Comic Book Cats, number 30: “Catwoman: Empress of the Underworld” from Batman #65, penciled by Lew Sayre Schwartz & Bob Kane, inked by Charles Paris and written by Bill Finger, published by DC / National Comics in June 1951.This adventure of Batman and Robin from the Golden Age sees their adversary Catwoman apparently retiring from crime to open a pet shop. However, when a cat-themed crime spree erupts across Gotham City, the Dynamic Duo is left wondering if Selina Kyle has truly left behind her larcenous ways.
Determining credits on older Batman stories can be a bit tricky, but according to the Grand Comics Database penciler Lew Sayre Schwartz himself confirmed that the Batman and Robin figures were drawn by Bob Kane, with Schwartz drawing everything else, including the “mob of cats” seen here. Inking is by longtime DC Comics artist Charles Paris. The story was written by Batman co-creator Bill Finger.
Schwartz was the uncredited penciler on over a hundred Batman stories between 1946 and 1953. His work is well-regarded by many, among them acclaimed independent artist Eddie Campbell.
Interviewed in 2011, Schwartz stated “the best scripts that I ever got to work on were Bill Finger’s. Most imaginative. I think, in a way, the most successful because they were so damn visual. He was brilliant and he got no credit.”
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