Series: Batwoman (2017-) #1-6
Audience: +16
Genre: Comic Book
Publisher: DC Comics
Release Date: October 31st 2017
My Rating: 4 cups
Source: Netgalley
Blurb (from Goodreads):
Batwoman returns with her own series in BATWOMAN VOL. 1, as a part of DC Rebirth!*Disclaimer: I received an eARC of this book from Netgalley and DC Comics in exchange for an honest review. This does not influence my rating or the content of my review in any way.
The newest chapter of Batwoman’s life begins here! Monster Venom is the hottest new bioweapon on the market…and to break up the syndicate spreading it around the world, Batwoman’s going to have to return to the place where she spent some of her darkest hours!
With writing from Marguerite Bennett (DC BOMBSHELLS) and James Tynion IV (DETECTIVE COMICS), as well as spectacular art from Steve Epting (CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE WINTER SOLDIER) and Ben Oliver (THE MULTIVERSITY), this new series spins directly out of the smash hit DETECTIVE COMICS series!
BATWOMAN VOL. 1 collects issues #1-6 and the one-shot special BATWOMAN: REBIRTH #1.
I went into reading this knowing nothing about Batwoman. I didn't even know Batwoman existed, to be honest. So I was surprised to see this redheaded heroine and read about her adventures, and let me tell you, I liked what I read.
The story is pretty interesting. We spend the entire first issue jumping through time, seeing brief instances from Batwoman/Kate Kane's life, since childhood to present times. This had me confused for a little bit, because for a while there I thought I was reading a similar story with Greg Rucka's Wonder Woman, which is different backstories of the same character. It took me a little bit to figure out it was small flashes of the same Kate Kane. This is probably due to me not knowing anything about Kane. We then see her trying to stop an attack at a pretty important market, which eventually leads her to a secluded island, where apparently Kate left her heart on many years ago. It was a pretty interesting concept, and I liked the flashbacks on the island, and trying to figure out what exactly happened. We still don't know a lot, so I'm hoping the future issues (if there are any) will shed some light onto what happened between Kate and Safiyah, where the latter is, and how big is this organization trying to bring down Kate.
I have to say, I wish the last issue in this volume, Rebirth #1 was at the beginning. This is actually the way I've been used to in DC comics so far, so I don't really understand why they decided to include that one at the end of the 6 issues of The Many Arms Of Death. That was the only thing that I didn't quite enjoy, mostly because it pulled me quite harshly from the original story.
The art is pretty great. There were a lot of vivid, really strong colors. The panels were not too crowded, and were easy to follow. There seemed to be a bit of a shift in drawing technique towards the last issues, but that didn't bother me as much as I expected. The art complements the story a lot, and it sort of follows the story and the timeline. The art in Rebirth however was pretty different than the one in TMAoD. Not a bad thing, just something that I noticed.
The pacing was great and I read it pretty fast. All in all, I think this is by far my favorite DC comic I've read so far. It was mysterious and dark enough to keep me wishing for more issues and page time. I will definitely read volume 2 when it comes out.
