[World of Bats] Catwoman #41-46 "Inheritance"

[Jay_Kay]

Hello and Welcome to the World of Bats, the Batman Book Club!

First, forgive me for posting this a little early, because I’m actually going to be going on vacation during the weekend, so I’m just making sure this gets put up before I go.

Anyway! This week we’re continuing our Pride Month coverage by finishing the Genevive Valentine run on Catwoman with issues #41-46, with art by David Messina and Lee Louthridge.

Selina Kyle – head of the Calabrese crime family – has survived a crime war with Black Mask and is managing an uneasy peace between the two factions. But old habits die hard. Upon hearing that Batman is dead, Catwoman goes on the prowl again in search of the Dark Knight. Can Selina lead a double life with her crime family nipping at her tail and Black Mask making moves to wipe the Calabrese family from Gotham?

Catwoman’s life continues to get muddled when the second Catwoman – a woman she has intimate knowledge of – takes it upon herself to safeguard Selina and train the upstart vigilante Spoiler. The cold war between Gotham’s crime families heats up, and Selina must embrace her role or fall.

But who is she – a crime lord or Catwoman?

LINKS:

Catwoman #41
Catwoman #42
Catwoman #43
Catwoman #44
Catwoman #45
Catwoman #46

DIGITAL TRADE:

Catwoman Vol. 7: Inheritance

Reading will last from 2023-06-10T05:00:00Z→2023-06-16T05:00:00Z, but if you’re busy dealing with a…spoiling possible apprentice, you can always come back later.

Looking forward to discussing these issues with you all!

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[AlexanderKnox]

@millernumber1, in case you missed it, our pal Steph decided to hang out with the main Bat-Club while we weren’t looking. She’s just wandering all over the place!

[john.21795]

These Gotham gangster stories are fun. I like Selina better as Catwoman than as a crime boss, though

The quotes about the Borgias tickle a part of my brain as an Assassin’s Creed player

[millernumber1]

Thanks for the heads up! I adore this run - first because it tied into Batman Eternal, which of course returned Stephanie Brown to existence in the DCU, but second because after a stellar first arc showing Selina struggling to make the world a better place as Calabrese boss, she has the added headache of the most awesome hero ever bothering her!

I am personally really disliking the current Catwoman run by Tini Howard, which some fans are comparing to this run by Genevieve Valentine. But I think they’re immensely different - yes, both have Eiko, both have Selina becoming a leader in organized crime. But Howard’s run acts like Selina is super awesome, but actually shows her being super incompetent. Valentine, conversely, shows Selina being extremely competent, but struggling with titanic forces that cannot truly be overcome by one person, or even a strong band.

Steph’s training from Selina and Eiko in this run is just phenomenal, and she also shows her strong moral sense AND love of Black Canary the awesome singer, long before Nightwing jumped on Steph’s bandwagon of wearing Dinah’s merch. Nightwing’s a poser, I tell you! Steph’s the OG!

@john.21795

These Gotham gangster stories are fun. I like Selina better as Catwoman than as a crime boss, though

I think we’re SUPPOSED to feel that Selina’s suffocating and drowning in the role of crime boss - she hates it, and it’s really bad for everyone who takes the role. Another significant difference between what Valentine did - showing the destructiveness of the system, and that you can’t get out clean - and what Howard is doing, which is holding out the carrot of a utopian Robin Hood crime gang, which is just ridiculous.