Menu

Comics

Catwoman Annual

, ,

catwoman annual 2 cover
The Catwoman Annual comes out today! It’s written by me, with art by Patrick Olliffe, Tom Nguyen & John McCrea, and a Garry Brown cover. And yes, there’s some Batman in this issue. (One scene with him is a favorite moment of the issue, actually – a Batman/Catwoman standoff that’s about 110% awkward, a saturation that can only be achieved when Batman’s around.) But at the risk of spoilers, at heart this Annual is Eiko Hasigawa’s origin story: it offers a glimpse of her life as an increasingly nontraditional member of a traditional yakuza family just as she begins to realize the benefits of a vigilante identity. In the Annual, we see her struggling to make her first big decisions as her father’s heir apparent, we see her trying to draw on the more traditional influence of her family without becoming trapped in their plans for her, and we see what first makes her take up the ears. (In keeping with the tone of Catwoman, there are quotes throughout the book; Eiko’s father and mother… Read more »

Catwoman #37: “Sooner Or Later You Will Descend”

,

catwoman37
Today Catwoman #37 hits stores of all kinds! I’m actually both super thrilled and super nervous about this one. I’m very proud of it, and it’s a crucial chapter of the story we’re trying to tell, but if you’ve been worried about lingering consequences and serious choices in the wake of this arc, well, it’s time. If I want to avoid spoilers, I think that’s really all the plot stuff I can talk about. If you’re curious, you can read a preview courtesy of The Mary Sue that will give you an idea of the position she’s in. (I laughed when I realized my “cold open” lasts five pages this issue; I’m the Sleepy Hollow cold open of comics today!) I’ve been marking each issue with a quote relating to a powerful woman of history. Ching Shih, who features in this comic, has less of a paper footprint than the others I’ve used so far; my friend Stephanie Lai assisted in the search; we ended up finding some rather cyclical references to a few contemporary… Read more »

Catwoman #36: “Keeper of the Castle”

, ,

catwoman36
Catwoman #36 comes out today! “Keeper of the Castle” digs deeper into Selina’s journey as head of the Calabrese crime syndicate, as she becomes more and more tangled in a web of moral dilemmas she can handle, but some of which she might not be able to accept. There’s some good old-fashioned macho posturing (most of it by Selina), Black Mask Rising, a cameo by Lucretia Borgia, and a faceoff between our leading lady and, well, Catwoman. There will be some more details about this Catwoman costume next week as the closet chronicles continue, but for now, suffice to say that it was pretty amazing to help design a Catwoman uniform, imposter or otherwise. (Garry designed her ears forced down and a little outward to underscore her hostility, because cats!) You can check out a preview of the current issue at DC Comics if you’d like to. for those worried about spoilers, in these pages, Catwoman shows some loyalty to an old friend we’re meeting for the first time, and Selina makes crime families kiss… Read more »

Catwoman: The Closet

, ,

catwoman preview 2 big
One of the first things I did after we’d sketched the bare bones of this Catwoman arc was to sit down and decide how everybody was going to dress. Comics are cinematic in their use of clothing to indicate character; it’s a great psychological and expository shortcut. The shift from Catwoman into Selina Kyle, Mob Boss would mean a lot of changes in her wardrobe, and everything she wore would necessarily reflect that change. It was also important to me just on a vaguely-fashion-aware level, because I will never forget being a kid and reading the issue of X-Men where Gambit shows up to take Rogue on a date and Rogue is wearing a full-body lace bodysuit underneath what I swear was a handkerchief skirt and tight peasant top with matching headband. That was a lot. Nobody wants any more of that. What did I want for Selina? This. The “hero” tux was exactly the mood we wanted for her out-of-uniform uniform; it’s a graphic statement, it connotes both power and privilege, and it’s sexy… Read more »

Catwoman 35: “Comfort to the Hurt of the King”

, ,

catwomancover
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… Read more »

Catwoman #36 Cover and Interview

,

catwoman36insert
The cover for Catwoman 36 has been released! I missed the Mary Sue exclusive reveal last week, but am glad to see people seem to be into Jae Lee’s cover art. I’m so excited about this pared-down cover style, which we revealed in the initial announcement and I voted one million percent to carry over when it came up. I’m double excited about Selina’s deconstructed-tux uniform while she’s out of the Catsuit (I am, to no one’s surprise, deeply invested in what everyone in this comic is wearing, which we’ll get into once the comics come out). And though it’s definitely a stark image, and I can’t talk about specifics because of spoilers, I’m hypothetically invested in the symbolic Doppelganger aspect of Selina facing off against Catwoman…and possibly losing. I tried equally hard to avoid specifics in this interview with Dynamic Forces, which was a lot of fun. It includes some thoughts about how Selina plays power games with herself, what she’s willing to do for the sake of Gotham, and the phrase “sexy, sexy… Read more »
1 2 3