Today's episode of The Dan Cave
is brought to you by Catwoman Soulstealer.
(upbeat music)
Well many people think the Joker is Batman's
most enduring rival, they'd be incorrect because
that distinct honor belongs to Catwoman.
So in honor of number one New York Times best selling author
Sarah J. Maas's thrilling new Y.A. novel
Catwoman Soulstealer, we're going to run down
some of the greatest Catwoman stories of all time.
The Autobiography of Bruce Wayne:
while Batman and Catwoman have always had a
"will they, won't they" thing going, there's at least
one universe where the Bat and the Cat found love
and actually got married too.
In this story by Alan Brenner, Joe Stayton
and George Freeman, that man is infected by the scarecrow's
fear toxin which causes everyone he cares about
to seemingly fade away in front of his eyes.
Unable to rely on his friends, Batman turned to someone
he can trust or rather someone that he didn't necessarily
care about, his longtime enemy Catwoman.
Over the course of their adventure we see the two move
from an uneasy alliance to confiding in one another,
falling for each other and eventually realizing
that they're actually perfect for one another.
It's kind of like myself and my one true love,
spending way too much money on comic books.
Selina's Big Score:
Anyone who's read Darwyn Cooke's Parker comics for IDW
knows that he was a master of telling
a compelling heist story and Selina'a Big Score
is not only a great crime comic but is one of the best
Catwoman stories of all time.
Down on her luck Selina learns of a train carrying
$24 million dollars in the Falconi crime family's
dirty money.
It's a score that would put her back in the big time.
The only catch - to steal it she'll have to team up
with her old mentor Stark.
Can either one trust the other?
Probably not.
I mean they're both criminals but that's half the charm
and Cooke's gorgeously illustrated noir style story
that makes it an absolute must read for any Cat fan.
Now this book also features one of the single silliest names
in all of DC Comics, Slam Bradley.
Just say it out loud.
Just remember how good it feels to laugh.
Slam.
Come on and slam, Bradley.
The Catfile:
How many times you've just been minding your own business,
when out of nowhere you're kidnapped
by a shadowy government agency and blackmailed
into pilfering an ancient relic
from a small European country and to make matters worse,
even if you succeeded, the government just plans on
killing you anyway.
Well if you're Catwoman and Chuck Dixon
and Jim Balance, Catwoman, The Catfile,
the answer is at least once, using her wits, wiles
and superior spycraft, Selina must race against time
to both commit the crime of her life and outsmart
the government stooges holding her hostage,
which is something it sounds like it was ripped straight
from the headlines but is in fact 22 years old.
Her Sister's Keeper:
Selina Kyle didn't have the easiest upbringing,
though her origins have shifted over the years,
they've generally been mired in hardship
and that's what's explored in Mindy Newell's mini series,
Her Sister's Keeper.
Serving as a sort of companion piece to Frank Millers
iconic Batman Year One, Her Sister's Keeper examines
Selina's past as a sex worker
and her sister's life as a nun.
This gritty story leans into the darker side
of Gotham City stories through its look at sex trafficking
and also it sheds light on how Selina molded herself
into hardened self-sufficient bad ass that we know and love,
showing us how another DC hero Ted Grant a.k.a. Wild Cat
taunted her fight and protect herself
on Gotham's Mean Streets.
But most of all, this gripping story raises
an important question, are Catwoman and her sister
wearing costumes to empower themselves
or to avoid their real problems?
It's one that may well never be answered.
Relentless:
If you were to ask most people about their favorite
Catwoman story of all time, most of them would probably
answer Relentless.
The 2004 storyline from Ed Brubaker and Cameron Stewart
examines the very real cost of what happens
when Selina Kyle tries to do some good for her community,
acting as a sort of Robin Hood
for Gotham City's East End, Selina uses her ill gotten gains
to do things like building a $28 million dollar
community center only to have it blown to smithereens.
Because unfortunately Selena's actions have put her
squarely in the cross hairs of the Black Mask
and the rest of Gotham City's underworld.
And it's not just Selina who finds herself
in harm's way, it's the people who are closest
to her like her protegé Holly and her sister.
Whatever you do just make sure you're not eating grapes
when you read part four.
That's a small spoiler alert but just trust me on that one.
Only Takes a Night:
For eeryone still bummed about how the Batman/Catwoman
wedding of the century shook out, Catwoman number 32,
Only Takes a Night shows why that's probably for the best.
Over the course of a single evening Batman and Catwoman
spend the night together trying to figure out
if they're meant to be soul mates or sworn frenemies.
Ed Brubaker, Sean Phillips and Stefano Gaudiano's story
shows Catwoman in a tenuous position losing control
over Gotham's East End, reeling from the death
of one of her closest friends and trying to figure out
what her place is in life.
When we see the two of them out on a date, we also learn
how the people on the periphery of Selina's life
are affected by this larger than life connection
between Catwoman and Batman.
No matter what they may want in their heart of hearts,
one thing is for certain, these two will always
have a powerful, undeniable connection
And those are some of the greatest Catwoman stories
of all time.
But tell me what are your favorites?
Let me know in the comments below and be sure to give me
a morally gray thumbs up while you're there.
Be sure to like, subscribe and hit that
notification bell or else you might miss next week's show
about the story of a billionaire turned costumed vigilante
who must fight with his greatest villain yet,
an undead apocalypse that is meant to serve
as a damning indictment of the Vietnam War race relations
and the changing face of America in
The Dark Night of the Living Dead.
Until next time keep on digging.
Special thanks to Catwoman Soulstealer
for sponsoring today's episode, written by
number one New York Times Bestselling author Sarah J. Maas,
Catwoman Soulstealer is a cat woman story
unlike anything you've seen before.
Filled with pulse-pounding suspense, this action packed
origin story introduces us to a new thief
on the prowl in Gotham City.
Selina Kyle a.k.a. Catwoman, two years after escaping
Gotham City slums, Selina Kyle transforms herself
into a masterpiece in the making, teaming up with the likes
of Poison Ivy and Harley Quinn to wreak havoc
all over Gotham while Batman is out of town,
but with Batman's protegé, Batwing, a.k.a. Luke Fox,
out to make a name for himself as one of Gotham City's
protectors, Catwoman finds herself in an unwittingly
dangerous game of cat and mouse and this time,
she's the mouse.
Catwoman Soulstealer, available wherever
fine books are sold.
(lasers)