BATWOMAN: ELEGY
Writer: Greg Rucka / Penciller: J.H. Williams III / Colour-Artist: Dave Stewart / Letterer: Todd Klein / Collects: Detective Comics #854 - 857 / DC Comics.
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5th April 2020 (Released 4th September 2019)
The Pitch: Batwoman must stop Alice from unleashing a toxic death cloud over all of Gotham City-but Alice has more up her sleeve than just poison, and Batwoman's life will never be the same again.
Whether or not you like the shows, one benefit of having a comic-book character graduate to the small (or big) screen is the renewed public interest in their original funny-book counterparts. As someone who has worked in comic-book retail, I can tell you the boost is usually welcomed. People find new passions because of the shows and films. And there's a good chance they'll stick with the character and the medium. Sometimes, there’ll be a miss. The show will be a success, but it won't have a positive effect on the comics. People simply don't connect the two mediums. In a way, this is good. Comics are comics, movies and TV are, well, movies and TV. The merging of the mediums can sometimes cause problems for both and, if I'm honest comic-book films and TV are sometimes better if they can depart from the source material (I wrote about this for Hero Collector.Com recently). It's also worth pointing out that the screen sometimes manages to make hits out of characters that have faded from the public imagination. Be honest: How many of you remembered The Guardians of the Galaxy when that movie was announced? And then there are some characters who deserve the attention and we cross our fingers that more people are going to come looking for the book. For me, that character is Batwoman.
Kate's tragedy haunts her, not just mentally but physically in the form of her adversary, Alice
Batwoman is a character I've only encountered in her later form, Kate Kane, in 2009. Batwoman has earlier iterations in the silver age when Kathy Kane married Bruce Wayne and they fought crime together. Grant Morrison touched on this storyline in his Batman run, but it's the stories that followed R.I.P., in the 'Batman Reborn' era of the Bat family. Batwoman had already made some early appearances in 52, Countdown and Final Crisis. But it was Detective Comics #854 that Kate became the central character. And in the O.G. Batman title, no less. Having an LGBTQ character as the lead of a flagship book was a great step forward. The characters’ sexuality isn't underplayed. Greg Rucka writes Kate Kane with refreshing forthrightness. Rucka's other writing talent is also on display in this run: his ability to create grounded, street-level or military action. This is most present in Kate's relationship with her father, whom she still refers to as 'sir' or 'colonel'. Kate is ex-military, expelled under 'Don't ask, don't tell'. But that's not the only baggage Kate is carrying. Her sister, Beth was killed (along with their mother) when she, Beth and Kate were kidnapped many years before. Like Bruce, her life is steeped in tragedy. But Bruce haunts his tragedy. Visits the punishment for it on others night after night. Kate's tragedy haunts her, not just mentally but physically in the form of her adversary, Alice.
ThERE’s a layer of whimsy to the comic that wasn’t present in the other bat-books
Kate takes on the wonderfully monikered 'Religion of Crime', an organisation once run by Ra's Al Ghul's right hand, Whisper A'Daire. This in itself is a great conceit, and like most of the early Batwoman storylines, has its roots in 52. With the religion in flux, and a new leader being freshly elected, they go to war on Kate Kane at the behest of Alice, their new Queen. In line with her namesake, Alice is fond of a fable-like lexicon and Lewis Carroll-Esque spin. This adds a layer of whimsy to the comic that hadn't been present in the other bat books, save for Robin. Alice comes across like a petulant child, which belies her true nature – a vicious maniac. The Carroll connection also bleeds well into the first arc's other major element – the horrific, near-supernatural abilities of Mr. Abbot and his team, who transform into quasi-fantastical creatures. It's fascinating to see this stuff play out, especially since the supernatural elements don't always work in the core Batman books.
Williams creates intricate structures from the emotional landscape of action sequences
Rucka makes it work here, helped by J.H. Williams’ astonishing artwork and panel design. Williams creates intricate structures from the emotional landscape of action sequences. Panels take on jagged shapes, blows landing like bolts of lightning. He uses Kate's version of the bat symbol as centrepieces in his beautiful architecture. This has the effect of giving your eye a puzzle to solve, at first, at least until you settle into the rhythm of it. In a way, it feels almost like a call-back to 'Pow, Zap!' days of Adam West, with Dutch angles and sudden flurries of violence. But there's nothing 'camp' about it. Kate's world is one painted in smoky blacks and blood reds. Dave Stewart, the colouring genius who brought Mike Mignola's Hellboy to scarlet, eye-catching life with a similar palette, here manages to bridge the two worlds that Williams has pencilled: Kate Kane's and Alice's. It's an amazing sight to see, one moment we're in Batwoman's atmospheric, intoxicating night-scape. A few page turns, and the colours and art style shifts to the daylight world of Gotham. I don't think there's a group of artists who've illustrated this shift better than Williams and Stewart. It's also worth taking a good look at Todd Klein's letters, too. He handles the multitude of voices and personalities skilfully and achieves something that can often be difficult (and overlooked) in comics: He makes the voices that Rucka writes play as distinct and separate sounds.
There is of course a longer story to be told here. The first arc gives way to the second, detailing the deeper trauma of Kate's life in a flashback structure seemingly aped in the television show. And there's a forward-advancing story, showing Kate's burgeoning relationship with Maggie Sawyer, which in itself becomes a mind-field of memories for Kate as she recalls her relationship with Renee Montoya, who – like Maggie – was also a cop in Gotham. The relationship unfolds, giving the book tension as Maggie teeters on the brink of the discovery of Kate's other identity. This could be said to be a mirror, in a way, of the discovery of Kate's sexuality during her military days. It's also an excellent example of the ways in which the other life, the super-hero life, can have a corrosive effect on the 'real' life, making the protagonists wonder which is the real life at all. Batwoman, whether in Detective comics, 52 or her own book (or on TV) has proved to be a hit character and deservedly so. As the Bat family becomes larger and more diverse, Kate is a shining example of putting characterisation first and letting the stories grow from that. And that's something that all comics should be striving for.
Buy Batman comics here and help support The Comic Crush. You can buy Batwoman: Elegy at Gosh Comics or order a copy online at Bookshp.org.