Sad Goodbye

My favorite comic of 2007 (as documented here on CCG) was Catwoman. With sales slipping, Dan Didio and DC decided to pull the plug. Not before giving us one final great story in the solo adventures of Selina Kyle. Issue 82, the series finale, was everything I loved about this title. It was fun, flirty, sexy but dramatic, real and human as well.

Not every DC series came back strong from OYL (One Year Later to those of you not in the know), but Catwoman came out of the box swinging. Her entire status quo had changed. In fact she wasn't even Catwoman any more. Will Pfeifer did an amazing job over his 2 years writing this title. His stories were complex and multi-layered, but often quite simple and very gripping. Selina dealing with being a super-hero mother was quite possibly my favorite ongoing story of any comic last year. The way she struggled with parenthood while also dealing with the trials and tribulations of the East End made her the strongest female character in the DC Universe.

While 2007 was a banner year for Ms. Kyle, 2008 was not as kind. The storytelling in the first half of the year was hampered by the fact that Selina was taking part in DC's Salvation Run. Selina shouldn't be on an alien world. She always works better when she's dealing more with street level crime. So although the year started out roughly, the last 6 issues of the series rounded back into form. She dealt with the criminal who had been trying to discredit her and cleared her name while also reinforcing the fact that she was the top female in Gotham. A perfect foil to the stoic Caped Crusader.

So although I no longer have a solo title to enjoy the exploits of Catwoman, I am enjoying Paul Dini''s take on her in Detective Comics. I look forward to seeing more of her in the future in that title. I also implore Dan Didio to please not forget this great character in his stable.