Catwoman Reading Order

This reading order is designed to give an outline of major storylines featuring Catwoman (Selina Kyle) throughout DC Comics. It may not encompass every one of her appearances but is an outline of the major ones and the stories that affect them.

The continuity details relating to each specific storyline are explained in the “Review” of each storyline. Every “Review” link will provide a detailed continuity breakdown of that story and will explain any reference the story makes to other aspects of the DC Universe. All of this can be found under the “Continuity” section of each link.

Jump to: New 52 – Rebirth – Universe

New 52

With the beginning of the New 52, the DC Universe’s continuity was reset. This wiped out most of Catwoman’s history. She retains her identity as a thief and occasional antihero. She also retains her romantic connection with Batman, though much of their history together has clearly been erased as she no longer knows who he is.

Catwoman is reintroduced through her solo series. This comic explores her present condition in this new continuity. She also plays a significant role in the first half of the Justice League of America (Reading Order) series, which leads to her involvement in the Trinity War (Reading Order) and Forever Evil (Reading Order) events. Later on in this era, Catwoman’s appearances across the Batman Eternal series create a change for her status quo. This change is reflected in later issues of the Catwoman series, with the “Keeper of the Castle” and “Inheritance” arcs specifically addressing her new status.

See our “Catwoman Timeline” for summaries of each story arc in this reading order.

Catwoman issues are from the Vol. 4 series.
Young Romance issues are from the Vol. 2 series.
Justice League of America issues are from the Vol. 3 series.

Notes

1. Issue #13 and #14 of Catwoman are tie-in issues to the Death of the Family (Reading Order) event. Since they happen before this event, they do not require knowledge of the event in order to make sense. However, fans seeking to see what happens after this point should see our "Death of the Family Reading Order".
2. Only the Catwoman story from Young Romance #1 is necessary to Catwoman's timeline.
3. This one issue presents Catwoman's origin. However, this potential origin is never brought up again so we have listed it as nonessential.
4. These issues and storylines detail Catwoman's time as a member of the Justice League of America (Reading Order). Her adventures in Catwoman #19 actually take place during Justice League of America #3. However, besides this one connection, her time with the Justice League has very little effect on her role in Gotham.
5. Catwoman #27 and #28 are tie-ins to the Gothtopia (Reading Order) event. While the main Gothtopia story, found in the Detective Comics series, is not essential to understanding these issues, it does provide a lot of context.
6. This issue is a flash-forward to a potential future. Since it has no effect on Catwoman's current story, we have labeled it as nonessential.
7. These issues detail the beginning of Catwoman's involvement in the Batman Eternal series. At this point, her role is relatively minor though and is not essential to understanding her motives later on.
8. These issues collect the Catwoman storyline in Batman Eternal and tell the story of her rise as a mob boss. Since this change in the status quo has a large effect on her solo series, we have listed these portions of Batman Eternal as essential. Though Selina does not appear in Batman Eternal issues outside the ones listed here, we recommend reading the issues in between for some additional (though not completely essential) context.

Other Appearances

• Harley Quinn
  • The Harley Quinn solo series (Reading Order) appears to take place in a separate continuity from the mainstream DC Universe, possibly at some point in its future. Catwoman appears in an issue of that series. Her appearance here emphasizes her friendship with Harley Quinn and Poison Ivy (Reading Order).
  • Catwoman makes an appearance in the Harley Quinn Road Trip Special #1, collected in Harley Quinn Vol. 4: A Call to Arms (Review).

Rebirth

The transition from the New 52 to the Rebirth era introduces some significant continuity changes for Catwoman, altering much of what was presented in the New 52. Specifically, New 52 stories about her early history, especially with Batman, are completely retconned in favor of her pre-New 52 history. This pre-New 52 history, especially her history with Batman, becomes very important throughout this era. It is unclear if the rest of her New 52 adventures remain in continuity or not, as there are little to no references to these adventures.

In the Rebirth era, the majority of Catwoman's appearances are within the Batman series. She plays a major role in several story arcs that each build upon each other. All of these arcs lead to Batman #50, the main issue of the Batman: The Wedding (Reading Order) event. This issue serves as a climax for this era of the series.

Outside of Batman, Catwoman only makes brief appearances. The majority of these relate to the Birds of Prey (Reading Order).

