By Ed Brubaker, Brad Rader, Cameron Stewart, Rick Burchett& various (DC Comics)
ISBN13: 978-1-84023-736-8
Seamlessly progressing from her reinvention in Selina’s Big Score (ISBN: 1-84023-773-3) and Catwoman: the Dark End of the Street (ISBN: 978-1-84023-567-8) the new, socially conscious defender of the underclass inhabiting Gotham City’s down-market East End District finds herself battling another gang pushing drugs in her preserve. This time however, the very guilty parties responsible seem to come from Gotham’s wealthy aristocracy. Also hungry to finger a few expensive collars is the relentless old gumshoe Slam Bradley and even Selina’s protégé Holly Robinson.
The crusade takes a dark turn when an undercover cop is murdered by his own dirty colleagues and Holly is framed for the deed. Selina and Bradley have their work cut out to survive the dirty, violent, twilight world to save the young ingénue, but behind even the artistos there’s another mastermind at work, familiar and chillingly deadly…
The four part ‘Disguises’ by Ed Brubaker, Brad Rader, Cameron Stewart and Rich Burchett is book-ended by the prequel ‘Trickle Down Theory’ and the splendidly cathartic glimpse into Selina’s past ‘Joy Ride’ (originally published as Catwoman #5-10) and complemented by the excellent and revelatory closing tale ‘The Many Lives of Selina Kyle’ by Brubaker, Michael Avon Oeming and Mike Manley, taken from Catwoman Secret Files #1.
As grim and gritty as a comic can get without become “adults only”, yet still finding room for breakneck fun and adventure, the ongoing transition from sleek, sexy cat-burglar to tarnished champion of the forgotten is a masterpiece of skillful storytelling whilst the moody, stylish art made this particular cat’s life (her fourth, I think) a series to cherish. Irresistibly readable, this is superhero shtick at its finest. Fans of caper movies, Noir thrillers and just plain literate thrill-seekers should take note…
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