• Silent Night (Batman/Catwoman #1) / Tom King, writer; Clay Mann, artist
• Up on the Housetop (Batman/Catwoman #2) / Tom King, writer; Clay Mann, artist
• God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen (Batman/Catwoman #3) / Tom King, writer; Clay Mann, artist
• Hark! The Herald Angels Sing (Batman/Catwoman #4) / Tom King, writer; Clay Mann, artist
• Jingle Bells (Batman/Catwoman #5) / Tom King, writer; Clay Mann, artist
• Joy to the World (Batman/Catwoman #6) / Tom King, writer; Clay Mann, artist
• Oh Come, All Ye Faithful (Batman/Catwoman #7) / Tom King, writer; Liam Sharp, artist
• We Wish You a Merry Christmas (Batman/Catwoman #8) / Tom King, writer; Liam Sharp, artist
• O Little Town of Bethlehem (Batman/Catwoman #9) / Tom King, writer; Liam Sharp, artist
• I Saw Three Ships (Batman/Catwoman #10) / Tom King, writer; Clay Mann, artist
• It Came Upon a Midnight Clear (Batman/Catwoman #11) / Tom King, writer; Clay Mann, artist
• O Holy Night (Batman/Catwoman #12) / Tom King, writer; Clay Mann, artist

Tales from the World of Batman/Catwoman

• Some of These Days (Batman Annual #2) / Tom King, writer; Lee Weeks and Michael Lark, artists
• Legacy (Detective Comics #1027) / Tom King, writer; Walter Simonson, artist
• Helena (Catwoman 80th Anniversary 100-Page Super Spectacular #1) / Tom King, writer; Mikel Janin, artist
• Interlude (Batman/Catwoman Special) / Tom King, writer; John Paul Leon, Bernard Chang, Shawn Crystal, Mitch Gerads, artists
• Variant Cover/Design Gallery / Jim Lee, Scott Williams, Travis Charest, Bruce Timm, Jen Bartel, Gabriele Dell'Otto, Ryan M. Kincaid, John Giang, Ryan Brown, Francesco Mattina, Lucio Parrillo, Jeremy Roberts, Ejikure, Warren Louw, David Finch, Lee Weeks, Bill Sienkiewicz, and Clay Mann, artists

[seana · Rating 4 out of 5]

A bit confusing with its non-linear storytelling and jumping between three different timelines, but still wildly enjoyable, with breathtaking art. It would have been a five-star read for me if not for the very last issue, which was sorely disappointing and failed to tie everything together into a satisfactory and worthwhile conclusion.

As for the Bat boys, we saw an older Commissioner Dick, which was interesting, but I would have liked to see the others too. Instead, we only got vague references to them. Hilariously, the only reference to Jason involved a crowbar—poor guy can never catch a break.

3.75/5

[Blindzider · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's been quite a while since I've read King's Batman run (maybe months), although the only thing you really need to know from that is that Selina and Bruce decided to try really hard to make their romantic relationship work. This collection details some of the trials and tribulations by running through three stories in parallel, from their past, present and future. Like just about all of King's writing, I find it both brilliant and frustratingly oblique, flashes of stupendous character work crossed with nonsensical tangents that don't add to the story and seem to be only to scratch an itch that King has.

Mann's art is beautiful, albeit a little bit on the "T&A" side, which artists can't seem to resist when drawing Catwoman. Unfortunately, he doesn't draw the whole thing, maybe the first third. He's primarily replaced by Liam Sharpe, who is fine in his own right, but has a different and distinct style which doesn't really fit with the book, IMO.

I found the first third to be pretty good, with some adjustment to reading three stories at the same time. What I really liked is that it's about two damaged people trying hard to make something work. They have a way of talking to each other to point out each other's flaws while at the same time recognizing each other's best parts. It mirrors how a real relationship is fraught with both amazing high points as well as rocky low points.

The middle third is where I began to lose interest. Other characters were introduced that really don't add to the overall story. Certain conversations between characters were just repeated, over and over to where it just felt like filler. The last third brings it all together but was quick, like asking wedding guests to leave the party immediately after the toast is made.

It's a worthwhile visit to cap off his Batman run and a nice story for those who have always rooted for these two to get together and be happy.

