The world of Batman: Gotham by Gaslight has just entered its very own Kryptonian Age, and it’s bringing two iconic DC femme fatales along with it.

Batman: Gotham by Gaslight – The Kryptonian Age #1 gives readers a glimpse of what appears to be the ship that carried an infant Kal-El from his destroyed homeworld of Krypton all the way to Earth. While there is no sign of the future Superman himself, however, it is readily apparent that some amount of Kryptonite made the trip intact. So much so, in fact, that Selina Kyle is just one of two very dangerous women who have set their sights on a ring crafted from the alien element, and Talia al Ghul isn’t wasting any effort getting ahold of it, even if that means cutting down Batman where he stands.

Written by ANDY DIGGLE Art by LEANDRO FERNANDEZ Colors by DAVE STEWART Letters by SIMON BOWLAND Main cover art by LEANDRO FERNANDEZ & DAVE STEWART Variant covers by FRANCESCO MATTINO, KENDRICK “KUNKKA” LIM, and JOCK

The world of Earth-19 first appeared in the pages of 1990’s Batman: Gotham by Gaslight one-shot comic from writer Brian Augustyn and artist Mike Mignola. In this version of the DC Universe, the world is still in the middle of the industrial revolution. As such, all of the Dark Knight’s regular rogues have taken on a staunchly steampunk aesthetic, as has Batman himself. In the original one-shot, Batman took it upon himself to uncover the true identity of the infamous serial killer, Jack the Ripper, before bringing the villain’s reign of terror to an end.

Selina Kyle has been a part of the DC Universe for nearly as long as the Caped Crusader, with her earliest, Golden Age incarnation making her debut all the way back in 1940’s Batman #1 in Bill Finger and Bob Kane’s story, “The Cat.” In the decades since, Selina Kyle, better known as Catwoman, has been reimagined just as frequently as the rest of the DC Universe. She has also gone on to take up less antagonistic roles in that time, ultimately becoming Bruce Wayne’s greatest love interest without giving up on her criminal lifestyle.

The daughter of longtime Batman foe Ra’s al Ghul, Talia al Ghul first appeared in 1971’s Detective Comics #411 by writer Dennis O’Neil and artist Bob Brown. Like Catwoman, Talia has been a friend, lover, ally, and enemy to the Dark Knight, though she has largely settled on the latter as her most typical role. Although Talia has consistently had a prominent position within the League of Assassins, she has also struck out on her own on multiple occasions, most recently with the organization known as Leviathan. More importantly, Talia is the mother of Damian Wayne, the fifth Robin and biological son of the Dark Knight.

Batman: Gotham by Gaslight – The Kryptonian Age #1 is on sale now from DC Comics.

Source: DC Comics