Catwoman #8

This volume is issue #8 of the New 52 series Catwoman, corresponding to Catwoman Vol. 4 #8, published by DC Comics on April 18, 2012. It was written by Judd Winick, with interior art by Adriana Melo and a cover by Guillem March. At this point Selina Kyle has just had a direct confrontation with Batman and has lost someone important to her; she decides to change her way of life, meets a new electrified partner nicknamed "Spark," and the two team up to commit a string of crimes across Gotham City. In this issue, Catwoman and Spark break into a heavily guarded mansion, targeting a matching set of five antique daggers; they enter through a grate at the bottom of the pool, Spark uses her electrical powers to disable the security system, but they discover that one dagger is missing from the set, greatly reducing its value, and they must still escape with the remaining four while surrounded by security guards. Selina suspects the missing dagger is connected to the Penguin, so she seeks out her fence and middlewoman Gwen Altamont, urging her to take on the job. Gwen agrees to handle the sale but warns Selina to be wary of Spark, believing that this young thief—who is both helpful and good-looking—is ultimately a thief and cannot be fully trusted. That night, the two stake out a restaurant the Penguin frequents, but Catwoman spots a street woman being drugged and dragged into a van; ignoring Spark's objections, she rushes to rescue the woman, and Spark promptly knocks out the kidnappers and saves the woman in the van at the last moment. Afterward, they learn from the street woman that many such kidnappings have occurred, yet the police have done nothing. Meanwhile, the Court of Owls gathers in secret and decides to send the Talons to eliminate one by one those who stand in the way of their control over Gotham, and the next name on the list is the Penguin—a larger storm is approaching. The plot of this issue follows issue #7 and leads directly into the "Night of the Owls" crossover in issue #9, making it a key piece for understanding Catwoman's relationship with Spark and her feud with the Penguin.