Batwoman #1
Written by J.H. Williams III & W. Haden Blackman
Art by J.H. Williams III & Dave Stewart
Batwoman #1 has been a long time coming. Resolicited several times from it’s spring launch date, it finally sees stands as part of this fall’s New 52. It’s close to being an excellent comic book from the Batman universe, but stumbles as part of the relaunch. This particular issue is laden with backstory, and while the storytelling is amazing on all fronts, I did come away slightly disappointed.
Our story begins with a ghost story, except it’s all too true. A ghostly woman with a maritime motif has been stealing children. Batwoman intervenes, but is too late, and promises to track the children down. The mother of some of these children is an interesting twist.
We follow Kate Kane aka Batwoman through her rigid militaristic lifestyle, from to the point dates, to drilling her own cousin Flamebird (former Teen Titan) as her sidekick (and referring to her as a plebe, even, a nod to the name of first-year students at the U.S. Naval Academy and Military Academy). She clashes with her father and former mentor, Col. Jacob Kane.
Then the Department of Extranormal Operations steps in, intent on tracking down the Batwoman at the same time Batman has a proposition for her.
I’ve waited for this book a long time, drooling over the Batwoman teaser from months ago. So I’m a little disappointed that the story seems off. Since Detective Comics, Batwoman has always had a rather unique vibe: far more soldierly than Batman, yet battling some of the most surreally outlandish and extranormal villains the DCU can throw at her. Her alter ego is a take no crap young woman well in charge of her life and what she wants out of it. The book doesn’t drop that ball, but it also spends so much time recapping it, as an avid Batwoman fan, it wasn’t that exciting. Perfect for new readers to catch on, though, and I suggest they do.
The characters are solid, the dialogue is sharp and imbued with personality. Even without looking at the art you can discern characters solely from word balloons.
The problem is there’s a lot happening and hinted, but nothing truly happens.
Part of this might be due to the art. No, the art is amazing, J.H. Williams III does not disappoint. It’s bold, colorful, and packed full of detail. These aren’t just panels laid out on pages, every piece of every panel of every page is a carefully wrought work of breathtaking art. He never wastes a line. The style changes depending on the content and context, but it all works together as one masterful piece.
Where the art hits the story is in these layouts, as the book is chock full of double page spreads, which, while laid out ingeniously and meticulously, do give the illusion of “speeding” the story along as you track from panel to panel. The spreads aren’t wasted, but there’s something tangible about turning pages, or cutting from page to page, and the spreads make it a little too smooth. It’s an illusion, though, you do get your money’s worth. It’s just the only real criticism I could muster.
Dave Stewart’s colors are a thing of glory themselves, giving the book a rich texture that few other books carry. Like Williams’ linework, there are different techniques at play in different contexts, from the stark, weighted colors evoking Mignola’s Hellboy, to the classic Gotham palette, to a surreal fairytale kaleidoscope, to the eerie leathery sheen of Batwoman’s costume against a flatly colored world (always my favorite contrast with Batwoman).
Batwoman certainly follows Batwing‘s trend of offering an entirely different flavor to the Bat-lineup, and I hope it continues to do so. While set in Gotham, Williams and Blackman do their best to distance the book and make Kathy Kane and her cast their own solid universe. It’s just at a slow pace, and like Batwing, the slow build and acquired taste may count against it on the shelves, with everyone flocking to the bigger titles.
Let’s hope it succeeds, because if DC and the New 52 ever wanted a piece to showcase true comic art, Batwoman should be thrown front and center. In the meantime, the first issue leaves us with untapped potential and big ideas. Let’s give it a few issues to expand on them.
