Written by Lauren Myracle

Illustrated by Isaac Goodhart

“Selina Kyle is fiercer than she knows. For 15 years, she’s put up with her mother’s string of bad boyfriends, but when Dernell, her mom’s current beau, proves crueler than the others, Selina reevaluates her place in her home. There’s no way Selina and Dernell can live under the same roof, and since Dernell won’t leave, Selina must.
From New York Times bestselling author Lauren Myracle ( ttyl) and artist Isaac Goodhart comes a story about learning how to survive the world when you’ve been forced to abandon your home and finding allies in the most unexpected moments.”

I picked up Under the Moon pretty much when it came out, but hadn’t gotten the chance to read it until yesterday. But once I picked it up, I was compelled to get through it immediately.

Selina Kyle has always been a character I loved. She’s in my top favorite Batman characters, once holding the top spot until my little eyes fell on Harley Quinn in Batman: the Animated Series.

So I feel like I can make decent calls on whether something is a good representation of Selina Kyle / Catwoman. And this story very much walks that line between those identities.

My heart frequently breaks for Selina, in so many of her backstories, and this one I definitely felt an ache in my chest for her.

Our journey with Selina begins with her in a rough home life, with her mom bringing in a turnstile worthy number of men, until finally, she brings home the worst of them: Dernelle. The abuse and terrible things he puts her through finally reaches a breaking point, and Selina realizes she’s better off alone.

She even decides to leave school, which includes her friend Alice, as well as her childhood friend, the charming Bruce Wayne. Despite Bruce’s protests, she leaves, walking away from it all.

The core of this book is Selina finding her strength, and trying to figure out her identity. She learns new, and later valuable skills from a new friend. Which ends up leading to her new family – a group of homeless kids, not unlike herself.

There’s something special about Selina’s journey that Lauren Myracle and Isaac Goodhart captured. Something familiar but different, and definitely endearing.

While I think a wide audience could enjoy this, I think this would be a perfect gateway graphic novel for high school age girls that want an easy, accessible doorway into the world of comics. Sure, it isn’t exactly in continuity. However, it gives you a foot in the door that’s always nice to have when you feel overwhelmed by the thought of getting into comics.

Have you read Under the Moon? What’d you think?

-Angel