DC's NEW 52-CATWOMAN

Comic fans all know that Selina Kyle is The Catwoman: longtime Batman villain who sometimes toes the line between good and evil and flourished as an anti-hero who made her living as an international thief and a bounty hunter. She retired for a while, trained one or two replacements and proteges and even was mother to her child. And she has always held a torch for Batman. 

CATWOMAN gets her own series again as part of DC's NEW 52. It is set in the earlier days of her career, as many of the NEW 52 books are.
 

The story begins with Selina being chased out of her apartment by a bunch of gun wielding thugs wearing skull masks. So out the window she flies with cat in hand and skintight catsuit half off.Nice bra, Selina! And just to make matters worse, her apartment gets blown up. Guess you'll be half wearing those clothes for awhile.
 

She makes a visit to her informant Lola("and she actually was a show girl...no bull...really"). Lola gives her information about an unoccupied penthouse where she can crash until something better comes along. Oh yeah: there's a job in it too. She gets on board at a club as a bartender. No, it's not for the money. She's here to steal a painting from Russian mobsters. She spies a sleazeball from her past who apparently murdered a friend of hers when she was younger. She makes her way into the Men's Room and beats the living hell out of the guy.

Unfortunately she spends a little too much time gaining her revenge because the real bartender she put to sleep is now awake and talking. Time to grab the cat suit and go into action. She doesn't get the painting she came for but she does do a pretty good job of taking out the Russians.
 

Back at the penthouse, she licks her wounds and she gets a visit from The Dark Knight. It doesn't take long before the duo are getting down and dirty, something that apparently has happened before. "...it doesn't take long and most of the costumes stay on."
 

Holy crap, kids: Batman and Catwoman are having hot, sweaty sex! And if you don't think that set the Internet and other news organizations ablaze, you haven't been paying attention. This was about as taboo as you could get but hey: I'm from the Julie Newmar is a HOT Catwoman era and I'll be honest-if Batman wasn't making time with her, every kid my age wished we were. Her and Emma Peel!
 

Anyway, I think the book rocks! Have LONG been a fan of this character as anti-hero and this delivers. She's not taking care of her kid or bringing a protege into the fold. She's a hot, sexy Catwoman! Judd Winick is a LONG WAY from being a house member on THE REAL WORLD and has truly bloomed as a comic writer. his dialogue work is crisp and his ability to paint a picture with words is excellent. And Guillem Marsh' artwork is SO reminiscent of Jim Balent's classic work that it is scary. The cover alone, a wonderful shot of Catwoman sans mask and bra is enough to make you think of either Balent or Adam Hughes. Please continue as regular artist for the duration. His panels are tight, his pacing is fast and his female form is breathtaking!
 

BUY THIS BOOK! It is a very pleasant surprise and one I hope continues to take some cool twists and turns. And let it be provocative! I'd rather have a sexy book than an incredibly dumb one!
 

BTW: the hood woman is a guest at the party in the Russian Club. She's in the first page of the club scene, hiding behind one of the floor to ceiling curtains on the left side of the panel.