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I won't even make an attempt at an April Fool's joke. Those
things are being done to death.
When I was very young, my favorite TV show was Batman.
Yeah, the silly, campy, 60s Batman show, with all the
slumming second-tier stars playing the villain roles and the
goofiest fight scenes in the history of acting.
It did have one redeeming feature. Julie Newmar, as
Catwoman. RRrrrrrroooowwwwrr
I guess I've had a soft spot for Catwoman, ever since. I
enjoyed the stories in Batman Family, where the Earth-2
versions of Batman and Catwoman settled their differences
and married. I used that as the basis for the Batman Family
column I did a few months back. This time, however, I
thought I'd do something with Catwoman, herself.
Doing some research, for this column, I found that there
are some differences in the pre-Crisis, Earth-1 and Earth-2
Catwomen. Both a named Selina Kyle, of course, but the
original, called simply, the Cat, in her first appearance,
was a stewardess for Speed Airlines, and the sole survivor
of a plane crash. She suffered from amnesia, as a result of
her injuries, with only "vague recollections...of a pet shop
my father owned--cats!" At first, she was merely a thief,
but soon adopted her first costume and the name Catwoman,
which brought her into conflict with Batman. The later,
Earth-1 version shared the pet shop childhood, but chose a
life of crime out of boredom.
The earliest Catwoman costume was anything but "catlike" in
appearance. Her cape was green and the bodyshirt was
lavender, or sometimes purple.
Over the years, her costume changed, from time to time, but
she had gone back to something resembling the original,
before the Crisis on Infinite Earths rewrote the history of
the DC universe and shook everything up. Within a few short
years, would see a relaunch of DC's major characters,
revamped and streamilined for a new generation of fans.
Following his groundbreaking limited series, Batman: The
Dark Knight Returns, chronicling the adventures of a 55 year
old Batman and the changes the future would bring, Frank
Miller, along with artist David Mazzuchelli, took Batman
back to his roots in Batman: Year One. Of all the well-known
costumed villains that Batman would face in later
adventures. only Catwoman appeared in Year One.
In this version, Selina Kyle is a prostitute with an utter
disdain of the male sex. She first crosses paths with Bruce
Wayne, before he becomes Batman, when Wayne becomes involved
in a dispute with a pimp, on her block. Wayne had gone into
the neighborhood on a scouting mission, disguised as a bum
and quickly got in over his head. Injured in the fight, he
barely makes it home in time for Alfred to stop the bleeding
from a knife wound to his leg. It is at this point that he
finds the inspiration he needs, to fulfill his destiny, when
a large bat flies through the window of his study, landing
on a bust, opposite him.
When Batman first makes news, in Gotham, Selina Kyle is
inspired to set out on a new career as a cat burglar. She
has a gray catsuit made, for her, complete with cat-eared
cowl and clawed fingertips. Her first exploits are anything
but spectacular. Stealing a collection of nearly worthless
memorabilia from the Mayor of Gotham City, she switches
tactics and goes after a mob kingpin on the same night he is
targeted by Batman.
A few years later, when Catwoman got her own series, it was
decided to give a more colorful, sleeker look. This led to
the purple bodysuit with black thigh-boots and opera gloves,
which she wears today. The cat-ears and tail are the only
cat-like features of this suit. Never liked it much, myself,
from a design standpoint or the practical.
Without changing the colors, and trying to retain the
sleekness of her current costume, I decided to go with an
asymmetrical design. The ears and tail are still there, but
at the shoulder and hip I've added stripes intended to evoke
the tiger-stripe, as well as a claw symbolism. I also added
a utility belt, since I thought she needed somewhere to keep
her lockpicks and other paraphernalia.
Well, that's my Catwoman. I hope you like it.
As always, I'm trolling for suggestions for future columns.
All suggestions will be considered, but it comes down to
what interests me enough to do some sketching.
See ya in 30!
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