Quick Review

Catwoman: The Dark End of the Street (Brubaker, Cooke and Allred) - This trade paperback contains two stories that set up Mr. Brubaker's run on the Catwoman comic. They are superb little crime stories, with a noir feel. The characterization is sharp and the plots follow familiar crime story territory, which makes this trade an excellent read for those who don't normally read comics. Catwoman is a strong woman who doesn't need super powers to make a difference in the lives of the women she helps. In fact, she doesn't don her leather uniform at all during the first story. There are bits that remind us that this story takes place in Batman's world (including Batman's cameo appearances in both stories and the ending of the second story) and if they were removed the story could have easily been an episode in any cop or crime drama on television. But the fantastic bits do not undermine the story as much as they highlight the gritty reality these characters must operate in.

The art fits the story perfectly and shows us a Gotham City seemingly stuck somewhere in the late forties or early fifties (with some new millennium anachronisms thrown in). Accordingly, I'd recommend reading this trade while listening to Miles Davis' Round About Midnight or even (for the irony) Someday My Prince Will Come.