AUTHOR: LAUREN MYRACLE | ARTIST: ISAAC GOODHART | PUBLISHER: DC INK | FORMAT: PAPERBACK | RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW

A Catwoman tale? Well, we’ve seen a few of those over the years as the grand old lady slinks toward her eightieth birthday in 2020. But this latest graphic novel is quite a bit different. The author Lauren Myracle might not be a familiar name even to diehard DC fans, and with good reason. Ms Myracle is stepping out of her comfort zone as an author of children’s and young adult fiction to pen her first graphic novel in this launch title for DC’s brand-new young readers imprint, DC Ink.

The cynical passer-by might well wonder why a publisher of comic books would need a young readers imprint, but those are largely people who haven’t picked a title up for the past three decades and have no concept of how the industry has evolved. Besides, what DC has with their launch title is actually a very good, very fast paced and touching story of a pre-Catwoman Selina Kyle in her early adolescence.

This story doesn’t clutter itself with tying into Gotham or any other DC continuity, past or present – it is what it is, and that doesn’t weaken the impact. Selina is fourteen, her mother has a string of really bad relationships – but the current one, Darnell, is the most vicious, cruelly abusive bully of them all, which leads to Selina leaving home and high school to live on the streets, relying on her wits to survive and keep herself safe from predators. This is in a Gotham City before Batman became its protector, though the poverty-stricken Selina does have an unlikely ally in an orphaned classmate named Bruce Wayne.

Even back then, Gotham had an unusual crime problem, this time there’s a vicious killer called the Growler on the loose, and it can only be a matter of time before Selina becomes irresistibly attracted to a life of night-time crime with her new-found streetwise crew, and the night is the domain of The Growler.

It’s a quick and easy read, a great story – relatable to young people as the target audience, but doesn’t pander or patronise and is equally appealing to the more seasoned comic book fan as well. The artwork is simple and uncluttered, and presented in a pleasing blue tint.

Overall, DC Ink can only attract more readers and fans if their books continue to be of this calibre, but Lauren Myracle and artist Isaac Goodhart have set a high bar here.