I finally got around to reading the six-issue miniseries Batman ‘89. Originally published by DC Comics between August 2021–July 2022, the comic was written by Sam Hamm, beautifully illustrated by Joe Quinones, and sumptuously colored by Leonardo Ito. Hamm, you might remember, wrote Tim Burton’s Batman (1989), so it’s fitting that he continues the story after that film and it’s sequel, a little film you might’ve heard me go on about a few kajillion times, Batman Returns (1992). That film was written by Daniel Waters (Heathers) and is a notoriously, gloriously subversive feast for the senses. I can only imagine how deliciously outré a comic book follow-up written by Waters would be. Alas, we didn’t get that, but we did get a very entertaining series from Hamm, and in many ways a worthy successor to both Burton films.
Hamm centers the story around Harvey Dent and his transformation into Two-Face. I’ll admit, seeing the Billy Dee Williams version of Dent from Batman turn into one of the Caped Crusader’s most conflicted enemies wasn’t high on my wish list, but it makes complete sense Hamm took this track. That was Burton’s and Hamm’s plan when they included Dent in the first film. For reasons I don’t recall and am too lazy to look up, Dent was dropped after the first film. He returned in Joel Schumacher’s campy Batman Forever (1995), but Tommy Lee Jones’s take—in which he tries to out-crazy Jim Carrey’s crazy Riddler—had no relation to what Burton had done with the character.
I’m starting to drift far afield here. I’m writing this post to say that, yes, I enjoyed how Batman ‘89 continues the stories of Michael Keaton’s Bruce Wayne/Batman, Williams’s Dent, and introduces some interesting new characters, including a different version of Barbara Gordon than we’ve typically seen. You know me, though. The number one reason I’m here today is to talk about Hamm’s and Quinones’s depiction of my favorite actress playing one of my favorite characters: Michelle Pfeiffer as Selina Kyle/Catwoman.*
Quinones infuses his Selina/Catwoman with the same jaw-dropping sex appeal that Michelle so effortlessly radiated in Batman Returns. In Batman ‘89, Catwoman is returning to the Gotham scene after disappearing at the end of the ‘92 film. Befitting this back-from-the-dead return, Quinones gives the Cat’s costume a subtle makeover. Thigh high boots over opaque, purplish nylons certainly adds a new layer of kinky chic to what was already a sexy costume design. It’s also much more comic book-y, which of course looks great on the page.
Hamm captures Selina’s femme fatale personality well, while Quinones draws a pretty good likeness of Michelle. Quinones has a simple, whimsical, and cartoonish style that I love, and the way he interprets Michelle/Selina within that style is a delight. She looks nearly as fierce and sexy on the page as she does in the film. This panel, which I’ve cropped and blown up a bit, is a a good example of how Quinones successfully interprets Michelle’s seductive, yet dangerous allure for the page. If only the colorist had remembered Michelle’s eyes are blue, not green! That’s okay, it’s comic book artistic license.
All in all, I thoroughly enjoyed the six-issue miniseries and would gladly read more, should the duo of Hamm and Quinones decide to return to the Batman ‘89–‘92 Burtonverse. Especially, of course, if they include Selina Kyle in those further adventures.
*This isn’t the first time Michelle’s likeness as Selina/Catwoman has appeared in the pages of DC Comics. One of these days I’ll do a retro review of the official Batman Returns comic book movie adaptation from ‘92, which featured artwork by Steve Erwin and Jose Luis Garcia Lopez.
The Starfire Lounge 
A lot of this is pretty interesting – especially after viewing the result that was Batman Returns 🙂
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