Reviews
Ironically, Batwoman was actually created back in the 50s as DC’s reaction to allegations that Batman and Robin had a homosexual relationship – so they created Batwoman as a romantic interest for the Caped Crusader. She lasted for a few years, but was eventually retired in the 60s when DC was streamlining the characters in the Batman universe. She was revived recently in the 52 series with a new look and backstory: Kate Kane, expelled from Westpoint under the DADT rules, is inspired by a chance encounter with Batman and finds a new purpose and a way to fulfill what she considers her duty to serve. Funded by her stepmother’s fortune and with access through her military father to state of the art armour, technology and weapons, she takes on the mantle of Batwoman in Gotham City. Elegy is Batwoman’s second story arc and takes place sometime after her near death at the hands of a cult called The Religion of Crime (I cringe when I read or type that name … but really, Batman fights someone named the Penguin, so I should just let that go) which was told as part of another series (but I refuse to track down those issues because I don’t want to admit my obsession with reading everything from the beginning). Kate has recovered from her near fatal wound and is hot on the heels of the crime cult, chasing down the rumour that a new leader is coming to town. Based on the fact that the cult was following a prophecy that her death would herald a new era, she has a rather personal reason for chasing this down. Elegy is broken into two rather distinct parts – the first is the arrival of Alice as the new leader of the crime covens. Alice is a rather psychotic rendition of Alice in Wonderland who speaks in odd non-sequiturs which are actually lines of dialogue from the Lewis Carroll book. As with any big bad in a comic, her plans are nefarious and she is intent on causing maximum damage. Once the Alice saga is concluded, the book segues into Kate’s backstory, giving insight into how she came to be Batwoman. The Alice part was okay and the fallout from it serves as a great push for the Kate’s continuing story and struggles, but it wasn’t the highlight for me. The backstory made more of an impression and gave a much better understanding of Kate’s motivations. As with most heroes, her past is marred by angsty tragedy and she drifts for a bit looking for direction. A chance meeting with a mugger and Batman gives her a renewed purpose and she focuses on becoming Batwoman. With Batman, there’s always been a strong sense of integrity and justice – at whatever cost. Kate exemplifies this and one of the best scenes is when she is drummed out of Westpoint for maintaining the code “A cadet shall not lie, cheat or steal. Nor suffer others to do so”. The artwork is really quite stunning. I’m always torn as to whether I think the story or the artwork makes or breaks a comic. In this one, I think it’s the artwork that grabbed me the most. JH Williams does some amazing pages – the action scenes are complex and really quite gorgeous. It is amazing how a comic can capture and portray so much in a few panels. In many cases, there is little or no dialogue in the scenes, but none is needed and I found myself going back to them again and again just t admire the artowork. Batwoman in action is a sight to behold – quite gorgeous and definitely a BAMF (Bad Ass Mother F****er). They even altered what seemed to be the standard comic book heroine costume to have functional boots and armour (as opposed to high heels and lots of décolleté )– her costume may be form-fitting, but Batwoman is substantial and not someone you’d want to mess with. The artwork where Kate was out of costume, at least in the first half, seemed a bit more awkward - Kate seemed smaller and in the gala scenes the artist has her makeup looking like she has racoon eyes (goth?). The scenes with Maggie Sawyer, Captain of Gotham’s Major Crime Unit, weren’t as fluid and seemed a bit stilted – something that seems to have resolved itself in the actual Batwoman series. All in all, I much preferred Kate in costume, kicking ass and taking names. But that could just mean I really just like a woman in uniform. Overall reaction: A great introduction to Batwoman – the storytelling is good, with the potential for some complex plots and the artwork is gorgeous.
I started working in a different city a few weeks ago, one that I have to commute by train to get to. That means no car to toodle around in during lunch or after work, and I'm now in the exact opposite direction of the comic shop I used to go to. I did some quick mapping online and found a new shop that is sorta local to my office and decided to get a Lyft there from work. Best decision of my life. The fella that owns the shop is great, super helpful, and recommended a bunch of graphic novels to me after I told him my life story of comic reading (and leaving and coming back to the fold once again). This was one of the books he suggested based on my desire to see more queer representation in sequential art. I was not disappointed. I think I mentioned in my review of Grayson, Volume 1: Agents of Spyral that I had not previously read DC comics but was enjoying dipping my toe into the pool. This book felt like I was diving into the deep end. I felt a bit lost to start with but by the end I felt like I knew enough to get by and to keep me interested. The plot was fast-paced, the writing outstanding, the difference between the here-and-now hyper-visual art and what the shop owner described as similar to an Archie-style in the flashbacks really added to the experience. Now I need to find the next volume to see what happens to Kate.
Usually I am a Marvel girl but I've been watching and enjoying The CW show lately and wanted to see if the comics were any good. And while there are some big differences, naturally, I actually did really like this graphic novel. I actually want to read more now, Kate Kane is great and I love her sass and attitude.
