I have been reading more into DC comics and found myself drawn to the DC Ink graphic novels. First, I read Raven and was blown away by the fascinating story and art. Now, Under The Moon A Catwoman Tale is the next one to leave an impression.
The Plot
The story follows Selina Kyle and her unfortunately terrible life situations. With an abusive man, Dernell, taking over their household and her mother not doing anything about it, the final straw for Selina is when Dernell harms the small kitten Selina secretly takes care of. Selina takes measures into her own hands and leaves the house illustrated in an emotional way.
This kitten plays a bittersweet role in the story. Through this kitten, Selina’s mood is better. She finds a reason to be happy and really live again. With the death of the kitten, the opposite. Despite this, she finds inspiration to fight and become what a cat represents, in her eyes.
Finally, things start looking up for Catgirl, her new name and persona, once she finds a group to call her family.
Characters
- Bruce Wayne: Childhood friends with Selina and helps whenever needed. A future romantic relationship between the two is slightly hinted (as it is a part of Catwoman and Batman’s stories in comics). However, it is not revealed that Bruce is Batman nor is he shown starting to become a hero in contrast to Selina.
- Briar Rose (Rosie): 9 year old who has a very, very tragic story. In short, her mother committed suicide with Rosie and her brother in the car. While in foster care, her brother found a home and became separated from her. (As evident through the brief description of Rosie’s story, this graphic novel contains mature and graphic subject matter but does so in a well written and appropriate manner). Fortunately, her and Selina form a good bond that helps them both a lot.
- Ojo: He helps Selina learn parkour and become stealthy, introduces her to his friends Yang and Briar Rose. The 3 live together in an abandoned warehouse that they fixed up and invite Selina to join them.
- Yang: Brains behind the group and coordinates the thieving jobs the group does.
The Art
As displayed above, the art style is visually appealing and I personally love it. This is common amongst the DC Ink graphic novels. I (and the author as stated in an interview in the back of the graphic novel) appreciate the illustrator’s take on Selina Kyle. To clarify, this appreciation stems from the fact she is typically illustrated to appeal to the male gaze. Also, I find all the cat imagery fun to spot in the panels.
The Ending
The ending undoubtedly is good and well written. However, I want more. I want to see more of her acting as Catgirl/Catwoman and more interactions between her and Bruce. While there might not be any more of Catgirl in DC Ink graphic novels in the near future, there are plenty of these graphic novels of other characters such as Harley Quinn, Mera, a new one about Batman and one about Beast Boy in the future!
