Catwoman #39

History

Tini Howard was announced as the new Catwoman writer in late 2021, taking over from Ram V, whose run had been compressed and partially redirected by the line-wide 'Fear State' event before concluding. Howard came directly from a high-profile Marvel exclusive — she had written Excalibur (vol. 4) for over two years — and Catwoman #39 represented her first sustained DC ongoing work; she noted publicly that she arrived with a clear plan from her very first editorial phone call, pitching the opening scene essentially as it appears in the finished issue. Nico Leon, known at Marvel primarily for Ms. Marvel work, joined as penciler and inker, with series veterans Jordie Bellaire (colorist) and Tom Napolitano (letterer) retained from the prior regime to provide continuity; the book was edited by Jessica Chen and Jessica Berbey. The issue received a second printing — with a recolored version of Sozomaika's 1:25 retailer-incentive cardstock variant as its cover — indicating stronger-than-expected retail demand for a mid-numbered issue with no accompanying renumbering stunt.

Trivia · 8 facts

• First appearance of Valmont, a new Gotham master-thief whose name is an explicit literary homage to the antagonist of the 18th-century French novel 'Les Liaisons Dangereuses' and its film adaptations; he debuts in flashback within this issue.
• First appearance of multiple supporting and antagonist characters introduced simultaneously: crime bosses Finbar Sullivan, Federico Tomasso, and Antonia Tomasso; Selina's new cat Duchess (a Bialy blue); Eiko Hasigawa's girlfriend Grace; waitresses Jasmine and Kristi; and Martine Sullivan.
• Tini Howard's debut as writer of the DC ongoing Catwoman series and her first major DC Comics ongoing assignment; she would remain on the title through issue #68 (September 2024).
• Nico Leon's first solo ongoing series at DC Comics, collaborating with colorist Jordie Bellaire, whose visual approach was described by DC's own promotional writing as a 'neo-noir style' with expressive, cat-ear-based emotional cues for Selina.
• Story arc title: 'Dangerous Liaisons, Part 1 of 4'; the arc — issues #39–42 — was subsequently collected in the trade paperback Catwoman Vol. 1: Dangerous Liaisons, which also includes issues #43–44.
• The issue continues the Volume 5 numbering that began with Joëlle Jones's 2018 launch, representing DC's editorial choice to hand off a mid-run title rather than issue a new #1 — a structurally notable decision in an era of frequent renumberings.
• Cover A is by Jeff Dékal; variant Cover B is by Jenny Frison; the 1:25 retailer-incentive cardstock variant is by Sozomaika. A second printing used a recolored Sozomaika cover.
• Eiko Hasigawa — first introduced in Genevieve Valentine's 2014–2015 Catwoman run as a rival Catwoman figure — reappears here as a Yakuza crime-family leader and Selina's former romantic interest, explicitly reconnecting Howard's arc to that earlier 'DCYou' era continuity.

Full credits

Key issues in Catwoman

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#40 1st appearance — Dario Tomasso

Variants (5)