My Messy Love Affair with Catwoman Comics From 2009 Till Now
How a Thief in a Catsuit Became My Favorite Comic Character
Look, I’m just going to be straight with you. I picked up my first Catwoman comics at a garage sale when I was fourteen because the cover looked cool. That was 2009, and I’ve been hooked ever since. What started as “oh, Batman’s hot girlfriend has her own book” turned into something that genuinely changed how I think about heroes, villains, and everything messy in between.
Why Selina Kyle Hit Different
Most superhero comics gave me the same thing: good guy punches bad guy, saves the day, repeat. Catwoman? She’s out here stealing from billionaires, beating up abusers in Gotham’s poorest neighborhood, sleeping with Batman on rooftops, and somehow making me root for her even when she’s absolutely in the wrong.
The thing is, Selina feels real in a way most comic characters don’t. She’s broke sometimes. She makes stupid decisions when she’s angry. She’s petty. She holds grudges. When Ed Brubaker wrote her in the early 2000s, she wasn’t saving the world from alien invasions—she was protecting sex workers from corrupt cops and trying to figure out if she could keep a houseplant alive.
The Runs That Made Me a True Believer
Brubaker’s Street-Level Stuff (2001-2008): This run turned me from a casual reader to “I will defend this character with my life” fan. Darwyn Cooke drew the first arc, and holy hell, the way he captured Gotham’s East End made it feel like a character itself. Selina wasn’t dancing around being good or bad—she straight-up became the protector of the worst neighborhood in the worst city in the DC universe.
There’s an issue where she’s sitting on a fire escape, eating takeout, and watching over her block, and it just clicked for me. This wasn’t about being a superhero. It was about giving a damn when nobody else would.
Joëlle Jones (2018-2020): Jones got it. She drew AND wrote Catwoman comics, which meant every panel felt intentional. Selina left Gotham entirely, moved to the coastal town of Villa Hermosa, and tried to build her own criminal empire. The art alone—god, I must have stared at some of those pages for ten minutes. But beyond that, Jones understood that Selina works best when she’s not in Batman’s shadow.
What Actually Makes These Comics Good
The gray area is the whole point. I’ve read issues where Selina kills someone, and I’m sitting there going “yeah, that guy had it coming” immediately followed by “wait, should I be okay with this?” That’s rare. Most comics tell you exactly how to feel. Catwoman lets you sit in the uncomfortable space where right and wrong get blurry.
The Batman romance? Listen, I’m usually not a fan of superhero relationships, but these two work because they actually challenge each other. They argue on rooftops about morality while also clearly wanting to rip each other’s clothes off. It’s electric. Their relationship is not just a romantic subplot, but a key element that adds depth to both characters. Tom King’s Batman run built up to their wedding, and when it fell apart, I was genuinely upset. Not because I needed them together, but because the story earned that emotional response.
Also—and this matters—Catwoman comics have consistently featured some of the best artists in the business. The visual storytelling is just a chef’s kiss. From Cooke’s retro-modern style to Tim Sale’s noir shadows to Jones’ dynamic action, these books are not just visually stunning; their artistry enhances the storytelling, making the reading experience even more immersive.
The Stories That Left a Lasting Impression
“When in Rome”: Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale sent Selina to Italy to investigate whether she’s secretly a mob princess. It’s beautiful, it’s weird, and it made me care about Selina’s need to understand her origins. Plus: Italian countryside drawn by Tim Sale. Come on.
“Heart of Hush”: Paul Dini wrote this arc in Detective Comics, and it wrecked me. Without spoiling too much, someone Selina cared about gets badly hurt because of her, and the guilt she carries feels so heavy you can practically see it weighing her down in every panel. This is when I realized Catwoman comics could genuinely hurt me.
“The Long Halloween”: Yeah, it’s a Batman story, but Selina’s role in it shaped everything I understand about her. She’s helping Batman, while also doing her own thing, and you never quite know whose side she’s on. That ambiguity is perfect.
The Supporting Characters Who Bring Depth To the Story
Holly Robinson is Selina’s friend from the streets, and their relationship feels earned. Holly’s not just “the sidekick”—she’s someone with her own trauma and choices. When Holly puts on the Catwoman suit to protect Selina, it means something.
Slam Bradley is this old detective who becomes Selina’s unlikely ally/investigator/friend. Their dynamic is fun because he knows she’s a criminal but respects what she’s trying to do.
And okay, the cats matter. Selina’s relationship with actual cats isn’t just a gimmick. There’s something about watching a master thief be soft with a stray that humanizes her more than any dialogue could.
What These Comics Are Actually About
Money and power. That’s it. That’s the core. Selina grew up poor in a system designed to keep her poor. She decided to take what she needed instead of asking permission from people who’d never help her anyway. The best Catwoman stories understand that her “crimes” occur in a world where billionaires are legally exploited, and she’s the one called a criminal.
I grew up without much money either, so when Selina steals from some tech bro’s penthouse, I get it. I’m not saying it’s right, but I understand.
She’s also genuinely sexy without being objectified—most of the time. Selina owns her body and choices. She uses her sexuality strategically but isn’t defined by it. Sometimes writers mess this up, and it gets uncomfortable, but at its best, Catwoman shows a powerful woman because she refuses to play by rules designed to control her.
Where You Should Actually Start Catwoman Comics
If I’m recommending where to jump in:
Start with Ed Brubaker’s Catwoman #1 from 2002. You don’t need any background. It’s accessible, it’s good, and if you like it, you’ve got years of reading ahead of you.
Batman: Year One has Selina’s best origin story, drawn by David Mazzucchelli. It’s like four issues total. Just read it.
Want something recent? Joëlle Jones’ Catwoman #1 from 2018 is perfect. New city, fresh start, stunning art.
The Parts That Don’t Work
I have to be honest—some of this run is rough. The mid-2000s had some seriously male-gazey garbage that made me cringe—writers who clearly just wanted to draw Selina in compromising positions without understanding what made her compelling.
The New 52 reboot erased everything Brubaker built, and I’m still annoyed about it. They gave Selina a new origin that nobody asked for and didn’t improve anything.
Quality varies wildly. Between the great creative teams, you’ll hit issues that feel like nobody involved actually likes the character. Those months were painful.
Why I Keep Coming Back
Here’s the thing: I’m thirty now. I’ve been reading these comics for half my life. I keep coming back because Selina Kyle is complicated in ways that feel true to life. She’s hurt people. She’s saved people. She’s selfish and selfless, often in the same issue.
The current material with Ram V explores power dynamics and corruption in fresh ways. These aren’t just crime comics—they’re asking who gets to decide what justice means when the system is broken.
Selina taught me that doing the right thing is messier than choosing between good and evil. Sometimes protecting people means breaking rules. Sometimes the “heroes” are defending a status quo that’s actively harmful. These are uncomfortable questions, and Catwoman comics don’t pretend to have clean answers.
So, Should You Read This?
If you want consistent, safe superhero stories: no.
If you want a character who’s genuinely complex, stories that look amazing, and comics that’ll make you question your own moral compass: absolutely yes.
The best Catwoman comics are some of my favorite stories, period. Not just in comics—in anything. They made me think differently about justice, survival, and what it means to be good when the world’s stacked against you.
Selina Kyle deserves far more recognition than just being “Batman’s girlfriend.” She’s a fully realized character who’s been carrying phenomenal stories for decades. If you’ve only seen the movies, you’re missing out on something special.
Start with Brubaker. Thank me later. And yeah, you’re going to end up buying way more issues than you planned. Sorry, not sorry.
