Catwoman #73
Catwoman #73 serves as a pivotal chapter in DC's massive 1999 'Batman: No Man's Land' crossover — one of the most ambitious year-long Batman events ever assembled — placing Selina Kyle at the center of a covert mission directly commissioned by Batman himself. The issue delivers the first appearance of Hardcases, Inc., a team of ex-military operatives with low-level metahuman abilities, who would continue to antagonize Catwoman through subsequent issues of the arc. More broadly, this issue illustrates how the No Man's Land crisis expanded Catwoman's role in the Bat-family mythos: rather than a peripheral anti-hero, she is here treated as an indispensable operative trusted with intelligence vital to Gotham's survival. It also marks one of the most explicitly romantic Batman–Catwoman moments of the era, with Batman persuading Selina to accept the mission with a kiss — a story beat that reinforced the long-running emotional tension between the two characters during the Balent-era series.
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We Buy Collections ▸History
John Ostrander took over the writing duties on Catwoman's ongoing second volume specifically during the No Man's Land crossover period, stepping in for Devin Grayson who had concluded her run just before the event. Jim Balent, the series' longest-running and most recognizable artist, remained on pencils — he would continue on the title through issue #77, making this issue part of the final stretch of his definitive six-year run on the character. The No Man's Land event itself was architected by DC associate editor Jordan B. Gorfinkel, whose outline shaped the continuity across all Batman titles throughout 1999, with group editor Dennis O'Neil overseeing the line. Issue #73's story, titled 'Ms. Direction,' continues directly from Catwoman #72 (September 1999) and feeds into Catwoman #74, forming the middle installment of Ostrander and Balent's six-part No Man's Land contribution to the series (issues #72–77).
Trivia · 8 facts
- Cover date: October 1999; published as part of Catwoman Vol. 2 (the 1993–2001 ongoing series), issue #73 in the run.
- First appearance of Hardcases, Inc. — a team of five ex-U.S. Armed Forces operatives, each with a distinct low-level metahuman ability, led by Vincent Nastacio.
- Written by John Ostrander (known for Suicide Squad and Grimjack), with interior art by longtime series penciler Jim Balent, inks by Marlo Alquiza, and colors by Roberta Tewes.
- Edited by Dennis O'Neil and Joseph Illidge; O'Neil also served as group editor overseeing the entire Batman line during No Man's Land.
- Story title is 'Ms. Direction' — a direct continuation of the two-part No Man's Land mission begun in Catwoman #72, in which Batman recruits Selina to steal vital computer discs from a Manhattan building protected by Hardcases, Inc.
- Represents one of the most explicitly romantic Batman–Catwoman interactions of the Balent era: the previous issue established Batman persuaded Selina to take the mission by kissing her.
- Part of the broader 'Batman: No Man's Land' crossover — an approximately 80-issue, year-long event spanning multiple Batman-family titles in 1999, depicting Gotham City quarantined after a catastrophic earthquake.
- Reprinted in Batman: No Man's Land (2011/2012 Complete Edition) Vol. 2, which was DC's effort to collect all previously uncollected chapters of the event.
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Reprinted in Batman Sonderband #8 (2000), Batman #4 (2000), Batman: No Man's Land #2 (2012)
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