FILM: The Dark Knight Rises Catwoman on the Prowl (News)

At the beginning of September came set photos from THE DARK KNIGHT RISES of Anne Hathaway looking very stylish as Selina Kyle's public face and now at the end of the month new set photos have appeared online showing Anne Hathaway in the same catsuit from the summer released promo photo as Selina Kyle's more private, Catwoman-esque side.

From the photos it is clear that scenes involving Gary Oldman as Commissioner Gordon and Christian Bale as Batman were part of the filming, as was the Bat-Pod that was in the Catwoman promo photo giving some credence to the rumors swirling that Selina's extracurricular activities may be supported in some way by Batman. Next summer is quickly approaching.

THE DARK KNIGHT RISES into theaters on July 20, 2012.

FILM: The Dark Knight Rises Fashionable Selina Kyle (News)

Perhaps the most talked about decision going into the last part of Christopher Nolan's Batman film trilogy was the casting of actress Anne Hathaway for the new female lead role, Selina Kyle. With the female lead of the first two films Rachel Dawes being a new character created just for the films, played by two different actresses and having died in THE DARK KNIGHT it was big news that Nolan was going to use the signature female character of the Batman mythology, Catwoman to finally play opposite Batman in his movies.

Now the Catwoman character has had a shaky existence in films, with Michelle Pfeiffer's excellent performance in BATMAN RETURNS taking a different (read: Tim Burton) approach to Selina Kyle and there was also the Halle Berry's forgettable try in CATWOMAN where the character was loosely based on the DC Comics character. So it is interesting that with THE DARK KNIGHT RISES in production, Hathaway's role as Selina Kyle has taken the forefront over any mention of her Catwoman alias.

And here we can see from shots earlier this week of Anne Hathaway filming scenes for THE DARK KNIGHT RISES in Los Angeles that Nolan is going with a much more stylish, sophisticated looking Selina Kyle than has been seen before in films. Comic readers are familiar with seeing this side of Selina when it comes to crossing paths with Bruce Wayne, and I am sure the films will use this for them to cross paths outside of the capes and cowls as well. The duality of the relationship between Bruce/Selina and Batman/Catwoman is one of the unique aspects of their relationship and it would be a smart direction for Nolan to follow.

Breathe easy fans, Christopher Nolan is weaving another masterpiece ... like there was any doubt?

FILM: First Look at Selina Kyle in The Dark Knight Rises (News)

Warner Bros. continued its press push this week for their line of DC Comics feature films with the release of the first official image of Anne Hathaway as Selina Kyle in THE DARK KNIGHT RISES.

The studio has been mum on the exact details of Selina Kyle's role in the film but if the character is kept true to its roots, it is expected that Hathaway will be playing a sexy thief counterpart to Batman - whether or not that means actually becoming Catwoman is unknown.


THE DARK KNIGHT RISES into theaters on July 20, 2012.

COMIC: Top of the Stack - Batman/Catwoman: Follow the Money #1 (Review)

Written by Howard Chaykin
Pencils by Howard Chaykin
Cover by Howard Chaykin

Publisher: DC Comics
Price: $4.99

There was one book that stood out amongst the others this week and it happened to be the extra-sized, slightly pricier, Batman/Catwoman: Follow the Money one-shot written and drawn by longtime creative maestro Howard Chaykin. With the ever changing world of creative teams, sometimes it is nice to find a title that the creative duties are handled mainly by one person and see the results of having art interpreted perfectly with the story.

I would have welcomed the book to be split into a three issue mini-series because of the consistent pace to the story that kept it a thoroughly entertaining read would most likely translate well over several issues but the all-in-one packaging definitely made the book stand out even more for all the right reasons.

What kind of story could carry fifty-six pages of content? How about a story featuring the Cavalier as the villain? His characterization as a villain is the first proof that this tale is outside of DC's continuity where Cavalier aka Mortimer Drake is acting as a bodyguard for Dr. Leslie Thompkins.

Here, Mortimer Drake is the mastermind of a business theft scheme involving Bruce Wayne's money and left clues that would put the blame on Catwoman. And that's where the book really took off as it was a story of Bruce and Selina coming together to stop the Cavalier, clear Catwoman's name and save Bruce's money. Rarely these days do writers bring Bruce and Selina together in a story and it was a very welcome turn of events that kept a smile on my face while I read the pages.

Chaykin's art on the cover really set the fun tone of the book right from the start and the interiors followed suit in really displaying the colorful adventure to the reader. He drew a strong Bruce/Batman, a stylish stunning Selina/Catwoman and even made sure to include a tidying-up Alfred amongst the adventure.

There are several things I am hopeful for after reading this book. First off that more of these fun, free of the current state of the DCU, expanded stories can be written not only for Batman but other DC characters. With the reemergence of the Elseworlds brand I expect the quantity of stories outside of current continuity to grow and optimistically the quality will be as good as this issue.

Secondly, Howard Chaykin should not become a stranger to these characters or these type of stories. Too many times writers forget about the opposite sex dynamic when it comes to superheroes but the chemistry between Bruce Wayne and Selina Kyle was jumping off the page and it was a sight for sore eyes. It is one of the reasons why I have been looking forward to Bruce Wayne's return to the current DCU because the Bat/Cat dynamic is legendary.

Check out Geek Plate's Tumblr for today's Batman & Catwoman themed picspam.