Batwoman #1

By J.H. Williams III, W. Haden Blackman and Amy Reeder

One of the most anticipated comics of the 'New 52' was probably Batwoman #1. That's not suggest that she outshines Superman or has out-performed Batman, but the book has been in the works for ages. Introduced in the year-long weekly series 52, Batwoman immediately made headlines due to her sexuality. Her costume, designed by Alex Ross, was sleek and stylish, but the character did very little in 52 itself. It was presumed that an ongoing Batwoman title from Greg Rucka and JH Williams would launch her into superstardom... but it never came. Eventually, the Rucka/Williams run took over Detective Comics after Bruce Wayne died under extremely complicated circumstances. Her origin was explained and she kicked major butt in what may called a gorgeous superhero monthly series. It was well worth the wait and received positive reviews from fans and critics... but what about her solo book?

Batwoman finally appeared in a 'zero issue' intended to generate interest for an ongoing book. It was released in November 2010 and issue one finally hit the stands this month, almost a full year later. Despite all the delays, the book is very good and has again earned hearty acclaim from fans and critics, but like some other #1's released in September it is not exactly 'new reader friendly.' In fact, it not only assumes but kinda demands that you read the Detective Comics run. As this run was so good and easily found in collected format, it's no real crime to influence readers toward a purchase but it stood in the way of my own enjoyment of the issue.

As a stand alone comic, Batwoman is very slick and stylish with lots of character and establishes a very unique attitude and environment. Kate Kane, a hard-as-nails woman with a bone-white complexion and flame-red hair, dons a jet-black Batsuit to patrol the streets of Gotham. Fighting what appears to be a supernatural threat that assaults children, Batwoman seems hardly phased by the challenge. Assisted by a young female protege named Flamebird (or Plebe), the pair dance across rooftops looking for clues and hit a brick wall in the form of Kate's dad... and lots of half-explained back-story. An ex-military officer, Kate's father trained her in fighting techniques but made some mistakes along the way. To be honest, this part lost me.

As an ongoing series, Batwoman has a built-in fanbase and stands a good chance of establishing a new ongoing monthly book. It is well-known that Williams will not last beyond about 6 issues on art duties which sadly is a large part of the book's appeal. When running down lists of the new 52 titles, Batwoman commonly received high accolades, but always due to the extraordinarily lush artwork. Will that success last when a new artist arrives? I'm not sure, but we need more comics with strong female characters and this one could be one of them.

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As is the case with all of DC's new 52 #1s, Batwoman has sold out but can be downloaded at Comixology.

Also available:

Batwoman: Elegy