Catwoman #3, March 2002
Darwyn Cooke drew only four “regular” issues of Catwoman.
Four.
Yes, there was also “Trail of the Catwoman” in Detective Comics, and the terrific Selina’s Big Score. But still, it wasn’t nearly enough.
Ed Brubaker and Darwyn gave us a terrific version of Selina Kyle. Smart, stylish, funny and noirish, with a costume that was both sexy — and, for a change, a bit more practical.
She finally looked like someone who could actually leap across rooftops without losing parts of her wardrobe.
This page, inked by Mike Allred, is a great example of Darwyn’s storytelling. Two small panels to set things up, followed by one big payoff.
Simple. Clear. Terrific.
And, of course, Catwoman owns the page.
I’ve featured Darwyn’s work on the blog many times: Parker, The Spirit, and those wonderful classic comic-book reinterpretations he apparently created to “relax.”
(Most of us relax differently. But I digress.)
Darwyn’s Catwoman run was much too short. Sadly, so was Darwyn’s time on planet Earth. He died in 2016 at the age of 53.
He was one of the greatest cartoonists of his generation, despite entering the field relatively late, and I was fortunate to know him and work with him. I might be biased, but his Parker graphic novels (IDW Publishing) are some of the best ever published.
The man and his talent are very much missed. Fortunately, the art and the stories are still very much with us.
I’m thrilled that DC is finally publishing Batman by Darwyn Cooke: The Absolute Edition, collecting all of his extraordinary work with the Batman family in a format it deserves.
DC asked me to provide images of several pieces of Darwyn’s original art from my collection, and I happily obliged. Which pieces did they actually use in the finished book? Excellent question.
Apparently, even with a $125 cover price, their budget didn’t quite stretch far enough for a contributor copy. As a former publisher, I definitely recognize fiscal discipline, although this might be pushing that philosophy a bit too far.
No worries. I’ll contribute to the Warner Bros. bottom line as soon as I can get a copy.
Meanwhile, this page is a pretty good reminder of just how much Darwyn could accomplish in a very small amount of space.
And how much more we wish there had been.
