Knight Terrors: Catwoman #1 – The Great Gotham Nightmare

Knight Terrors: Catwoman #1 begins with Selina chasing someone she believes to be part of the Joker’s gang to the museum. As she pursues this person, she ruminates about how her actions running the mob families in Gotham did more harm than good despite her best intentions. Just as she is about to apprehend the man (Insomnia), she is blindsided by her estranged sister, Maggie, aka Sister Zero.

Catwoman’s nightmare revolves around her history and conflict with her sister, much of which has to do with her not only being Catwoman but also her being involved with the Gotham Crime families. The first part of the issue deconstructs Selina and Maggie’s relationship, Selina justifying her actions as trying to protect Maggie and how the sister’s personal philosophical stances are very different for solving the problems of Gotham.

Aside from the opening sequence with Catwoman chasing the man who looks like Insomnia, subtle hints require a second look to make one realize that this is a dream, even if Selina and Maggie don’t recognize them, from the soup being served to the people eating it. Another distracting thing about the art is the left side of Selina’s face which is scratched up and her left eye is seemingly blind, a point which will hopefully be explained in the next installment.

The last section of the issue has Catwoman and Sister Zero returning to look for the person from the museum as the two of them run into Batman, not the older Bruce Wayne who almost married Selina, but a Year One Batman, who doesn’t recognize Selina and wonders how she knows he has been thinking about using the Batman moniker.

Though it is a nightmare, a touch of humor in the writing with Selina knowing about Bruce/Batman keeps the story from staying too dark.  Leila Leiz and Marissa Louise work well together setting a landscape that is nightmarish but also leaves the reader questioning what is real.