Catwoman has never failed to do anything less than captivate or confuse the man who has chased her since the spring of 1940. Her appearances in any title are guaranteed to cause a spike in sales. For more than the last decade she has built a massive audience in her own books. She is one of the fullest and most well-rounded characters in comic history.
Yes, Wonder Woman has more history, a golden lasso, an invisible plane, Etta Candy and Steve Trevor, but The Mighty Amazon is removed from the average person. Through many of her incarnations she has walked with Gods.
Catwoman has never been anything less than an adult and real person. And besides, everyone knows that villains are more fun. Especially when they straddle the thin line between villain and hero with as much skill as Catwoman does. That ambiguity makes her all the more attractive and inviting.
Over the years the story of her origin has grown and become more detailed, but the essence of who she is as a person— the core of her character—was there right from the beginning. Selina Kyle has been by Batman's side since his earliest days. Batman #1 not only holds the first appearance of The Joker, but it also held Catwoman's first appearance as well.
That first story may have lacked a proper name (she was called "The Cat") and it may have lacked a traditional comic book costume, but it truly holds it all holds everything about Catwoman that would make her great. In the story of a jewelry robbery at sea we see her confidence, her skill at deception, a calculating burglary and her willingness to do what it takes to get the job done. The story also makes it very clear that there is an attraction between her and Batman right from the start.
Her next appearance drives home the idea that she is unsure about how she feels for Batman. In Batman #2 (Summer 1940) she is seen with The Joker in a new and untitled story. Still without a proper costume, The Cat steals the jewelry from the Joker but as the Clown Prince threatens the life of Robin, she does the unexpected. She offers up her bounty if The Joker will spare the life of the Boy Wonder. She is last seen diving from the bottom of the rope ladder that hangs from the Bat-Plane. This story is also significant because it is the first time that she is directly referred to as "The Cat-Woman". The hyphen in her name would disappear in Batman #10.
In the space of her first two appearances we are given the entirety of who she is. Batman wants her and she loves jewels but she doesn't want to take them home at the expense of Robin's life. Every detail of her life that has been built up over the next seventy years is only icing.
Bob Kane has said that her character and appearance was inspired by both the famed actress Jean Harlow and Kane's second cousin by marriage, Ruth Steel. Given how much has been documented about Bill Finger's involvement in the origins of Batman, Robin and the Joker, it is more than likely that Finger played a part in Catwoman's evolution as well.
Batman #3 (Winter 1940) features one of the most bizarre costumes that Catwoman has ever worn. The splash panel for "The Batman vs. The Cat-Woman" shows her running across a rooftop wearing the head of a cat. She sports an orange dress and a crimson cape. Near the end as Batman attempts to put her in custody she pulls him in and kisses the obviously startled hero. As soon as she does she pushes him away and makes her escape.
Her history after these first three appearances begins to grow. By 1951 she has become Selina Kyle, a name that would stay with her until the present day. Catwoman was a hit from that first exchange due to her distinct and over-present sexuality. That sexuality was deemed in appropriate by the Comics Code Authority and as a result, Catwoman did not appear in a Batman title from September 1954 until November 1966. While that incredible heat would be toned down as times and the characters change over the next fourteen years, the template had been set. While she disappeared when the Comic Code Authority came along, she came back with a vengeance thanks to television.
It is impossible to discuss any history of Catwoman without bringing up her appearance in television and on screen. The 1966 debut of the Batman TV series changed television and comic history. While the advent of the Silver Age brought back many comic fans as well as making new ones along the way, nothing could have predicted the effect that the Batman TV show would have on the hobby. Since she was essentially absent from the books due to her sex appeal, it is ironic that Julie Newmar's sultry portrayal of her is what brought her back to the page. Newmar's incredible appeal also brought sons and fathers together as they both watched the show for different reasons. As the show went on Catwoman would be played by two other very appealing actress, Eartha Kitt (Season 3) and Lee Merriwether (Batman: The Movie), it is still Newmar that brought the character back into the public's consciousness.
In the eye of the general public Tim Burton's 1989 Batman reminded everyone that the campy nature of the TV series was no longer applicable. Catwoman was such a strong character that Burton made her a very important part of the sequel, Batman Returns. Michelle Pfeiffer's take on the character practically burnt the screen down. The popularity of the film also sparked even more of demand for Catwoman on the printed page. In 1993 she was given her first continuing series and it lasted 96 issues. Since then she has been a prominent part of not only Batman's world but the general DC Universe as well.
Today Catwoman stands to take another big leap in the consciousness of the public as the third Dark Knight movie; The Dark Knight Rises gets ready to debut in May of this year. Anne Hathaway has been cast at Selina and from the publicity and pictures from the set; she is going to remind everyone that Catwoman is the greatest woman in comic history.