[Alan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don't know if we'll ever know if it was King's decision or DC editorial to essentially end the romance and wedding (despite how well King was writing it). AT least they gave King 12 issues to tell his version of things.

Here we have a tale that goes back and forth. To say much more goes into huge spoiler territory, but there is an Easter Egg for longtime DC Comics readers.

[mila⁷ · Rating 5 out of 5]

[sniffles] [wipes tear] maaaaan I thoroughly enjoyed this. Batcat is one of the best pairings ever fuck the gossip like omg. Love love love when the man in the relationship is super whipped and pathetic for the girl like YES. MORE!!!

So many fun parts in this series I could write you a whole list but the one that made me smile the most was Clark's cameo🤫 He's just such a funny little guy.

Actually have some criticism despite the 5 star rating (didn't care for Phantasm and I was a bit confused by the non-linear narrative at the beginning) but i don't really give a fuck cause I still enjoyed this so much.

Tom King you get to live another day. I'm watching you tho.

[Mia · Rating 1 out of 5]

Tom King is guy that made BatCat anti, that wedding arc was just absolutely awful.

[Dakota Morgan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Batman/Catwoman is a big pile of leftovers for those seeking more of the BatCat relationship from Tom King's Batman run. Like leftovers, it's filling, but undercooked in areas. For example, the main thrust of the 12 (!!) issues is that Catwoman has a lingering friendship with Joker (uh, what?) and that she doesn't want to give the deets on Joker's lair to Batman because ( - stretch the imagination here - ) Catwoman refuses to be controlled by Batman, and Batman saying "please stop hanging out with a serial killer" is too controlling.

Did I get that right? Maybe. Batman/Catwoman has (at least) three concurrent narratives, so it's hard to know what's really going on. In one narrative, Andrea (the Phantasm! from Mask of the Phantasm!) is tracking down Joker and his goons because they killed her son. In another narrative, Catwoman and Joker are chillaxing and fighting, as they do. In another narrative, Old Woman Catwoman has tracked down Old Man Joker for one final confrontation.

Each narrative is engaging on its own (and I loved the Mask of the Phantasm easter eggs), but the three(ish) are jumbled together with no clear breaks. One narrative will take over from another on the same page without a change in artwork or character design. I think the idea is that one story is supposed to flow through all three narratives, but Tom King is definitely trying way too hard here.

That's kind of classic Tom King, though. He brings in the big idea, twists it in knots, and then writes the hell out of some dialogue. Top notch artists draw it all up and...sometimes it works in spades and sometimes it flops. Batman/Catwoman is mostly a flop. The top notch artwork is there (except when Clay Mann gives way to Liam Sharp's awful morass for a few issues) and the big idea is intriguing (you get to see the BatCat relationship through to its happy ending!), but the pieces simply don't come together neatly.

A recommended read for BatCat completionists or Tom King lovers, but any other Bat-Curious readers should avoid this one.

[Anna Quilter · Rating 4 out of 5]

Despite the Black Label imprint I'm going to take this as what happened to Batman/ Catwoman / Joker in their later years.

it's fine storytelling as you would come to expect from Tom King....despite the constant jumps in time/context in the first few issues .

enjoyed immensely.

[Arianna · Rating 1 out of 5]

Well, this is really bad.

When I read Tom King's Batman run, the only part I truly liked was the ending. The previous volumes of published fanfiction King was writing didn't do it for me, but I felt the pessimistic ending justified the nauseating prelude.

This volume deals with a widowed Selina, decades after her and Bruce have gotten married, as she proceeds to piss all over Bruce's grave. She apparently inherits all of his money, because a billionaire cutting all his children out of his inheritance is totaly normal. She is condescending to Dick and terrible towards her own daughter Helena - I wanted to slap her as she reminded me of some terrible authority figures I've had in the past. Then she goes and murders the Joker. The reason for her erratic behavior seems to be that once Bruce is dead she won't let him dictate what she can do. She's a wild cat, she doesn't need milk, but actually she's more than happy exploiting a man for his wealth for decades so she can ignore his most basic principles the second he's dead.

