Catwoman Reading Order: Where to Start
From Brubaker's noir run to the modern Selina Kyle.
By Web Admin
Selina Kyle is one of the oldest characters in comics — she first prowled across a Batman page in 1940 — and one of the hardest to pin down. Is Catwoman a villain, an antihero, a love interest, or Gotham’s most competent thief? The best Catwoman comics embrace all of it, treating Selina as a crime-noir lead who happens to share a city with Batman. That noir sensibility is the key to a good Catwoman reading order: at her best, she is less a superhero than the star of a great heist thriller.
This guide maps the essential Catwoman runs in stages, from the perfect modern starting point to the deeper cuts, so you can begin reading today without decades of continuity homework. It pairs well with our Batman reading order, since the two orbit each other constantly.
Where should a new reader start?
Start with Ed Brubaker’s Catwoman run, which began in 2001 with the arc “Trail of the Catwoman.” This is widely regarded as the definitive modern take: Brubaker, a master of crime comics, reinvents Selina as a hard-boiled protector of Gotham’s rundown East End, complete with a private-eye supporting cast. Darwyn Cooke’s clean, retro-noir art on the early issues is stunning and instantly iconic. It requires no prior Batman knowledge and reads like the best kind of crime fiction. If you read one Catwoman book, read this.
Reading order at a glance
| Stage | Story / run | Creators | Collected as |
|---|---|---|---|
| Prologue | Selina’s Big Score (2002) | Darwyn Cooke | Catwoman: Selina’s Big Score |
| Start here | Catwoman (2001) run | Brubaker / Cooke | Trail of the Catwoman |
| Origin | When in Rome (2004) | Loeb / Sale | Catwoman: When in Rome |
| Modern | Catwoman (2011, New 52) | Winick / March | Catwoman Vol. 1: The Game |
| Modern peak | Catwoman (2018) | Joelle Jones | Catwoman Vol. 1: Copycats |
The perfect prologue: Selina’s Big Score
Before or alongside Brubaker’s run, read Darwyn Cooke’s Catwoman: Selina’s Big Score (2002), a standalone original graphic novel that is essentially a perfect heist movie in comic form. Selina, presumed dead, plans one last train robbery. It is lean, stylish, and gorgeous, and it sets up the tone Brubaker’s ongoing would run with. Many readers treat it as the true starting point, and it works beautifully either just before or just after the main run.
Ed Brubaker’s run: the core
Brubaker wrote Catwoman for roughly thirty-seven issues, and it is remarkably consistent. He grounds Selina in a real neighborhood, gives her a genuine ensemble — including private detective Slam Bradley and best friend Holly — and lets her operate in the moral grey zone between hero and criminal. The stories are self-contained but build, and the noir tone never lets up. This is the run that proved Catwoman could carry a book on her own indefinitely.
- Trail of the Catwoman (the Slam Bradley prologue and #1–9)
- Catwoman: No Easy Way Down (#10–19)
- Catwoman: Wild Ride and beyond (#20 onward)
The origin story: When in Rome
Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale’s Catwoman: When in Rome (2004) is a companion to their beloved Batman story The Long Halloween. It sends Selina to Italy to investigate her possible mob heritage, and Tim Sale’s expressive, moody art makes it one of the best-looking Catwoman books ever. It plays with the long-running question of Selina’s true parentage. Read it after Brubaker, when you are curious about her past — and if you enjoy the Loeb/Sale style, our best Batman villain comics guide points to more.
The modern era: New 52 and Joelle Jones
When DC relaunched its line in 2011, Judd Winick and Guillem March’s Catwoman (New 52) leaned hard into a sexier, more action-driven Selina. It is divisive — some love the energy, others find it thin — but it is an accessible modern jumping-on point and made Catwoman a flagship title again. Approach it as a lighter, pulpier read than Brubaker’s noir.
The recent high point is Joelle Jones’s Catwoman (2018), which begins with “Copycats.” Jones both writes and draws, sending Selina to a desert town called Villa Hermosa and pitting her against a wealthy family with their own cat-themed enforcers. It is stylish, character-driven and beautifully illustrated — the best Catwoman run since Brubaker, and a great modern alternative starting point if you want something current. Jones’s Selina is confident, funny and dangerous in equal measure, and the run leans into the heist-thriller DNA that has always suited the character best.
If you prefer to jump straight to the newest material rather than work forward chronologically, the Joelle Jones run is a perfectly valid entry point on its own. It gives you a complete, self-contained arc, and it reads as a natural spiritual successor to Brubaker’s noir — proof that, done right, a Catwoman book needs nothing more than Selina, a score worth stealing, and a city worth fighting for.
Catwoman and Batman: the romance
You cannot fully read Catwoman without her relationship to Batman, which reached a peak during Tom King’s Batman run (2016), where the two got engaged. That story lives more in the Batman line, so approach it through our Batman reading order. Selina’s dynamic with Bruce — equal parts attraction and antagonism — is one of the great will-they-won’t-they relationships in comics, and it colors nearly every era of her book.
If you love the crime-noir angle
The thing that makes Catwoman special is that her best comics are really crime comics wearing a cat suit. If that is what draws you in, do not stop at Selina. Ed Brubaker’s other work — especially with artist Sean Phillips — sits at the top of the genre, and there is a whole world of heist and noir storytelling in comics beyond the cape books. Browse our best crime and noir comics guide for where to go next, and see the wider DC hub for more of Gotham.
A suggested reading path
- Start: Catwoman: Selina’s Big Score
- Then: Brubaker’s Catwoman run, beginning with Trail of the Catwoman
- Then: When in Rome for her origin
- Modern: Joelle Jones’s Catwoman (Copycats)
- Optional: The New 52 run for a pulpier take
The verdict
Catwoman is at her best when the story trusts her to be the lead, not the love interest. Brubaker and Cooke understood that better than anyone, which is why their run remains the definitive starting point two decades on. Begin there, add Cooke’s Selina’s Big Score as a prologue, and follow through to Joelle Jones for the modern era. You will end up with one of the strongest, most self-contained reading experiences in the entire Bat-line.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best Catwoman comic to start with?
Ed Brubaker’s Catwoman run, beginning with “Trail of the Catwoman” (2001). It is the definitive modern take, requires no prior reading, and reads like a great noir crime story.
Is Catwoman a hero or a villain?
Both, and neither — she is a classic antihero. She started as a Batman villain in 1940 but has spent decades as a morally grey thief who often protects Gotham’s most vulnerable, especially in Brubaker’s run.
Do I need to read Batman comics first?
No. The best Catwoman runs stand entirely on their own. Her relationship with Batman adds depth, but you can start with her solo books and pick up the Batman context later through our Batman reading order.
Are Catwoman comics appropriate for younger readers?
The core runs are aimed at adults, with crime, violence and mature themes — Brubaker’s noir especially. Younger readers are better served by all-ages Gotham titles first.
Next, dig into Gotham’s rogues with our best Batman villain comics, or plan a full Dark Knight journey with the Batman reading order.
