Catwoman Year One tells the story of how Selina Kyle became Catwoman.
Selina Kyle was born to privilege on Gotham City's Upper West Side. In
Catwoman Year One, her story is told in flashbacks, from her parents' tragic
deaths, to her training in Europe, to her finally emerging as Gotham's
finest Catburglar the Catwoman. While Catwoman Year One does capture
Catwoman's first year in Gotham City and her first encounter with Batman,
the story begins much earlier.
The series always implied Selina had a privileged childhood, and I never
understood how such a blatant thief could possibly from the upper class. And
now I read this. It just all comes together in such a beautiful way, and I
see that it's not only right, it's the explanation of why Cat-Tales succeeds
where so many Batman efforts fail. It's truly the way Chris Dee understands
the characters that makes your series so special.
Finally a Catwoman origin that makes sense. Cattitude demonstrates the one
aspect of Selina Kyle's past that all the comics and movies get wrong. Like
Bruce, she comes from money. She lost her family, she lost the wealth. Her
life since then has been leading either through choice or chance, toward
reaquiring wealth. maybe it's because she thought, subconciously, in a way
she didnt even realise till she started thinking back, that maybe if she got
that one more trinket... The love and security she'd known would return.
I am not exaggerating in any way when I tell you that this has been my
favorite Cat Tale so far. The insight into Selina's mind and background was
superb. I also enjoyed seeing how she got into crime. However, it was the
encounters with Batman that really crowned this for me.
Catwoman is the long term result of a thousand little buffers gently pulling
her into proximity with this cat, and that mentor, and this city, and that
rogue, subtly adding all the things she has needed, and has broguht her
here.