Selina has given up her whole personality to be the Bat bride - I mean, the defining moment of her own childhood was apparently staring lovingly at a Wayne family portrait and daydreaming about Bruce. Even as King turns her into someone who loves hanging out with murderers as long as she believes they're as CrAzY as her, she's been sanitized into a boring piece of cardboard. An avatar for Batman to use so he can prove he's capable of having emotions, while she uses him for his wealth. Their star-crossed romance is basically that they feel a lot of lust for each other, and they settle into some kind of married truce so they can have sex all the time without feeling guilty about it. How romantic.

Despite her insufferable personality, Catwoman is a genuine Mary Sue in this book, never making a single mistake in fighting prowess or scheming ability. This turns the only aspect that could have redeemed this story - an actually compelling plot that King is more than capable of writing - into an impossibility.

[OmniBen · Rating 2 out of 5]

(Zero spoiler review)
Batman Catwoman, or Bitch Man and C*ntwoman, as it should be known, is a character destroying pile of garbage I was unfortunate enough to borrow from the library and devote a small portion of my time to reading. Although I only devoted half the time I would have, as I gave up on this halfway through, consigning it to the library's return slot with all the ire I could muster.
I've never read any Tom King, although I'm well aware of his tropes and the criticisms continually thrown his way. Funnily enough, I actually borrowed his Supergirl: Women of Tomorrow book and started that first. A book I was very much enjoying, thinking that the criticisms thrown at him seemed somewhat unwarranted. That was of course, until I read this, and it all suddenly made sense.
So basically, Bruce Wayne is a pathetic, whiny cuck baby, and Selina Kyle is a mendacious, reprehensible cow. I really like Bruce Wayne, and I REALLY like Selina Kyle. And I really hate it when twerps like Tom King write them in such a disgusting way. The plot is all but irrelevant when you go about destroying such beloved characters like this. It really is a shame though, as Clay Mann's art is simply stunning, even if he drew the cat lady sans all those lovely curves. I'll give him the benefit of the doubt and speculate that DC forced that one on him.
At least I know that (despite the Supergirl outlier) I now do not read Tom King. Avoid at all costs, unless you like being made sad at once amazing characters being shat on. 2/5


OmniBen.

[mikey · Rating 1 out of 5]

truly awful. glad they finally got married tho !

[Samuel · Rating 2 out of 5]

Why must writers keep fucking up my girl Selina’s writing, man?😢 I mean, at least this wasn’t boring, but it’s like one step up from that.

The comic has three stories going on at three points in time - past, present, and future - but Tom King doesn’t let you ease into that switching, oh no. The first issue swaps between stories way, way too many times, even mid-page. If it was towards the climax of the book and I was more familiar with what was going on, then maybe it’d work, but nope, the first issue, straight out the gate. The switching eases up a little as the issues continue, but it’s still quite difficult to keep up with what’s going on sometimes, imo.

Then, during one of the stories, for like half the book, King has Selina meeting up with Joker on the sly to hang out and be buds? Why tf would Selina want to hang out with Joker of all people😭 King tries to explain it in the story when Selina’s like ‘I thought he was crazy like me but he’s not’, but that just… doesn’t work. Even if Selina likes to steal shit and is a little morally ambiguous, no way in hell she’s being friends with Joker of all people - the mass murderer, the arch-nemesis of the man she’s fucking on for most of the book? Nah. I mean, at least it didn’t go in the direction of weird sexual cuck shit, I guess?

The dialogue was just fine for me. Definitely not King’s best work, but it wasn’t abysmal in my eyes. And the story had its moments once in a while kinda, but it didn’t hit high-highs at all.

The highlight is definitely the artwork. Clay Mann’s art looks wonderful, and Liam Sharp’s is aight too.

The assorted stories at the end were a bit of a mixed bag for me. I liked the beginning one, but some of the others were either a bit boring, or just didn’t add much in my opinion.

[Aaron · Rating 2 out of 5]

At the end of this volume, DC collects several one-shots and tie-in issues King wrote to supplement this series, and honestly, those are all incredible. I loved them. They're beautifully drawn, often haunting character studies, mostly of Catwoman but also of her relationship with Batman, and they have a throughline of hope and sadness that I really wished was the tone of the main series collected here. But, unfortunately, it wasn't, and by the time I reached these much better stories I was already fully over this book.

