DC is bribing back short, single titles of some of the female characters and showing their origins in a new light (see, "Mera"). So far, these titles have been amazing! Very fun, great art and use of color, and really interesting stories. I enjoyed the Catwoman (or Catgirl, rather, since that is what she's called in the comic) tragedy aspect - she comes from a painful home where she is underappreciated and abused, and builds herself into something new.

When I was younger and people asked what I wanted to be, the answer was Catwoman. The answer remains the same as an adult, even though I'm a dog person. Under the Moon by Lauren Myracle is sure to inspire a new generation of girls to want to grow to be Catwoman.

Under the Moon follows teenage Selina Kyle and her journey to become Catwoman, well, Catgirl. Selina lives with her mom and her mom's abusive boyfriend. Selina was once good friends with the popular Bruce Wayne, but their friendship has fizzled in recent years. A terrible act of cruelty leads Selina to leave her home and use her wits to survive on the street. One night while walking, she meets Ojo, a skiled parkour athlete, who trains her cat like reflexes. Along with Yang and Briar Rose, Selina finds a sort of family, while still maintaining her independence.

Because of the themes of abuse and some harsh language, this is best suited for high school students. Anyone who has every enjoyed a Catwoman comic will find much to enjoy here. A great origin story for new readers as well. The art is fantastic, and Selina is a complicated protagonist who readers will be rooting for.

Thanks to DC Comics and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Plowed through this in like 30 minutes. I am really enjoying these DC Ink books. I thought this book really capture the essence of Selina’s character, and it felt developed, despite the shortness of the book (though the ending felt rushed compared to the rest of the story, with some questions left). Recommended read!

I think Catwoman is a very difficult story to do, and lots of people think they can do her justice.

So the good: the artwork, diverse characters, lots of cats.
The not so good: lots and lots of f-bombs, self-harm, a plot that does a lot of things but nothing at all, characters that are poorly defined (all we know about Tristan is that he is gay, all we know about Yang is that he is good at computers) and a timeline that doesn't fit anywhere in DCU. I wanted to like it, but it's not great.

The art in this graphic novels is nice, but the story seems quite juvenile and only loosely related to the characters from the comics. In some ways this book would best for a reader who is in the 9-12 age range, except the swear words make it more appropriate for older tweens/teens. I am not usually bothered by swear words but the ones in Under the Moon seemed out of place and as if they didn't fit the tone of the rest of the book.

Catwoman is one of my favorites. She’s a complete badass and her stories are always interesting. This was one of those origin stories that was absolutely amazing.

Selina has a rough life. Her mom moves from guy to guy and they aren’t always the nicest. Her Moms latest beau is verbally and physically abusive. Selina has had enough and runs away. She lives on the streets, until a group takes her under their wings. And now this group has sinister plans to rob a mansion. Will Selina use her cat like stealth to help them?

Everything about this was awesome. The story was intriguing and never let up. The art was beautiful and paired with the colors, it was stunning.

😍😍😍

Not my favorite story of Catwoman. I bit over brutal in the beginning for a YA version. And certain things just didn't add up to the Catwoman origin of the past.

While it might not have been for me (I'm a pretty big DC fan) I still think that there is a market out there for this book and that there are teens who will read it and like it.

I will definitely be purchashing this for the teen collection in my library, but I didn't love it. I'm sure the teens will enjoy it (Catwoman and Lauren Myracle in one book? They'll be sold!) however.

Selina Kyle is a 14 year old living with her Mom and abusive boyfriend . One day he hurts her stray kitten and that is last straw for Selina and she strikes out on her own. She lives on the street until,she meets a gang of three she moves in with. This a great origin story for CatWoman that digs deeper into her character and the what and why that made her CatWoman

I was expecting better from Lauren Myracle. I did not enjoy the plot and I did not like Catwoman. The story included homelessness, domestic abuse, child abuse, cutting, and suicide. None of these issues were handled well. This book also included a lot of swearing. I would not recommend to middle schoolers.

I understand the concerns about the abuse, both physical and verbal that Selina receives at the hands of her mother's boyfriend and the abuse she endures in her mother's neglect and justification of her mistreatment. I also understand the concerns regarding the animal violence and how unsettling it is. It's ALL unsettling, that's what makes the story compelling, that's what drives Selina's character growth. Selina isn't some bored, teenage hooligan, she's someone who's been made to feel unloved and out of control by those who are supposed to care for her the most. This is the story of a young woman attempting to take control of her life when there is precious little left in it that's good. Yes, it's hard to see, especially in a graphic novel format where the horrors of violence and animal cruelty aren't simply described, but shown, but it isn't gratuitous, and it all propels the story.

For some reason I was shocked at the language. While I understand it's trying to be relatable and relevant to today's youth, I still didn't appreciate all of the explicit language.

Beautiful art, and though the plot erred on the side of predictable, it was well written. I tend to gravitate towards the Selina Kyle-types; this very much could have been about Faith Lehane or Jessica Jones too, and I'm a sucker for all those characters. That being said, the characterization of Selina is a little thin in this first volume, which mainly feels problematic due to the tricky nature of her abusive upbringing. While abuse as inciting incident doesn't have to feel cliche and lazy, this particular instance of it did to me. I still gobbled it up, but I would like to see less voiceover-narration-heavy story next time and more than a shallow grazing of the main character's traits. Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for a copy in exchange for honest feedback!

UNDER THE MOON explores real issues pertaining to trauma that impact many youth, including abuse, self-harm, suicide, homelessness, etc. I thought Catgirl's development as she began to heal from trauma felt appropriate. She isn't completely healed at the end, but she has started to grow. The only reservation that I have about placing this book in my classroom as a middle school teacher is the maturity of the content matter. While I would never advocate for censorship, this book is definitely better suited for mature high school students. Some of the content is not for the faint of heart, and the book frequently deals with sensitive content matter. Also, I was personally about to fight someone over the fate of Cinders. #savethecat All of this said, UNDER THE MOON was a thoughtful addition to the DCU, and fans of comic books and YA are sure to enjoy this character study of Selena Kyle.

An appallingly tone deaf book that doesn’t hit its mark in any way. Between the numerous times Selina is physically abused on the page by an abusive boyfriend of her father’s, Selina defending her gay friend by telling a bunch of teens for an entire page how much she loves “dick” despite being a complete “penis virgin”, and the murder of a pet kitten shown on page, this is everything that I do NOT want in a YA graphic novel about one of my favourite characters.

The continuity changes don’t bother me, I loved the DC Icons books and don’t mind fresh takes but all I want to do is forget what I read of this book before having to give up at Page 65.

The art is great and I truly hope Isaac Goodheart finds more work in the industry but this book couldn’t even be saved by his wonderful depictions of Selina Kyle.