Selina Kyle has run into a very rare piece of jewelry that is tied up in her own past. She’s one of the best thieves in the whole of the DC Universe, but how is she going to remain professional regarding a piece of jewelry once owned by her own mother? Writer G. Willow Wilson deftly adds to the legend of one of DC’s longest-lived characters with Batman: One Bad Day - Catwoman #1. A clever script is brought to life by artist Jamie McKelvie, who also handled the colors on a thoroughly satisfying 60+ page journey.

It’s a broach that was owned by Selina’s mother. A rare piece that was crafted by a French jeweler in Nazi-occupied France. The humble image of a bird breaking free of a prison has deep historical significance...but there’s also great sentimental value in the broach for Selina, so she’s going to great lengths to get it. Her multi-millionaire boyfriend will warn her against pursuing it. In the course of the journey, she just might find out something about the fluctuating value of everything in and within the human heart. 

There are shades of The Maltese Falcon that seem to filter through a very sophisticated story by G. Willow Wilson. Her script goes far deeper into the nature of value than Hammett’s novel and manages to do so in a way that feels breathtakingly concise. Meanwhile, she actually makes Catwoman’s boyfriend seem kind of intriguing and even...charming. (Not many have truly managed that over the decades.) Kyle comes across with clarity in a script that explores a little more of the emotional origin of Catwoman while adding a whole new enemy for her to potentially deal with in the future. 

McKelvie brings the action and drama to the page with a masterful line economy and a staggeringly stylish sense of color. Kyle is beautiful, but she rarely looks this good. McKelvie gives her confidence and attitude that resonate across the page. Even when she’s faltering, Selina’s charisma feels quite potent in McKelvie’s richly-rendered world. The artist’s clean lines are right at home in the high-end world that Selina is inhabiting for much of the issue, but they also somehow manage to fit perfectly in the grittier areas of Gotham that Wilson’s script occasionally demands. Through it all, McKelvie’s portrayal of Selina remains deeply relatable.

Wilson and McKelvie’s Catwoman is easily the single most satisfying entry in the One Bad Day series thus far. Clever and subtle characterization of Selina throughout the issue stands as one of the better treatments of Catwoman to have hit page and panel in recent years. Everything fits together so well from beginning to end. It might be interesting to see what Wilson and McKelvie might do together with a full series like this. It’s such an emotionally engaging story. 60+ pages feel nice and cozy, but it would be SO nice to see this team work together again.

Grade: A