The main series here has a lot of the same problems as King's primary Batman run: it's overlong, disjointed, almost intentionally hard to follow, and repetitive as all hell. Add in the fact that one of the main plot points is about how Catwoman, who we are supposed to be rooting for, was at one point really good friends with the Joker despite the fact that he is a mass murderer, and you've got a book that starts off on the wrong foot and then exclusively keeps walking on it. It's all wrong feet.

I kept reading, assuming that things would start to even out or clarify, but they just never really do. The Catwoman/Joker friendship is clearly meant to be an inversion of the Batman/Joker archnemesis-ness or whatever, but it just reads as fake. I'd buy she's friends with just about anyone over Joker, and seeing those scenes kept taking me out of the narrative over and over again. I eventually became fully exhausted by this until it was fully over.

Can't believe how overrated I think this King run is. I was really hoping to be blown away, but I guess ya can't win 'em all.

[FrontalNerdaty · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tom King continues to be a writer that just understands certain characters and presents them in genuinely interesting ways. The stories here cross over different timelines, normally this doesn’t work too well but it’s handled here by King and Clay Mann in a way that’s an excellent read.
Catwoman is undoubtedly the star here but I suspect they added Batman’s name to get more people reading. Seeing her history with the Joker was really fresh and for the first time I felt I understood why she had a place in Batman’s rogues gallery.
Clay Mann’s art is great, if not a little overtly sexualised, but sadly when he’s off the title the decline is noticeable.

All in all a really good read.

4/5.

[Håvard · Rating 4 out of 5]

If I try to accept that the overly sexualized art style is kind of an inseparable part of the superhero comics genre, I can appreciate this as a stunning comic book. It truly is a marvel to look at. Story wise, I had higher expectations. The three parallel timelines get quite messy at times. It also attempts to handle some really dark stuff, but doesn't succeed. But Catwoman is a badass character, and she gets a lot of cool moments here. Cool comic, I guess, 3.5 stars.

[Tim Nash · Rating 5 out of 5]

The unofficial finale to King's Batman run. His end for the Batman.

King's tenure on Batman could be distilled to two things: His relationship with Bane, and his relationship with Catwoman.

City of Bane wrapped up the former, and could be seen to have wrapped up what he was doing with the Bat-Cat relationship. But here's where he really ties everything up with a neat bow.

This story is told in three time periods:
1. The past - sometime prior to his initial Batman run
2. The present - picking up right after City of Bane
3. The future - a good 30 years afterwards.

And for 12 issues, King flicks effortlessly between these three time periods. Honestly it's a masterclass in non-chronological storytelling. The reader never gets a little box telling you what period you're in, letting the art speak to this. Clay Mann designed three different looks for Selina so you'd always know what time period you're in, but the story will jump between these periods mid-dialogue, or action scene, to draw parallels or highlight the change in key characters and how they'd react to similar circumstances at different points in their journeys.

As mentioned, this book is about the relationship that Bruce and Selina had, have, and will have. But surprisingly, it's much more about Catwoman than it is Bruce. And even more unexpectedly, it's got a LOT to do with Catwoman's relationship with The Joker.

This book gives us a really interesting insight in to how Batman's rogues gallery interact with one another when they're not out causing headaches for the caped crusader, and it's really interesting seeing this community of villains engage with one another in the absence of the bat.

I get why this was moved to it's own mini, rather than keeping it as part of King's core Batman run. It's super character driven, and VERY Tom King in the best of ways, but it is 100% the true finale for his Batman run.

Massively recommend it.

[Marie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Entremêlant trois time line de Selina, "Batman/Catwoman" nous raconte avec passion le couple le plus iconique de DC (oui si vous pensez autrement vous avez tort), de sa genèse à son épilogue. Une aventure épique, romantique, émouvante.

[Rory Wilding · Rating 2 out of 5]

If you love Batman with a passion, you always wish for the best. With the countless new comics that DC publishes, not to mention a perpetually upcoming cinematic incarnation, the anticipation is always there. Sometimes the title/property just might live up to your expectations. But in other cases, the results can break the hearts of certain Bat-fans. The latter is why we are here today.

Please click here for my full review.

[Brandon Daniels · Rating 5 out of 5]

It’s been a few years since I read Tom King’s Batman run, and I cannot remember how it ended, but I’m quite certain that it did not provide as strong and definitive an ending as this does. It’s some of King’s best Batman work, and the art is stellar throughout. I do wish Clay Mann had been able to complete the entire main series without a fill in, but Liam Sharp provides an interesting stylistic shift.

