{"id":2945,"date":"2009-01-25T06:00:10","date_gmt":"2009-01-25T06:00:10","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/?p=2945"},"modified":"2009-01-25T11:44:18","modified_gmt":"2009-01-25T11:44:18","slug":"catwoman-the-dark-end-of-the-street","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/2009\/01\/25\/catwoman-the-dark-end-of-the-street\/","title":{"rendered":"CATWOMAN: THE DARK END OF THE STREET"},"content":{"rendered":"

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\nBy Ed Brubaker, Darwyn Cooke, Cameron Stewart & Mike Allred (DC Comics)
\nISBN13: 978-1-84023-567-8<\/strong><\/p>\n

Reinvigorated and transformed by her return to Gotham City and the shucking of her sleazy, buxom, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153bad-Grrl\u00e2\u20ac\u009d status, (See Selina’s Big Score<\/strong> ISBN: 1-84023-773-3 for the full details and another rollickin’ good read) Catwoman began a more socially conscious career as a vigilante; extending her own brand of succour to the shady denizens of Gotham City’s sleazy East End District. This book collects the back-up series that ran in Detective Comics <\/strong>#759-762 and the first four issues of her 2001 series (volume 2, I rather suspect you’d call it).<\/p>\n

Technically a Slam Bradley story, the ‘Trail of the Catwoman’ <\/em>serial by Ed Brubaker, Darwyn Cooke and Cameron Stewart sees the grizzled old private eye hired by the Mayor to find the legendary super-thief even though all evidence indicates that she’s dead. In true film noir<\/em> tradition a convoluted trail leads to lots of sordid situations and hairsbreadth escapes for the world-weary gumshoe as he unravels her life, the tension increasing as he realizes he’s falling for a girl he’s never met and hunting her for the worst cutthroats in Gotham\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6<\/p>\n

For greater clarity you should read Catwoman: Selina’s Big Score <\/strong>(ISBN: 1-84023-773-3) before continuing with this book which then picks up a few months later as Selina Kyle moves into the East End of Old Gotham and finds renewed meaning when she determines to stop a serial killer preying on prostitutes and street girls.<\/p>\n

‘Anodyne’ <\/em>by Brubaker, Cooke and Mike Allred, reintroduces Holly Robinson, first seen in Batman: Year One <\/strong>(ISBN 1-84576-158-8) and the follow-up Catwoman (1989) miniseries by Mindy Newell and JJ Birch (collected as Her Sister’s Keeper <\/strong>ISBN: 978-0-44639-366-9). Reunited, the old friends decide to solve the case that Gotham’s corrupt authorities won’t touch.<\/p>\n

The transition from sleek, sexy cat-burglar to tarnished champion of the underclass is a masterpiece of slick storytelling, and the cutting-edge art from Cooke et al pushed this series to a level few could touch.<\/p>\n

Even after all this time this is probably the best incarnation of Catwoman ever – and that’s including Eartha Kitt purring away in that<\/strong> outfit! Fans of caper movies, Noir thrillers and just plain fun-seekers should make this book their own forever.<\/p>\n