BatBoP = Batgirl and the Birds of Prey
Batman issues are from the Vol. 3 series
Batgirl issues are from the Vol. 5 series

Notes

1. This issue is primarily about Batgirl (Reading Order). However, it features a guest appearance from Catwoman.
2. Catwoman appears in several issues of the Batgirl and the Birds of Prey (Reading Order) series. This series primarily focuses on Batgirl (Reading Order), Black Canary (Reading Order), and Huntress (Reading Order), however, a few story arcs feature Catwoman as a secondary character.
3. This is the first issue in the "War of Jokes and Riddles" story arc. The entire arc is a flashback, told by Batman to Catwoman, that highlights an event from the past. Though Catwoman is not prominently featured in this issue, it explains why Batman is telling this story, which becomes important later on.
4. Catwoman only makes a very brief appearance in this issue. It can easily be skipped if necessary.
5. Batman #46 features an alternative universe's version of Catwoman.
6. Batman #47 only features a brief appearance from Catwoman. However, this appearance introduces information that becomes relevant to decisions Selina makes later on in the Batman series.
7. The story in this issue is a humorous crossover with Loony Toons characters that has unclear ties to the mainstream DC continuity.

Other Appearances

• Harley Quinn
  • The Harley Quinn solo series (Reading Order) appears to take place in a separate continuity from the mainstream DC Universe, possibly at some point in its future. Catwoman appears in several issues of that series. Her appearances here all emphasize her friendship with Harley Quinn and, occasionally, Poison Ivy (Reading Order).
  • Catwoman makes small appearances in Harley Quinn #25-26 and Harley Quinn 25th Anniversary Special #1, collected in Harley Quinn Vol. 4: Surprise, Surprise (Review), and in Harley and Ivy Meet Betty and Veronica #2-3, collected in Harley and Ivy Meet Betty and Veronica. These appearances should be read in the order listed here.

Universe

The Universe era is essentially an extension of the Rebirth era, as it maintains the same continuity. As such, Catwoman's story picks up immediately where it left off in the Batman: The Wedding (Reading Order) event.

In this era, Catwoman's journey resume in the Catwoman series. This comic explores recent changes in Catwoman's life, depicts her solo adventures, and generally depicts some of the aftermath from Batman: The Wedding. About halfway through this era, she also begins appearing in the Batman (Reading Order) series once more. This leads to a major appearance in the "City of Bane" story arc, which serves as a climax to plotlines stretching through the entire Rebirth/Universe era.

After this, the final few storylines in this era begin setting up the next era. Catwoman's appearances leading up to and during The Joker War (Reading Order) event elaborate her current connection with Batman. Then, issues from the Catwoman series explore her current situation and where she plans to go from there.

Catwoman issues are from the Vol. 5 series
Batman issues are from the Vol. 3 series

Notes

1. Only the "Addicted To Trouble" story from the Catwoman 80th Anniversary 100-Page Super Spectacular is collected in Catwoman Vol. 4: Come Home, Alley Cat (Review).
2. Only the "Can't Buy Me Love" story from this issue is relevant to this reading order.
3. Catwoman's appearances in these issues are unusual. Batman #63 and #69 feature her through visions and hallucinations. Batman #66 features her through a mix of hallucinations and memories. Batman #68 may be a flashback to her bachelorette party, however, it is unclear if this flashback is accurate or if it is fake. All of these appearances relate to the ongoing saga between her and Batman, which helps set up the "City of Bane" story arc.
4. This issue only features Catwoman through a few flashbacks to her appearances in the Rebirth era. However, the story within this issue presents a summary of Bane's (Reading Order) plan, and how it relates to Catwoman, that some fans may find interesting.
5. Batman #99 only features a brief appearance from Catwoman that somewhat sets up her tie-in issue. Batman #100 only features Catwoman briefly reacting to the entire Joker War (Reading Order) event's climax.
6. Only the "Perfect Matches" story from this issue is relevant to this reading order.
7. Stories from the Future State (Reading Order) event takes place in a possible version of the DC Universe's future. However, they help set up plotlines or give potential preludes to events from the next era, the Infinite Frontier era. Note: only the "Gotham City Sirens" story from the Future State: The Next Batman issues are relevant to this reading order.

Other Appearances

• Batman: Gotham Nights
  • The Batman: Gotham Nights series takes place outside of the mainstream DC universe. It simply focuses on telling Batman stories independent of continuity.
  • Catwoman has a moderate role in Batman: Gotham Nights #15 and a small role in Batman: Gotham Nights #20, both of which are currently uncollected.
• Harley Quinn
  • The Harley Quinn solo series (Reading Order) appears to take place in a separate continuity from the mainstream DC Universe, possibly at some point in its future. Catwoman appears in several issues of that series. Her appearances here all emphasize her friendship with Harley Quinn and, occasionally, Poison Ivy (Reading Order).
  • Catwoman makes a small appearance in Harley Quinn: Black + White + Red #2, collected in Harley Quinn: Black + White + Red, and a very small appearance in Harley Quinn's Villain of the Year #1, collected in Harley Quinn Vol. 4: The Final Trial. These can be read in whatever order. 

 All DC Comics Reading Orders