It’s been over a year since Selina Kyle left Gotham City to make the entire globe her playground. But it’s hardly been fun and games since then, as the world’s greatest cat burglar has found herself tangling with mobsters, hitmen and even former friends of the thieving trade as she’s made her way across the world. It’s been an eye-opening journey for Catwoman readers, and it’s all been care of writer Torunn Grønbekk, who, aided by rotating team of talented artists, is now starting on her second of year scripting the title. Kicking off with a flashback-heavy story exploring Selina’s childhood, we thought the one-year anniversary was a perfect occasion to catch up with Grønbekk for a chat on the reasons Selina decided to go global, why it’s important to explore Catwoman’s past identity and what we can expect from her latest tangle with the Falcone family.
When you first came onto the Catwoman title, were you already a fan of Selina Kyle or was this a series that required some preparation?
I’ve been a massive Catwoman fan since my early teenage years, and I had a pretty clear idea of how I saw her and how I wanted to write her right from the start. But I always do my homework, and I like to gauge whether my ideas about a character align with how fans see them, and if not, I’ll try to understand what others find intriguing. With Catwoman, I also went way back and re-read a lot of the older material to find those bits and pieces of her backstory that truly anchor her as a character.
Was the first year of the book planned out from the beginning? What did you want to say with the globetrotting arc of Selina investigating who was after “Evie Hall”?
We knew we wanted to take Selina out of Gotham for a while and had the first year planned out pretty much from the beginning. We knew Selina had traveled and used several identities in the past, and it made sense to revisit a time that made her who she is today. There’s also something inherently fascinating about the roles we take on and play vs. who we are. Evie Hall was a character Selina made up and played well, but it wasn’t quite her. There is a reason she returned, both to her identity as Selina Kyle and to Gotham, and that is becoming increasingly clear to her as she looks back at her time as Evie.
Your run has an incredibly grounded quality to the storytelling, delving into the sort of espionage we might see with Modesty Blaise or James Bond. Why did you decide to take that approach with Selina?
She is a highly competent thief who understands people on a fundamental level, and much of her tradecraft would translate easily to espionage, which lends to the series’ vibe. She does not have superpowers, endless resources, or futuristic tech to rely on, and I wanted to show how far she could realistically go with just her wits and skill set. She also has a very tantalizing thirst for life. Like, she doesn’t steal to get rich—she does it for the delight of it. Her wants and joys are very human, and it sometimes feels like she’s pulling me along for the ride on guts and thrill alone.
Both your first arc and the current one involve scenes from Selina’s past. With the History of the DC Universe being reestablished in Mark Waid’s miniseries, was this new arc intended to be a jumping on point to coalesce with reestablishing Catwoman’s history?
It was certainly meant to be a jumping-on point for new readers, but not necessarily to tell her entire history in detail. We’re trying to show what makes Catwoman who she is today and highlight some events from her past that still linger with her. The flashbacks have been one of my favorite things to write so far—there is something very pleasing about adding small pieces to the puzzles of a character, especially one we know and love as well as Selina Kyle.
This is the most globetrotting Catwoman adventure I've personally ever read. Selina’s been all over the map from Stockholm to Shinjuku to Italy. How much research went into writing these issues? And does Catwoman find it easier or harder to operate in these different cities compared to Gotham?
Probably a little bit of both. Gotham is familiar, but Catwoman is also a known entity there. In the rest of the world, she has the illusion of anonymity, but surveillance technology is so advanced at this point that it is just that—an illusion. It has been an interesting thing to research and navigate for her, and it is frankly a little scary to see just how close we are in the real world to something that used to be fairly rooted in science fiction.
As for the locations—I’m Norwegian, and I can always tell if people have done their research or not when Norway (and the Nordics in general) makes an appearance in pop culture. I really wanted to make sure we did our due diligence before sending Selina out into the world. I think I might have gone a little overboard in some places—I know the ferry times between Germany and Sweden, and the bus schedule into Stockholm—but honestly, it helps me get into the story when I know the timelines and details, even if they never make it onto the page.
Selina is once again up against the Falcone family. What can we expect with this troubled family reunion in the issues to come?
This is a profoundly personal heist for Selina, and she is ready to go to great lengths—maybe too far—to see it through. Her objective puts her at odds with Carmine Falcone, who, unbeknownst to Selina, is making big moves on his own. Neither is likely to walk away or back down, and only time will tell if they come out of it unscathed.
After being hunted through the world, having Selina take charge, plan and execute her own fate is a nice change of pace. The Venice arc feels more like a classic heist story, but it’s still deeply rooted in Selina Kyle’s past, and the journey ends where it always would: back home in Gotham.
Catwoman #80 by Torunn Grønbekk, Danilo Beyruth and Patricio Delpeche is now available in print and as a digital comic book.
