UNDER THE MOON

Catwoman’s mythos is given a fresh graphic reinvention.

Fourteen-year-old Selina Kyle’s life is wretched. After a string of despicable boyfriends, her mother finally settles on Dernell, a vile and toxic man who is abusive to both Selina and her mother. Reaching her breaking point, Selina runs away, dropping out of school. Now homeless, she joins a group of tech-savvy young thieves: rambunctious parkour-master Ojo, brainiac mastermind Yang, and Rosie, a nonverbal child. Like Selina, Rosie has suffered an appalling trauma, and the girls quickly bond. Despite rumors of a homicidal man-eating dog plaguing Gotham City, the gang decides to attempt a daring heist. When the plan goes disastrously awry, Selina must not only save Rosie, but confront her own demons. Catwoman has had many different iterations, but Myracle’s (The Backward Season, 2018, etc.) interpretation is well-wrought, adding a new depth and a contemporary spin on an already complex, iconic character, transcending tired superhero tropes. Goodhart’s cinematically styled, action-packed, blue-hued art holds back nothing from the reader, tackling difficult scenes of child abuse, violence against animals, and self-harm. Those who enjoyed Sarah J. Maas’ prose in Catwoman: Soulstealer (2018) will certainly appreciate Myracle’s interpretation. Selina, her mother, and Dernell present as white, Yang as Asian, and Ojo presumably as Latinx, while Rosie and her family appear African-American; the one nonslender female character is presented in an unfortunately negative light.

A high-octane, emotionally-charged reimagining that is definitely the cat’s meow