Selina Kyle was dead. At least, that's what the rest of the DC Universe thought at the turn of the millennium. She had been shot, her series was canceled, and the character felt stuck in a repetitive loop of "sexy burglar" tropes that hadn't evolved much since the eighties. Then came 2001. A creative team consisting of writer Ed Brubaker and artist Darwyn Cooke stepped in to produce Trail of the Catwoman, a storyline that didn't just reboot a character—it changed the DNA of street-level superhero comics forever.
It’s weird to think about now, but Catwoman wasn't always the complex, moral-gray anti-hero we see in modern movies like The Batman.
Honestly, she was kind of a mess of contradictions before this run. Brubaker and Cooke stripped all that away. They took away the purple spandex and the long hair. They gave her a practical leather jumpsuit, goggles that looked like night-vision gear, and a pixie cut. But more importantly, they gave her a neighborhood to protect. East End. It was grimy, forgotten, and filled with people the Gotham City Police Department didn't care about. This wasn't just a costume change; it was a fundamental shift in philosophy.
Why the 2001 Reboot Still Matters Today
Most comic book reboots fail because they try too hard to be edgy. They add spikes to the costume or make the hero a murderer. Trail of the Catwoman went the other way. It looked backward to the noir films of the 1940s and the hardboiled detective novels of Raymond Chandler. Selina Kyle became a detective of the streets.
If you pick up the trade paperback today, the first thing you notice is the art. Darwyn Cooke’s style was retro-modern. It had thick lines and a sense of movement that felt like a high-budget storyboard. He didn't draw Selina as a pin-up girl; he drew her as an athlete who was constantly bruised, tired, and determined. This visual language told the reader that the stakes were real. When Selina got hit, you felt it. When she climbed a building, it looked like a workout, not a magic trick.
The story starts with a backup feature from Detective Comics #759-762. This is the actual "Trail" part of the title. We follow Slam Bradley, a character who actually predates Batman in DC history. He’s an old-school private eye hired to find out if Selina Kyle is actually alive. Through his eyes, we see a myth being built. He’s searching for a ghost in the slums of Gotham. It’s brilliant storytelling because it builds anticipation before Selina even says a word on panel.
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The Transformation of Selina Kyle
One of the biggest misconceptions about this era is that it was just about making Catwoman a "good guy." That’s not quite it. Brubaker understood that Selina is motivated by empathy for the underdog, mostly because she was one. In Trail of the Catwoman, she stops stealing diamonds from billionaires and starts hunting down the people who prey on sex workers and addicts in the East End.
She becomes a community leader. Think about that for a second. A world-class thief decides to spend her time protecting a street corner.
It’s personal.
The relationship between Selina and Dr. Leslie Thompkins—the woman who helped raise Bruce Wayne—is a huge part of this run. Leslie provides the moral compass, often questioning if Selina’s violent methods are actually helping the community or just perpetuating a cycle of pain. This creates a tension that keeps the book from feeling like a standard punch-em-up. You've got these two women from totally different worlds trying to fix a broken city, and they don't always agree on how to do it.
The Mystery of the Serial Killer
The core conflict of the initial Catwoman (Vol. 3) issues involves a terrifying serial killer targeting the marginalized women of the East End. This is where the "noir" elements really kick in. It’s dark. Like, really dark. Brubaker doesn't shy away from the reality of crime in a place like Gotham. Selina realizes that the police aren't coming to help. Detective Harvey Bullock might care, but the system is too bloated and corrupt to protect the "nobodies."
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This realization is what cements the Trail of the Catwoman as a seminal work. It gives Selina a "Why."
She isn't just bored or looking for a thrill anymore. She’s angry. She uses her skills—infiltrating high-society parties, parkour, hand-to-hand combat—to dismantle the power structures that allow these crimes to happen. It’s a very grounded take on the superhero genre. No aliens. No magic rings. Just a woman with a whip and a lot of resentment toward the status quo.
Technical Mastery: Brubaker and Cooke’s Synergy
It is rare to see a writer and artist so perfectly in sync. Brubaker’s dialogue is sparse. He lets the art breathe. Cooke, meanwhile, uses shadows to tell the story. There’s a specific sequence where Selina is stalking a target through a rain-slicked alleyway, and the way the light hits the puddles tells you everything you need to know about the mood. It’s cinematic.
