Catwoman 35: “Comfort to the Hurt of the King”
It’s my first comic book day ever.
CATWOMAN #35, “Comfort to the Hurt of the King,” is in stores now!
It’s been sort of a surreal process; I got the first call about the opportunity from Mark Doyle at the beginning of the year, and after I got the gig came the plotting and planning and arcs and character sketches and some historical research because why not? before I ever sat down and began my first script, and since then it’s been costume references and more plotting and more writing and sitting with my chin in my hands looking at pencils.
Early reviews have been positive: Comicosity, Comic Vine, and the auspiciously named Adventures in Poor Taste all enjoyed it. (You can catch a preview of it at io9, if you’re curious!) I am obviously thrilled. I would also be lying if I said I wasn’t also a little relieved.
Stepping into such an established comic with such a high-profile character has been an illuminating experience. (I was not prepared for this Comic-Con ad, for example, which made me laugh incredulously.) And this is the first time I’m working on something over which I don’t have ownership; as much as I love Selina Kyle, I’m only borrowing her, and while I knew that going in, it occasionally feels a little strange. But it’s such a fantastic gig to play with for a little while, and I am so remarkably lucky to have had the team I had. Mark’s a fantastic editor, and Garry Brown, the artist, has been a dream to work with. I knew going in that I had some hard-line things that I wanted—a Selina who could be sexy but wouldn’t be sexualized, women who fought in flat shoes, etc.—and while I was ready to fight for them, I never had to. The whole team seemed to be on the same page from moment one, and the next thing I knew Garry had sent me a fight scene with women punching like piledrivers.
Though, that wasn’t the first thing he sent me. The first thing he sent me were pencils for a page that 12-year-old me would not believe she’d have the chance to write someday.
Catwoman taking Batman down a peg in close-talk at a fancy party. Stick a fork in it, I’m all done.
I’ll have more to come about this issue after it’s been out long enough that I’m not majorly spoiling anything (given all the costume references with which I flooded Garry, it seems a shame not to do an occasional outfit breakdown). In the meantime, thanks so much to everyone, comic book readers or not, friends and strangers, who have been so enthusiastic about this run. I’m having a blast; if you’re reading, I hope you are, too.
