Mostly this is YA because the characters are YA aged, it's the story of domestic abuse, serial domestic abuse and a girl who finds a way out via crime and what homeless kids (and some who have to live with abusive parents) have to deal with because they can't access personal hygiene solutions. It also deals with Bruce Wayne's early relationship with Selina Kyle. It's complex and interesting and I found the characters quite relatable. I would read more in this vein to see Selina progress. ( )

By and large the art isn’t good. It’s not the ugliest graphic novel I’ve ever read, and there are plenty of decent panels, but overall i don’t like the wonky style or faces - particularly the eyes and the stepfather.

The story is.... fine. A bit boring, by and large. I appreciate how Selina’s plan of being homeless fails because she’s not good at it and wasn’t ready for it because, despite how bad her upbringing was, she just wasn’t prepared. She came from a middle class US family and went to the streets. It’s... I mean I feel like Bruce should have suggested calling the police or social services or something. Selina’s got her pride, but Bruce in this story is not as smart as he purportedly is depicted as toddler.

It’s not the worst catwoman story by any stretch of the imagination. I’m just not sure what this adds to anything, other than still being drawn better than a large portion of them given how much and how badly she’s been drawn over the years. Pretty much every terrible famous male comic artist has gotten to draw her - usually for money - so this... is better than most other options.

If you’d like a YA catwoman story, though, I’d suggest reading “Catwoman: Soulstealer”, the novel. It’s a lot better. ( )

This graphic novel is done in blue, and white chromatic scale which helps solidify a few things. One, that this is a historical story and two that it is very moon-based as much of the color associated with the moon is blue and white. The storyline sets up further continuation nicely. In addition, for those who pay attention, there are homages to other DC-based heroes. Excellently illustrated and provides a lot of in-depth information on Catwoman. ( )

This book deals with a lot of heavy topics, depicted on the page. Catwoman’s story wouldn’t make sense if she came from a perfect background, but looking at the reviews, this has been really hard for unsuspecting readers.

Here’s the awful stuff you can expect:
- Domestic violence, alcohol abuse
- Child abuse (toward 13-15 year old Selina)
- Kitten dies on page, b/c of the abuser
- Homelessness at 15
- A child orphaned by suicide at age 8
- Dead bodies and a super villain on a murder spree

Like Mera, this is about a teen heroine finding her motivation and path. It’s very much like the DC: Icons novels, but it’s darker than Mera and handles a lot of things on the page. I grew up in this kind of environment, so I will say I thought it was an accurate portrayal, even if not fun to read about.

Overall, a solid origin story for an antiheroine, but don’t expect it to be like Mera: Tidebreaker. ( )

I love the art, but the story was just ok. There were a few plot points that were introduced and never resolved. ( )