[Andrew Shaffer]

If it’s Black Label why are the swears bleeped out. 😾

[Batgirl_ALT_21 · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a great Tom King compendium to be added to his brilliant rebirth run 😁👍.

We have two very in-depth plot arcs (although I guess you could also say there are three since we bounce around a lot throughout the book). One is centered on the present and the other in the future.


In our current arc, we begin with Andrea Beaumont, whose 14-year-old son, Andrew Beaumont, is missing. Andrea pays Bruce Wayne a visit as she happens to be both his first love and knows that he is Batman and would be willing to help her locate her son. Batman enlists Catwoman's help in locating Andrew, and their informational sources lead them to the Sewer King (who also helped provide shelter to Selina when she was a young girl). After a brief fight, Catwoman and Batman escape and go their separate ways to gather further leads. Meanwhile, Joker's past henchmen are suddenly being slaughtered by the Angel of Death for their various past crimes. Batman's attention is diverted to locating the current murderer while Catwoman continues her search for Andrew. Selina locates a young man who used to be friends with Andrew and asks if he has seen him anywhere. The friend clarifies that he wants nothing to do with Andrew after he offered him a position to work for his dad.

Later that evening, Selina pays an elite bodyguard from the Bertinelli family a visit to steal his crowned jeweled tiger necklace. When she arrives, she finds the Joker waiting for her, and the man is now dead. Joker asks if Catwoman would be willing to complete a job for him on the rooftop, but she refuses and takes the necklace regardless. It is then revealed that the Joker is Andrew Beaumont's father. The next day, outside of a homeless tent village under Wayne Bridge, Catwoman & Batman discover the Joker's grinning body of Andrew. The piece continues to line up as the missing necklace plays a factor in the recent murder of the Bertinelli Bodyguard. Selina pays Joker a visit and throws the necklace at him with force, demanding that he leave it as a clue or else it will compromise her trust with Batman. Batman finds a safe belonging to Joker that appears to be uncrackable, and Catwoman arrives to open it. Batman is skeptical and asks if Selina knows where the Joker is, as he's aware that the two have been conversing lately. Catwoman erupts in anger and takes off in a rage that Batman would treat her like a common crook. Selina later gets drunk and tracks down the Joker. She has a lengthy conversation with him as they decorate the Christmas tree, and Selina recounts how all the cat ornaments were stolen. Somewhere in their conversation, Joker tells Catwoman that within 24 hours, he will blow up the ice rink. Selina, now faced with a predicament, is forced to tell Bruce the next day as they were both preparing to go to a Christmas party. Batman defuses the bomb, and all is safe.

Meanwhile, the body counts continue to rise as more Joker goons are killed. It is a quiet night inside Wayne Manor when the Angel of Death arrives to kill Selina in her sleep, but Selina stands her ground and fights off the phantasm, causing the two to fall outside of a three story building.

Selina later learns that the Angel of Death is Andrea Beaumont, and she essential kidnaps Catwoman forcing her watch as she tortures and kills yet another Joker henchman. The two spend some time together, and Catwoman sympathizes with the pain Andrea has endured. The two end up in an alley led by Catwoman luring Batman. Once there, Andrea purposes an exchange of Catwoman for the death of the Joker. Batman denies her request, and the two fight. Andrea managed to get away in the scuffle.

Eventually, after a series of events, Joker & The Angel of Death end up at one last past henchman's home on Christmas Eve. The family is held as hostages. The Angel of Death asks for the youngest son to approach her, and she asks him how old his brother would be. The father and mother retort that the boy would be 14. A sudden sinking hits Andrea filled with sorrow and remorse. The Joker then chimes in and begins strangling Andrea as he costumed headpiece falls to the ground. The Joker encourages the family to sing some carols while he takes out the masked vigilante of dark justice. Suddenly, Batman and Catwoman arrive at the house to the gruesome scene. Batman tries to defuse the situation, but Joker then uses Andrea as a bargaining chip. The Joker elaborates how Andrea is not as innocent as she seems for many years back the Joker called her to visit this very house and offered her the chance to murder him for what he did to her father. However, the Joker was holding a newborn baby in a swift motion. The Joker threw the baby in the air, and Andrea made the decision to save the child, taking him in as her own to raise, presuming that the baby was the son of the Joker. In present time the Joker has nearly finished the job of strangling Andrea as he body slumps to the floor eliciting Batman to charge in but the Joker picks up a present that he had replaced with a bomb and kicks it into the air. The house catches fire, and we see Andrea awaken to slice herself as her own Angel of Death.