The coloring by Matt Hollingsworth also deserves a shout-out. He used a muted palette—heavy on the blues, grays, and oranges. It makes the East End feel cold but lived-in. When you see a bright red or a sharp yellow, it pops because the rest of the world is so monochromatic. This wasn't just a comic; it was an aesthetic movement. It influenced everything that came after, including the Arkham video games and the way Catwoman was handled in the Gotham TV show.
Key Characters in the Trail of the Catwoman Era:
- Slam Bradley: The grizzled PI who acts as our entry point into the mystery.
- Holly Robinson: Selina’s protege and a survivor of the streets. Her presence grounds Selina and gives her something to lose.
- Dr. Leslie Thompkins: The voice of social justice and medical aid in the East End.
- Detective Maggie Sawyer: Representing the few honest cops left in a city of shadows.
Addressing the Critics: Was it Too Dark?
Some fans at the time felt the shift was too jarring. They missed the more whimsical, thieving Catwoman of the 90s with the giant curly hair. And yeah, the subject matter—trafficking, systemic neglect, brutal violence—is heavy. But looking back from 2026, this shift was necessary. It moved Catwoman out of Batman's shadow. For years, she was just "Batman's girlfriend" or "that thief Batman lets go." Trail of the Catwoman gave her an independent supporting cast and a mission that had nothing to do with the Caped Crusader.
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Actually, Batman barely appears in these early issues. When he does, he’s a background figure. He’s the one who is out of his depth in the East End, not Selina. She knows the names of the shopkeepers. She knows which kids are skipping school. She belongs there in a way Bruce Wayne never could.
How to Experience the Story Today
If you want to read this, you have a few options. The most common is the trade paperback titled Catwoman: Trail of the Catwoman. It collects the Slam Bradley stories from Detective Comics and the first nine issues of the 2001 series.
Don't just breeze through it. Look at the panel layouts. Cooke was a master of using horizontal panels to create a sense of wide-angle cinema. Notice how Selina's body language changes when she's in the suit versus when she's just Selina. In the suit, she’s coiled, ready to spring. As Selina, she carries the weight of the neighborhood on her shoulders.
Actionable Insights for Comic Fans and Creators
If you are a storyteller or just a fan looking to understand what makes a "perfect" reboot, Trail of the Catwoman is the blueprint. It proves that you don't need to erase a character's history to change their future. You just need to find the core truth of who they are.
- Focus on Environment: Give your character a "territory." Defining Selina by the East End made her more relatable than she ever was as a globetrotting thief.
- Practicality Over Flash: The 2001 costume remains the gold standard for Catwoman because it looks like something a person could actually move in.
- Use an Outsider’s Perspective: Introducing the story through Slam Bradley allowed readers to rediscover Selina Kyle alongside him. It built mystery.
- Acknowledge Social Realities: The story worked because it felt like it was happening in a real city with real problems, even if that city was Gotham.
The legacy of this run is everywhere. It’s in the way Tom King wrote his 85-issue Batman run. It’s in the gritty realism of Matt Reeves’ film. Most importantly, it’s in the heart of Selina Kyle herself. She is no longer just a villain or a love interest. She is a protector. She is the Catwoman of the East End.
To truly appreciate the evolution of the character, start with the Slam Bradley backups. They set the tone for a world where the shadows aren't just for hiding—they're for hunting. The transition from the "Big-Eye" style of the late 90s to Cooke's noir-inspired lines is one of the most satisfying visual shifts in DC history. It’s a masterclass in visual storytelling that demands your attention from the very first page. If you've only seen Catwoman in movies or cartoons, you're missing the most important chapter of her life. Go find the trail. It's still there, waiting in the dark corners of Gotham.
Next Steps for Readers:
- Pick up the Catwoman: Trail of the Catwoman trade paperback or digital collection.
- Pay close attention to the Selina’s Big Score graphic novel, which serves as a spiritual companion and was also written/drawn by Darwyn Cooke.
- Compare the characterization of Selina here to her appearances in Batman: Year One to see how Brubaker pays homage to Frank Miller’s original vision while modernizing it.