Catwoman 42: “Gathered From All Sides”

Catwoman #42 is out in the world! In “Gathered From All Sides,” Selina needs to be Catwoman, Spoiler just needs A Catwoman, and their reunion goes just about as well as you could expect for two people who last met when one of them kidnapped the other one.

There’s a preview available at MTV, which features Selina in what might be her sharpest suit yet, a chat between old friends, and a reminder that Bill Turner is part of something bigger than himself. (The quote this month is from Empress Pulcheria, whose skills at delegation are whose idea of a nice militarized parlay ends up being a soft spot with Penguin, because of course.)

It’s been a blast writing Stephanie, especially given their beautifully awful setup in Batman Eternal, in which Selina regrets nothing and Stephanie is ready to fight her despite being perfectly aware she’s going to get her ass handed to her. She does find a mentor (you’ll have to see who), and is going to have an arc of her own as the walls close in, but this was exactly the intro we wanted for her: pissed, determined, and doomed to learn things the hard way.

It’s gotten some very nice reviews (including at Comicosity, and some of them have begun to guess where things are going. Obviously I can’t speak to anything about those except to say I’ll make sure everyone’s well-dressed. Even Stephanie.

I remain utterly charmed with that panel of poor, poor Steph, and her totally comic-book dismissal. (Don’t worry, she doesn’t take it lying down for long.)

Catwoman 42 is available at ComiXology or at a local comic book store near you!