We then take a very stiff and purposeful change to focus on Bruce & Selina as the two grow closer. We get a touching wedding scene elopement where Bruce & Selina are wed by a Batman impersonator with Clark & Lois as their witness. As the years continue to past we see Selina become pregnant and on the night that she is prepared to go into labor break down wondering if she is capable of being a mother or whether she will run off as he mother did. Bruce reassures her that Selina has already made the decision to stay and that she will be a good mother. Selina gives birth to Helena, and we move through the young girls' years of infancy to her first Christmas as a child getting a cat Isis to her later 6th birthday receiving a sword and finally Christmas eve as she dawns the attire as Robin to fight crime.

We then finally catch up with the other plot where we see Selina visit Bruce's grave as she recounts past Christmases they shared as a family. The next day, Selina firms up her affairs to make a significant contribution to the Wayne orphanage under the condition that all children receive a cat. That night, Selina takes a long stroll and saves a cat from ending up the crossfire of an alley. To which a nearby thug with a gun threatens her to give him her jewels. Selina cocks a smile and tells the young man "That's not how it's done" he then shoots her and she dies in an alleyways.

Our futuristic plot begins with Selina driving out to Florida to visit an old friend. Once there, we see an older man with brown hair and glasses invite her in. The two talk about their lives and children briefly before Selina tell the man of the news of Bruce's passing from Cancer. The man breaks down, denoting that this is the end of an era before removing his disguise to reveal himself to be the Joker embracing Selina in a hug. Once down, he asks why she decided to visit, to which she replies to kill him. Joker finds the whole thing to be funny and then gets up to get water for himself and his guest asking how she plans to do it. Selina replies with her nails slashed across his throat. In the kitchen, Joker recounts how that nearly killed him the first time in the church wedding the first time Selina and Bruce were nearly married. The Joker grabs something from the freezer and returns to the living room where he shoots up the couch. Selina reveals herself to be standing behind Joker and hits him with a picture frame. Joker on the ground sits as Selina removes her gloves and slashes him across the neck all the while explaining how long she has wanted this and how she promised Bruce that she would be good even when he's gone. Selina leaves and returns to Gotham.

The next day, word catches wind of the Joker's death and bashes through Wayne Manor, threating to kill Selina for taking away the chance for Harley to kill the Joker. The two end up falling down the stairs with Selina explaining that Harley would have never been able to kill the Joker because she was too good to be bad and she is too bad to be good.

That night news comes in that the Joker has been killed as detectives scramble for evidence. The new commissioner Dick Grayson, called Batwoman to the roof of the GCPD. Helena arrives, and the two discuss the case. That same evening, Helena returns to the Manor to share dinner with her mother, Selina. Helena presents the facts of the recent case and then demandingly ask her mother if she killed the Joker. Selina changes the subject by expressing how she is the new richest woman in Gotham and how she will give her riches to her daughter one day before leaving to tend to something. Meanwhile, all of the evidence is turned in with Helena more than aware that her lead could be. One night, Selina joins Helena on the rooftop in full costume and goes on to tell Dick how he was always Bruce's proudest accomplishment. Selina and Helena then go out on patrol to take down a few of the regular nightly villains of the modern era to which Selina greatly dislikes. The two cap off the night with a competition to jump a large distance rooftop, and both make it to which they laugh at the bets they placed against each other with Bruce. They sit on the corner of the roof, and Selina then asks for Helena to ask her the question again, but this time to not demand her. Helena does, and Selina confesses that she killed the Joker.

