Warning: Spoilers for The Batman.
Catwoman is one of the most iconic characters in popular culture. Some of her best comic books from the last 80 years have inspired her latest live-action version in Batman in DC Comics to one of his strongest allies and love interests.
Catwoman's history in the comics is defined by her shifting interpretations. Her best comics explore different takes on her identity, evolving through periods of comic book history that reflect the era and also define it in many respects. Catwoman's best comics ever define, refine, and reinvent her identity and relationship to Batman, providing fans with many great stories to revisit again and again.
Enter Selina Kyle
Catwoman makes her first appearance in Batman #1 but it's not until Batman #62 many years later that the character first gains her identity as Selina Kyle. It's a landmark issue in her history and one of the best, despite being erased from continuity.
In this story, Catwoman learns she's an amnesiac and former flight attendant named Selina. This helps chart her toward a path of redemption and became fundamental in subsequent portrayals of Catwoman as a character who isn't really a hero or a villain.
Lonely City
Lonely City is a DC Black Label mini-series by Cliff Chiang and presents an older Selina trying to clear her name and avenge the death of Batman. Presented in a magazine-style Prestige Plus format, it's one of the most inventive portrayals of Selina in modern comics.
The book is in the vein of The Dark Knight Returns or Old Man Logan but with a noir element all its own. Chiang, who drew Paper Girls, one of the best Image Comics for new readers, gives fans an iconic Selina who is down but nowhere near out.
The Autobiography Of Bruce Wayne
DC Comics introduced the multiverse to superhero comics with "The Flash of Two Worlds" and one of the best Catwoman comic books ever takes full advantage of the concept. In The Brave And The Bold #197, Catwoman and Batman marry on Earth-2.
This serves as an origin in many ways for the Golden Age Catwoman, elaborating on her past as the flight attendant Selina Kyle. It also points toward the eventual birth of Helena Wayne, who would become the first Huntress in DC Comics.
Her Sister's Keeper
One of Catwoman's best comic books ever spins out of one the best Batman story arcs of all time, Year One. Her Sister's Keeper provides a major modern update for Selina's backstory and builds on the work established by Frank Miller and David Mazzucchelli.
Elements of this take on Selina's past seem to have informed some of her portrayal in the new movie, as she is very protective of her friends as she is in this story, which is one of the darkest takes on her origin in the history of the character.
Hush
Batman and Catwoman have always flirted - their first kiss occurs in Batman #3 back in 1940 - but in many ways, Hush is the story where their modern relationship begins. This epic storyline brings them together as allies and lovers and heavily influenced subsequent takes on them.
This is also the storyline where Bruce Wayne reveals his secret identity to Catwoman (he had known hers for decades), paving the way for them to become closer in the comics. The more romantic aspect of their relationship is also on display in the new movie.
Selina's Big Score
Selina's Big Score is one of the most visually striking Catwoman stories ever, which is no surprise given it's written and drawn by Darwyn Cooke. The highly dynamic and slightly animated style pairs perfectly with one of the most fun Catwoman stories in comics.
Catwoman's evolution into an anti-heroine continues in this early 2000s story, where Selina sets her ambitions on a train loaded with cash belonging to mobsters. It takes a lot of twists and turns, with Selina acting her most heroic and most suspect as well.
Trail Of The Catwoman
Trail of the Catwoman ran as a series of backup stories in Detective Comics #759–762, but it's one of the best and most influential Catwoman comics. This storyline brings Catwoman from the dead and streamlines her complicated history in a brief, powerful story.
Catwoman was reimagined by writer Ed Brubaker, responsible for some of the best Captain America comics of the 2000s, and the late artist Darwyn Cooke, who created one of the best DC Comics stories ever in New Frontier from this same period.
Batman: Year One
Batman: Year One was a seminal comic book in almost every way and it was for Catwoman as well. Selina Kyle's entire history and motivation are revamped in this all-time classic by Frank Miller and David Mazzucchelli from the late 80s.
Selina is a former prostitute in this version of the story, which also introduces her friend Holly Robinson for the first time. It also establishes a link to crime boss Carmine Falcone, which would become a major element of her story in later comics and now the movies.
When In Rome
When In Rome is a major Catwoman story from the early 2000s that establishes that Carmine Falcone is her father, a major element of the new movie. In the mini-series, Selina goes to Rome to learn about her mother, kicking off one of her most unique adventures.
The series is from the legendary team of writer Jeph Loeb and artist Tim Sale, who brought virtually all of Batman's best comic book villains together in The Long Halloween, another storyline that influenced the latest movie.
Anodyne
Anodyne is the opening arc of the 2002 Catwoman ongoing series by Ed Brubaker and Darwyn Cooke, with the team providing arguably the best take on the character yet. Much of her modern iconography, in particular her signature goggles and catsuit, come courtesy of this series.
This story organizes some of her conflicting past backstories and sets her as the guardian of the East End of Gotham. This series could also inform the future of Catwoman on screen, as Selina Kyle goes off on her own at the end of the new movie to perhaps become the guardian of a new city.
