Science's Less Accurate Grandmother: Catwoman: Year 2 by Doug Moench, Jim Balent, and Mark Pennington

26 April 2023

Catwoman: Year 2 by Doug Moench, Jim Balent, and Mark Pennington

So, this story has no direct relationship to my history of the Justice Society of America—which at forty-one installments and counting across more than three years is clearly never going to come to an end. But when researching Catwoman: Her Sister's Keeper, I discovered its existence and, well, it made sense to me to read Catwoman: Year 2 after what was "Catwoman: Year One" in all but name. So here I am with a brief break from the JSA.

This story, obviously, takes place during the early years of Batman and Catwoman. Specifically, it must fall after The Long Halloween, as Harvey Dent has become Two-Face, and it must precede Dark Victory, as Batman is not yet working with Robin. Indeed, that lines it up pretty much exactly with my placement for Batman: Year Two, which seems right. In Long Halloween, Selina briefly pops up as a socialite in Bruce's circle (if I remember correctly; it's been a long time), an identity she must have established for herself with her proceeds from theft. For her, it would also go before When in Rome, another story of her early years.

The story seems to be designed to bridge the gap between the dark, gritty Selina of stuff like Batman: Year One and Her Sister's Keeper and the more lively, flirty Selina of the Batman comics of the 1990s. One aspect of the transition is very obvious. By the end of Her Sister's Keeper, Selina was wearing a gray costume; here, inspired by a meeting with the Joker in his purple suit, she discards it and replaces it with a costume in royal purple, such as she was wearing by the 1990s. More significantly, the story wants to establish Batman and Catwoman's flirtatious relationship, where he's attracted to her, she's attracted to him, but also he thinks of her as a criminal and therefore can't let himself act on that attraction, and she does enough good things that he can overlook the bad.

from Catwoman vol. 2 #39

On the other hand, while the story is designed to bridge the approach of the 1980s Catwoman to the 1990s one, it's not actually—despite the title—a very direct follow-up to "Year One." Holly Robinson is nowhere to be seen; my understanding is that she would never appear in a Catwoman story again until the Catwoman vol. 3 ongoing in the 2000s. Where did this character so integral to Selina's early days go off to? You can of course make something up, but writing her out is the kind of thing I expected this story to do.

More jarring if you go directly from Her Sister's Keeper to Year 2 is the fact that here Selina has no sister... It's not that Maggie isn't mentioned; Year 2 goes so far as to explicitly state that Selina was an only child! Like, the last story was called "Her Sister's Keeper," you can't just ignore that. (And if Her Sister's Keeper was considered not to "count" by 1996... then what else was "Year One" supposed to be? You can't have a "Year Two" without one!) In my last post I said Her Sister's Keeper and Year 2 together would make a good trade... and that's still true but it would make an odd read!

from Catwoman vol. 2 #40

As for the actual story, well, it's okay. Selina goes for a cat-themed jewel but Batman anticipates her; to plan her next heist, she decides to distract him by releasing Two-Face, the Joker, and the Penguin from Arkham Asylum. The story tries to establish that unlike them, Selina's not a killer... but c'mon! Releasing the Joker is about as bad as being a murderer yourself! The idea that this was somehow a forgivable act was one I just could not buy no matter how hard the story tried to sell it to me. On the other hand, Jim Balent was born to draw Catwoman (her 1990s incarnation, at least), and it was always fun and engaging to read. Aside from the continuity aspects I discussed above, I also felt like I wanted a better sense of how Selina transitioned from someone adopting a costumed identity to help herself and others (in her own way) to someone obsessed with jewelry for its own sake... but that seemed to have happened off-panel between Her Sister's Keeper and this story.

Catwoman: Year 2 originally appeared in issues #38-40 of Catwoman vol. 2 (Oct.-Dec. 1996). The story was written by Doug Moench, pencilled by Jim Balent, inked by Mark Pennington, colored by Buzz Setzer, lettered by Albert T. De Guzman, and edited by Dennis O'Neil.

This post is a supplement to an ever-expanding series about the Justice Society and Earth-Two. The next installment covers Wonder Woman: Past Imperfect. Previous installments are listed below:

All Star Comics: Only Legends Live Forever (1976-79)

The Huntress: Origins (1977-82)

All-Star Squadron (1981-87)

Infinity, Inc.: The Generations Saga, Volume One (1983-84)

Infinity, Inc.: The Generations Saga, Volume Two (1984-85)

Showcase Presents... Power Girl (1978)

America vs. the Justice Society (1985)

Jonni Thunder, a.k.a. Thunderbolt (1985)

Crisis on Multiple Earths, Volume 7 (1983-85)

Infinity, Inc. #11-53 (1985-88) [reading order]

Last Days of the Justice Society of America (1986-88)

All-Star Comics 80-Page Giant (1999)