Catwoman (2002-2008) Vol. 1: Trail of the Catwoman

I love the way the story is written. Selinas personality and characterization is pure top notch for her, definitely one of her best iterations yet. It's not just her character thats well written either, it's Holly and the others too. What I also absolutely love is the art, it's genuinely a highlight of the series. I can't wait to read more of this series!

The stories reprinted in this volume made huge waves in the comics scene when they were first published in the early 2000's. Darwyn Cooke and Ed Brubaker, both master storytellers whose resumes speak for themselves, took to the task of breathing new life into the Selina Kyle character, and the Catwoman for the modern generation was born.The stories contained here have ties to both the 1990's "Catwoman" series, as well as "Batman: Year One", but give the reader plenty of information to maintain awareness of what is currently happening. In short--if you loved those previous stories, you'll love that they are referenced here...and if this is your first time reading Catwoman, you'll still be able to follow and enjoy this book!Brubaker and Cooke managed to pinpoint the ideal Selina Kyle for the modern age here--an anti-hero who has seen more of the ugly side of life than Batman has, and therefore has less restrictions on what she will and will not resort to...but with enough heart to make a stand for those less capable than herself. "Robin Hood" definitely comes to mind as Catwoman takes it upon herself to defend people who Batman would deem, "Far from innocent, though victims."This series took the industry by storm a decade ago, and gave Catwoman new legs to stand on even today. It only gets better from here, so hopefully enough people will buy this book so that DC makes it a priority to release a "Volume 2".

Good product for a DC or catwoman fan. The writing is stylistic of a noir setting. Good read for anyone interested in the character.

Good collection- I am a big fan of Darwin Cooke. Stories are great - Slam Bradley character is also a great stroke.,, I had to go ahead and get the next compilation. Art is noir and great.

Darwyn Cooke, Ed Brubaker, and crime fiction. These things go great together and this collection of Cat Woman stories are a perfect example of what great creators can accomplish together. Highly recommended.

Loved Brubaker noire combined with beautiful Cooke art. Catwoman was never my favorite character but the combo drew me in. I got the other 2 volumes.

Arrived in excellent condition, great illustrations very happy with this comic book

Catwoman has never appealed to me but the work of Brubaker and Cooke does so I decided to give this a shot."Trail of the Catwoman" starts off with a bang but unfortunately fizzles out by the end. It remains a solid collection, but as a reader who has drowned himself within the crime noir genre, nothing about this particularly stood out. I understand it definitely may have created a much bigger buzz when it was initially released about a decade ago, but today, "Trail of the Catwoman" should be considered good, but unspectacular.As mentioned before, the best part of this collection is the first half, which is the graphic novel, Catwoman: Selina's Big Score, created solely by Darwyn Cooke. His heavily inked cartooning forever remains a visual pleasure and this felt a lot like Cooke's Richard Stark's Parker, Vol. 1: The Hunter: clever, methodical, character-driven yet action-packed. Nothing groundbreaking or terribly original, but it is a thoroughly entertaining story nonetheless.Following 'Selina's Big Score' is a mini-series that fleshes out the character of Slam Bradley, a Gotham city detective investigating Catwoman. Fun, straight to the point, and with the same amazing Cooke artwork, these add up to a good read and supplements "Selina's Big Score" well.The shortcoming is with the collected nine issues of the ongoing `Catwoman' series. Cooke's art transitions to a much lighter and cheery tone, and I found it to be conflicting with Brubaker's moodier storylines. Brubaker stays true to himself and constructs strong (albeit tired) plots and as much as I admire Cooke's work, I could not completely immerse myself within the pages because it failed to visually sell itself. Maybe they didn't want to get too serious with the character or attempted to make the book more visually accessible, but either way, it just was not working for me."Trail of the Catwoman" certainly deserves praise; it is a commendable collection of stories that will not disappoint fans of Ed Brubaker and/or Darwyn Cooke. But while those expectations may be met, they certainly will not be exceeded. This book was released several years too late for it fails to rise above the plethora of crime books, including other works by the same creators. That being said, my introduction to Catwoman was a memorable experience and finally I understand why the comic community adores Selina Kyle so much.

Great stories for this underdeveloped, historically over objectified character.The heist story at the start is my fav, def should be turned into a movie. One of Brubaker's best!

