Reporting for NPR’s All Things Considered, Allison Keyes examines the allure of Catwoman, from her first appearance in 1940 to her leap to television in 1966 to her current comic series:
… Catwoman has changed with the times. Will Pfeifer (no relation to Michelle) writes the current Catwoman comic. He says her backstory is as tangled as a ball of string: She was orphaned, has a sister, and has a shadowy past as a prostitute.
“I like to play off that,” says Will Pfeifer. “To me, she’s just someone who’s had a really rough life, but she’s never been beaten. She really comes out on top, and she uses her experiences and moves on from them — and she has fun while she’s doing it, I think.”
Indeed, Catwoman isn’t the type to sit around twiddling her claws, waiting for anyone to bail her out of trouble — even when the offer comes from Bruce Wayne.
“This was one of the first female characters we saw on television that really spoke to empowerment,” says Suzanne Colon, author of Catwoman: The Life and Times of a Feline Fatale. “Not only empowerment; a proto-feminism that was very sexy and pretty and female, and yet very take-charge. This woman had her own gang of men who wore little cat ears … to please her.”
Keyes also speaks with veteran creator Jerry Robinson, and actors Adam West, Julie Newmar and Eartha Kitt.
if i remember right, will was actually married to michelle. http://goodcomics.comicbookresources.com/2006/05/25/comic-book-urban-legends-revealed-52/
Comment by c. towns — March 17, 2008 @ 12:42 pm
“if i remember right, will was actually married to michelle.”
You do realize that was a joke, right?
Comment by kalorama — March 17, 2008 @ 12:52 pm
I love Catwoman. Not quite villain, not quite hero. She’s her own person and doesn’t subscribe to the rules of either. Will is doing a great job on the character, much like Ed Brubaker did when he and Cooke revisioned her.
I just wish Holly was still around.
Comment by DaVeO — March 17, 2008 @ 1:06 pm
“if i remember right, will was actually married to michelle.”
True, but that was *before* he made the deal with Mephisto….
Comment by Pack — March 17, 2008 @ 3:23 pm
Actually, he was married to DeDee.
Comment by Ji Coyle — March 17, 2008 @ 4:37 pm
Will Pfeifer was married to DeeDee Ramone?
Truly, my world has changed forever…
Comment by Vinnie Bartilucci — March 17, 2008 @ 4:55 pm
CATWOMAN continues to be DC’s best on-going series. It’s just a roller coaster ride every issue, and special Kudos has to go to artist David Lopez for never missing an issue in over two years!!
Comment by wonder man — March 18, 2008 @ 12:56 am
Julie Newmar = GILF.
Comment by Jack Spicer — March 18, 2008 @ 4:49 am