Knight Terrors: Catwoman #1 variant cover, via DC Comics.
Knight Terrors: Catwoman #1 — Tini Howard, Writer; Leila Leiz, Artist; Marissa Louise, Colorist
Ray — 8/10
Ray: This is one of the comics that continues with the regular writer taking on the Knight Terrors story — similar to Selina’s fellow Siren Poison Ivy — so it’s not a surprise that this feels pretty close in tone to what Tini Howard has done with Catwoman as a noir comic. However, this takes the trappings of the character and transports her to a darker world, one that seems rather inspired by the early Frank Miller comics that saw Selina buried deep in a ruthless world of crime. In this world, Selina is a scarred ex-queenpin of crime whose attempt to take control of the Gotham crime scene ended horribly. She’s Gotham’s most wanted and her only ally is the vigilante Sister Zero — secretly her sister Maggie, who works as a kind nun by day and a ruthless defender of the innocent by night. Selina and Maggie’s bond has always been one of the most interesting parts of this series, and it’s interesting to see them on opposite sides.
Dark city. Via DC Comics.
However, this is Gotham, and that means Batman is right around the corner. This version of Batman seems to be younger, more inexperienced, and quickly gets pulled into Selina’s web as the trio of unlikely allies starts investigating the appearance of a mysterious man in clown makeup slinking around the city. Joker… or Insomnia? The Knight Terrors tie-ins to this issue are fairly weak, with the villain only being hinted at and clearly being behind the alternate world, but it’s hard to see how this world is Selina’s greatest fear. Yes, she’s missing an eye and has very few allies, but her bond with her sister seems troubled but heartfelt and she wastes no time connecting with Batman again. If anything, this feels more like a Black Label alternate take on Catwoman than an event tie-in. Still, the art by Leila Leiz has a great noir feel to it, and this first issue is intriguing enough to make me very curious about the second issue.
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GeekDad received this comic for review purposes.