The next day, Dick Grayson arrives at the Manor to arrest Selina for the murder of the Joker she comes quietly walking with Dick to the car and tells him a cruel story of why the boy wore bright colors which was to be a funny joke appeasing to the Joker so the boy would hopefully not be killed. Selina is then booked into the jail but shortly thereafter escapes and visits the Joker in the police morgue laughing at the idea that neither Bruce nor Dick know what to do with the Joker now that he's dead. Selina leaves swiftly there after and meets up with the Penguin by poatching his limo. Penguin goes off on Selina, and she punches him in the face and then fixes his nose. The two end up at his Manor and discuss some of the good old days. Selina demands that Oswald do her a favor of getting her a trip out of Gotham as an on the run felon. He scarfs asking why he would do that, to which Selina replies that everyone owes her a favor for killing the Joker. Penguin makes a few calls, and Batwoman appears to aprehend her mother. The two return home for the night, and Batwoman returns to the cave to find Dick asking her where Selina is located. Helena gives Dick hell by shocking him and states that unless he plans on taking the mantle from her that he needs to get out of her cave.

The two then regroup once more at the table on Christmas Eve, with Selina presenting her a gift. Helena states that she doesn't want the gift for she has everything she could want. Selina then erupts in anger and retorts that her daughter is a spoiled brat for living a life she could only dream of as an abandoned orphan, and she doesn't care if she opens the gift or not. Selina then goes upstairs to pack, and Helena follows shortly thereafter with the glasses the Joker wore. Selina explains that she burned all the remaining evidence gathered from the case and that this is all that remains. As she continues to pack, Selina explains that she is leaving with the knowledge that he lawyers will aquit her without evidence, and her PR team will explain away her absence. Helena breaks down on the bed explaining that the glasses are a test of whether she will turn in her mother like her father would have or if she will let her to proving that she is just like her. Selina takes off to paradise to meet up with another old friend Andrea on the beach, who is revealed to have not died in that house and rather kept her deal to stay away while Selina finished the job.

Once back (presumably after a year), Selina says her goodbyes to Bruce finish her affairs with the orphanage donation, and it ends with Selina being shot in an alley.

In conclusion, I greatly enjoyed this book for all of its intense and indepth character writing and development. I loved reading the more tender and messy parts of Bruce & and Selina's relationship as a couple in a way that only Tom King can portray. The build-up and constant back and forth from present to future was a nice touch, but there were some areas that could have been more polished at times. I will admit that Selina's happenstance/semi-planed suicide at the end was poorly written since it lacked an internal monolog that could have explained her longing to be with Bruce. Overall, it was a great read, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. (P.S.-I know I may have skipped some details, but to be fair, it was an extensive plot). 8.6/10 🌟 for a well written Batman & Catwoman plot from the great Tom King 😁👍🦇❤️🐈‍⬛!!

[Justin Partridge · Rating 4 out of 5]

“YoU tOlD hIm AbOuT tHe BoMb?” “You knew I would.”

“I KnOw. BuT iT wOuLd’Ve BeEn FUNNIER iF yOu HaDn’T. “Does everything have to be funny?

“I sUpPoSe NoT. gOoDbYe, SeLiNa. UnTiL nExT tImE.”

“Joker.”

“Am I a good person?l”

“YoU’rE aSkInG mE? WeLl, DaRlInG, nOt EvErYtHiNg HaS tO bE fUnNy. BuT THAT cErTaInLy iS.”

A nicely mournful continuation of some of my favorite parts of the main Batman run. And something that actively frustrated me when I tried to come around on it in single issues but it’s revealed its game and scope here in this handsome HC collection. Which also neatly packs along Batman Annual #2, the Catwoman 80th Anniversary 100 Page, and the Batman/Catwoman Special, and King’s story from Detective #1027 which also gives this whole experience some much needed context and extra thematics you might lose unless you are just reading every single Batman thing happening at that present moment (and i definitely wasn’t).

Basically, told across three temporalities, Selina Kyle wrestles with both her increasing relationship with Batman while also feeling the pull of her criminal ways, avatared in a really fun and interesting way through the Joker and the newly canonized Phantasm, Andrea Beaumont.

Honestly, a lot of this stuff would have felt right at home in the main Batman run (and maybe started life as an arc there) but I think the real special sauce of this is that it’s mainly a Catwoman story. Giving her finally the direct time in the spotlight she sometimes missed IN that main run.

