Catwoman / Tweety and Sylvester Special #1

I know it’s ridiculous for me to be talking about Catwoman/Tweety and Sylvester Special #1. It’s a silly event tie-in that came out four months ago. I bet no one even remembers it. But it’s a really good comic that shows what a skilled creator can do with even the most ridiculous premise.

Gail Simone writes and Inaki Miranda draws the team-up, which starts off by pairing Catwoman with the “puddy tat” Sylvester. She’s shocked he talks — complete with lisp — while I’m stunned by what a more realistic cartoon cat looks like. Tweety, as a real-life canary, is even more surprising — and a bit nasty in his comments.

Quickly, thanks to the completely unexpected cameo of the three witches from the 1970s series The Witching Hour, we’re smack in the middle of a war between cats and birds. Tweety teams up with Black Canary to battle Catwoman and Sylvester. After the fight-and-wisecracking scene, both enlist reinforcements, which makes for an amazing number of cat- and bird-themed hero appearances.

I usually expect to see Catman in a Simone comic, but Hawkgirl and Hawkman make an impressive entrance, and soon it’s just “name that cameo”. Much fun! I had no idea such an artificial premise could turn out to be this enjoyable.