Cat-Man and Kitten

Cat-Man
Publication information
Publisher	Frank Z. Temerson, Holyoke Publishing
First appearance	Crash Comics Adventures #4 (Sept. 1940)
Created by	artist Irwin Hasen and an unknown writer
In-story information
Alter ego	David Merryweather
Partnerships	Kitten
Abilities	Super-strength, agility, night vision, nine lives

Kitten
Kitten, in her classic costume.
Publication information
Publisher	Frank Z. Temerson, Holyoke Publishing
First appearance	Cat-Man Comics vol. 1 #10 (#5 on cover) (Dec. 1941)
Created by	artist Charles M. Quinlan and an unknown writer
In-story information
Alter ego	Katie Conn
Partnerships	Cat-Man
Abilities	Trained fighter

Cat-Man and Kitten (also Catman and Kitten) are a pair of fictional superhero characters created by artists Irwin Hasen (Cat-Man) and Charles M. Quinlan (Kitten) with unknown writers. Cat-Man was first published in 1940 by various Frank Z. Temerson companies, with Holyoke Publishing being the most widely known of them. Due to circumstances during World War II, an altered version of Cat-Man was published in Australia and reprinted in the 1950s. AC Comics later revived the characters in the 1980s.

In 1940, Tem Publishing Co. (one of Temerson's several companies) published a periodical titled Crash Comics. Issue #4 featured the origin and first appearance of the Cat-Man. David Merrywether (Cat-Man) was raised in Burma by a tigress after his parents had been killed. From living with tigers for years, he gained superhuman abilities, such as super-strength, enhanced agility, natural night vision, and the legendary "9 lives" of cats. Eventually, David returned to the U.S. where he was horrified by criminals preying on the innocent. To stop this, he became a private investigator. Later, he would become an officer in the US Army. Assigned to stateside duties, he donned an olive and orange costume with a black cat-head symbol and became Cat-Man.

Crash Comics was replaced by Cat-Man Comics in May 1941, although, like its predecessor, this new title was a superhero and adventure anthology merely headlined by the titular character. In issue vol. 1 #10 (#5 on the cover), Cat-Man encountered Katie Conn, an 11-year-old circus acrobat who fell under the guardianship of her unscrupulous uncle after her parents died in a fire. The uncle forced Katie to steal things for him. Cat-Man intervened on her behalf and made sure her uncle was brought to justice. Since she no longer had a guardian, David adopted Katie. She tried to help him fight crime, sewing a matching red and yellow costume and calling herself the Kitten. At first, David tried to keep her from helping him, but Katie eventually proved herself and the two became partners. As the series continued, Katie matured and David was promoted to the rank of captain.