I'm sure you've heard by now that, in current comics, the Batman is engaged to his on-again, off-again frenemy/girlfriend, Selina Kyle, aka the Catwoman. And, yes, Bruce Wayne revealed his dual ID to Selina. Been there, done that. However, this is the furthest any writer has taken the Bat-Cat relationship in decades.
Back in the day, on what would become Earth-2, Batman & Catwoman ultimately became husband & wife, with Selina having renounced her criminal ways. Over the last 20-plus years on Earth-1, Catwoman has been more of an anti-hero. Her first ongoing solo series cast her as more of a costumed, female version of Robert Wagner's Alexander Mundy (It Takes a Thief, 1968-70), stealing not so much for herself, but to help the downtrodden.
Current Bat-scribe Tom King's current arc offers a glimpse of what the future could hold for the Bat & the Cat in Batman Annual 2 (the actual number of annuals dating back to years past escapes me), drawn by Lee Weeks in a style that recalls David Mazzuchelli, circa the late 80's. It's a wonderful read, and for long time fans who've hoped, even dreamed that the Dark Knight would settle down with the Princess of Plunder, it gives hope that like their Earth-2 counterparts, theirs will be a lasting union.
Meanwhile, DC has taken the "Rebirth" tag off their books after nearly a year and a half, and it's just as well, rather than beat the point into the ground any further than it already has. In the first regular issue of Batman since the annual, King explores just how Bruce has to go about explaining his engagement to his closest allies in the Justice League, particularly Superman, himself happily married, and Wonder Woman. King's arc, "Super Friends", uses the familiar logo of the 1970's cartoon series in chapter 1. One wonders why this hadn't happened sooner, but it's a great way to put a light through the grim-darkness of recent years.
Rating for both issues: A.
Word on the street is that when Action Comics reaches issue #1000 in March, DC will release a special hardcover commemorative edition with a retail price of roughly $30. Expect the same thing when Detective Comics reaches the same milestone a year later. However, I doubt you'll see either book at Barnes & Noble. The retail chain has pulled all of DC's current books from their shelves. Earlier this year, Barnes & Noble began charging an extra buck per issue. Whereas the semi-monthly books (i.e. Batman, Superman, The Flash) are $3 at direct shops, Barnes & Noble would charge $4. The monthly $4 books went up to $5 at Barnes & Noble. Apparently that decision wasn't making the registers go any faster, so.....!
The other story that has made the rounds, of course, is that of writer-producer Brian Michael Bendis leaving Marvel and signing with DC. Just what exactly he'll do at DC is unknown at this point, but Marvel, unsurprisingly, has cancelled Bendis' creator-owned series, Powers & United States of Murder. I'd think both of those books will land at DC sometime in 2018. Bendis is largely responsible for a lot of Marvel's "events" the last few years, so expect more of the same at DC, at a time when we need to slow things down and cut back on the "events" to let the books breathe for a while. Just sayin'.
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