Liam Sharp’s contributions too really kick this up a gear at the precise time that you need it. Sure, I can and will ogle some Clay Mann nonsense, I am no better than a (bi) man but once Sharp takes over, the whole miniseries gains this really dreamy, very Serious House On A Serious Earth feel that I think should get shouted out a lot more. The way especially he details the Joker’s smile is REALLY clever, as is the judiciary hyper-realistic reaction shots he will deploy through his issues. Honestly, this is worth it for his stuff alone.

But in all honestly, this was a really awesome post-script to the main run. It keeps a lot of the melancholy bits of those issues but then extrapolates them further and into longer moments that are both haunting and satisfying and might hold up better than people (ie: me) think.

[Shaun Stanley · Rating 3 out of 5]

Batman/Catwoman collects DC Comics issues Batman/Catwoman 1-12 and Batman/Catwoman Special 1 as well as material from Batman Annual 2, Catwoman 80th Anniversary Super Spectacular 1, and Detective Comics 1027. The book is written by Tom King with art Clay Mann, Liam Sharp, Lee Weeks, Michael Lark, Walter Simonson, Michael Janin, John Paul Leon, Mitch Gerads, Bernard Chang, and Shawn Crystals.

Batman/Catwoman is a story told over three different time periods: In the past when Bat & Cat are starting to get serious while Catwoman and Joker having a weird friendship; in the present The Phantasm, The Angel of Death, has appeared in Gotham and is targeting people involved with the murder of her son and has laid her sights on murdering The Joker with Batman and Catwoman being forced to interfere, and in the future Bruce Wayne has passed away and Catwoman gets her revenge against an old friend without having to worry what Bruce would think.

Tom King “finishes” his Batman run after fans complained and he was replaced by James Tynion IV. When King got the boot, the story had so much investment. Say what you will, that was a shitty thing for DC to do (Even more so after Tynion bailed out the book early to do a lot of indie books). So instead of getting a natural in continuity conclusion, King had to turn his story into a non canon Black Label book. I was an actual fan of King’s run. Was every issue a masterpiece? No, but I liked the long story he was building. But this book was hard to get into. The three stories switching time periods (sometimes mid-panel) with no notice made it unnecessarily hard to follow. Also the Christmas song lyrics were a failed artistic approach with the lyrics taking up way too much page real estate and not adding anything to the story. 13 issues of music lyrics with a half page dedicated to why they are even there.

Real question: What is the point of a Black Label book if they are still going to use grawlix (&@#%!)? These books are meant for mature readers so can we just have them uncensored please?

Back to the book, the art is pretty good throughout. It’s hard to not like Clay Mann’s art. Unfortunately Liam Sharp filled in for a bit and it’s a notable downgrade. Because Tom King is so polarizing, I would only recommend this to fans of Tom King’s Batman run. If you were not a fan, you aren’t going to find anything worth sticking around here.

[Nate]

The coda to Tom King’s uneven but mostly good Batman run. It takes place in three different timelines, mainly addressing Catwoman’s relationship with the Joker, not Batman. Catwoman/Joker almost would have been a more accurate title. Batman’s just a supporting character. I’m tired of the Joker, and tired of Batman’s excuses for why he doesn’t end this man who is an awful psychotic maniac. I’m also torn on Catwoman’s friendship with the Joker.

Still, I enjoyed this. It’s overly long and can be a little confusing, but it’s intelligently written and approaches Catwoman’s character with great nuance. I love how King writes Catwoman, here and in his Batman run. And he handles her romance with Batman so well. King could write exclusively romance comics from here on out and I’d read the hell out of them.

Clay Mann’s art is nice as usual, but Liam Sharp pops in for a few issues in the middle and unfortunately experiments with that off-putting Bill Sienkiewicz style he used in Batman: Reptilian. It clashes with Mann’s cleaner, more straightforward art.

Tacked on at the end are a few bonus stories. There’s the second annual from King’s run, which is a lovely story and one of the best things he’s ever written. Sadly it’s interrupted by two lesser shorts (from Detective Comics 1027 and the Catwoman anniversary special) that actually spoil the ending of the annual, lessening its emotional impact. Finally, there’s the the Batman/Catwoman special drawn by John Paul Leon and Mitch Gerads (it was the last comic Leon drew before tragically dying at age 49). This is a great issue that takes us through Catwoman’s life, every page flashing forward on Christmas Day. I’m not sure about the last page, but everything up until then I loved.