Comme toute bonne serie de l univers 'Batman', on est plus proche du film noir que de la BD de superheros, avec des casses, des femmes fatales et pas toujours de happy-ends. Des dessins au look retro renforcent l'ambiance 'noir'. L inspitation de Nolan pour son Dark Knight Rises en 2012.

Simplesmente maravilhosa! Roteiro impecável! Darwyn Cooke, junto com Ed Brubaker, trouxe a melhor interpretação sobre Catwoman! Excelente e perfeita! Brilhante!

Catwoman ist den meisten sicherlich nur als dann und wann in Batman Comics auftretender Charakter bekannt. Was von ihr aus Filmen bekannt ist dürfte den Griff zur Catwoman Serie kaum befördern. Was für das vorliegende Trade Paperback bzw. dessen Kindle Version schade wäre, hat doch von 2001 bis 2005 Ed Brubaker (Criminal, Fatale, Daredevil) die Storys geschrieben, anfänglich von Darwyne Cooke unterstützt. Brubaker hat die Serie und den Charakter gekonnt transformiert und aus der Reihe mit der Zeit einen tollen Noir Crime Comic gemacht. Die Heldin mit ihrem ambivalenten Charakter, Diebin und Beschützerin der Schwachen in Gothams East End, wird eine echte Persönlichkeit.Los geht's mit "Selina's Big Score", Story und Zeichnungen von Cooke. Wer Darwyne Cooke nicht kennt, sollte sich mal dessen "Parker" Comics oder die "Minutemen" aus der Before Watchman Reihe anschauen. Cooke zeigt hier Selina Kyle aka Catwoman beim Planen und durchführen eines ganz großen Coups. In Manier der großen Raub/Banküberfall Filme ala Oceans Eleven wird hier ein Gangsterboss abgezockt und nebenbei die Grundlage für die weiter Entwicklung des Charakters durch Ed Brubaker gelegt. Toll gezeichnet, in Cookes typischen reduzierten Strich, leicht cartoonig, aber immer voll Tempo und mit ausdrucksstarken Figuren und tollen Perspektiven. Die Charaktere, Dialoge und Handlungsablauf sind Noir Crime Like und finsterer als die Zeichnungen vermuten lassen.Hierauf baut Brubaker auf und entwickelt in der Folge Selina Kyle als Charakter weiter. Die nutzt den gewonnen Reichtum, lässt sich in Gothams East End nieder und wacht über diesen Teil der Stadt. Eine Serie von Morden an Straßenmädchen lässt Selina keine Ruhe. In Anknüpfung an "Batman Year One" kennt Sie dieses Milieu nur zu gut. Die folgenden Geschichten widmen sich einer Reihe von Fällen um korrupte Polizisten, deren Drogendeals und Kontakten zur Unterwelt.Brubaker räumt den anderen Charakteren der Storys, Freundinnen von Selina, Polizisten, dem Detektiv Slam Bradley viel Platz ein. Selina ist keine Überheldin, sie macht Fehler und sie braucht die Unterstützung ihrer Freunde im Viertel. Das ist durchweg mehr Crime als Superhelden Story. Die Geschichten sind klug konstruiert, mit gekonnten Dialogen und stimmiger Illustration. Wobei die an Cooke anknüpfenden Zeichner ihre Sache durchweg gut machen. Der leicht cartoonige Stil erlaubt ausdrucksstarke Mimik und temporeiche Abläufe.Der Band macht viel Spaß und Lust auf Volume 2 des Brubaker runs. Brubaker zeigt hier bereits was seine späteren Comics von "Gotham Central" bis "Criminal" auszeichnete: er nimmt seine Charaktere ernst, seine Geschichten haben den Ton guter Noir Krimis (inklusiver Mord, üblen Schurken und toughen Polizisten), die nötige Portion Humor in den bissigen Dialogen und die Geschichten sind mit echten Persönlichkeiten bevölkert. Spannend, und unterhaltsam sind sie sowieso. Großartige Vorkenntnisse aus dem Batman Universum oder alter Catwoman Comics braucht man übrigens nicht um diesen Band zu verstehen. Also: kaufen!

Beautifully illustrated. Intelligently written. Wonderfully lengthy. Great graphic novel. I'd recommend it to anyone who enjoyed the Long Halloween or Gotham Central. After accidentally buying the kindle version, I'd happily buy the paperback too. Re-readable score 8-10.