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stephen_arvidson's review against another edition
3.0
The Huntress has come a long way from the Bronze-Age lovechild of Batman and Catwoman—to say nothing of her earliest appearance as a one-note villainess in 1947. In her current post-Crisis, pre-New 52 incarnation, the purple-clad heroine is a mafia princess orphaned as a little girl by the mob and now wages war against organized crime. In The Huntress: Year One, newcomer Ivory Madison tenders a six-issue miniseries detailing the origins and inaugural year of Helena Bertinelli’s alter ego, the Huntress, a deliciously badass character deserving of her own monthly title but, regrettably, still struggling to find her proper place within the DC Universe.
As the eight-year-old daughter of a Sicilian crime family, Helena Bertinelli was unaware of the dangerous life she lived—that is, until a masked assassin guns down her parents and older brother during a quiet pasta dinner, leaving her the only survivor. The silent panels sequencing her family’s annihilation are powerful and underscore the merciless violence. Rather than killing her, the hitman makes off with Helena’s crucifix as she cries alone amidst a splatter of bloodied corpses and spaghetti sauce. Fast-forward twelve years, on the eve of her twenty-first birthday, Helena, now the ward of the Asaro family, is about to receive a substantial inheritance. But the aging mafia dons have other plans for the Bertinelli fortune. Donning a sleek costume and a handy crossbow, the hunted has become the hunter, and like a wraith in the night Helena tracks both the man who ordered the hit on her family and the triggerman himself. An initially intriguing story takes a decisive nose-dive after a deadly confrontation with her family's killer during the Venetian Carnival leaves the fledgling heroine with no choice but to return to Gotham City, thereby ensuring a fateful rendezvous with Batman.
In the course of the story, Helena reveals both her resourcefulness and ruthlessness. As a woman of principle and faith, she is demonstrably more violent than most heroes—a vigilante in the truest sense. Helena is a survivor, a fierce warrior whose beginnings greatly echo those of Bruce Wayne; though in Helena’s case, witnessing the deaths of her beloved kin has instilled in her a righteous anger that fuels Helena’s penchant for bloodshed, as evidenced in a literal cat-got-your-tongue moment near the end of the book. Helena’s wrathful vengeance is a stark contrast to Batman’s cool restraint.
The second half of the book features cameos from the Bat-Family, though it seems like Madison went out of her way to cram every familiar character—Bruce Wayne/Batman, Catwoman, Batgirl, Alfred, stop me if I’m forgetting anyone!—into a rather rushed finale. Despite the occasionally campy dialogue, Madison makes superb use of present-day Helena’s narrative captions, particularly during flashback sequences, thus giving readers a real sense of the character's complexity. What's more, her Italian-American ethnicity and Catholic faith distinguishes her from most other mainstay superheroes.
Artistically speaking, Year One is a success. Jason Wright's colors are vibrant and hold true to the book’s pervasive moodiness and noir-ish milieu; and the crisp, shadow-tinged art of Cliff Richards is more than capable of telling a story, even one that does little to redefine the character. The Huntress’ roots were previously explored in Greg Rucka’s superior miniseries, Batman/Huntress: Cry for Blood (2000), which begs the question as to the purpose of this latter-day origin tale outside of its showing readers how Helena acquired her costume and how the Huntress moniker carries certain sentimental value. Madison’s vision of the Huntress’ backstory is intelligent and for the most part coherent, though largely uninspired.
As the eight-year-old daughter of a Sicilian crime family, Helena Bertinelli was unaware of the dangerous life she lived—that is, until a masked assassin guns down her parents and older brother during a quiet pasta dinner, leaving her the only survivor. The silent panels sequencing her family’s annihilation are powerful and underscore the merciless violence. Rather than killing her, the hitman makes off with Helena’s crucifix as she cries alone amidst a splatter of bloodied corpses and spaghetti sauce. Fast-forward twelve years, on the eve of her twenty-first birthday, Helena, now the ward of the Asaro family, is about to receive a substantial inheritance. But the aging mafia dons have other plans for the Bertinelli fortune. Donning a sleek costume and a handy crossbow, the hunted has become the hunter, and like a wraith in the night Helena tracks both the man who ordered the hit on her family and the triggerman himself. An initially intriguing story takes a decisive nose-dive after a deadly confrontation with her family's killer during the Venetian Carnival leaves the fledgling heroine with no choice but to return to Gotham City, thereby ensuring a fateful rendezvous with Batman.
In the course of the story, Helena reveals both her resourcefulness and ruthlessness. As a woman of principle and faith, she is demonstrably more violent than most heroes—a vigilante in the truest sense. Helena is a survivor, a fierce warrior whose beginnings greatly echo those of Bruce Wayne; though in Helena’s case, witnessing the deaths of her beloved kin has instilled in her a righteous anger that fuels Helena’s penchant for bloodshed, as evidenced in a literal cat-got-your-tongue moment near the end of the book. Helena’s wrathful vengeance is a stark contrast to Batman’s cool restraint.
The second half of the book features cameos from the Bat-Family, though it seems like Madison went out of her way to cram every familiar character—Bruce Wayne/Batman, Catwoman, Batgirl, Alfred, stop me if I’m forgetting anyone!—into a rather rushed finale. Despite the occasionally campy dialogue, Madison makes superb use of present-day Helena’s narrative captions, particularly during flashback sequences, thus giving readers a real sense of the character's complexity. What's more, her Italian-American ethnicity and Catholic faith distinguishes her from most other mainstay superheroes.
Artistically speaking, Year One is a success. Jason Wright's colors are vibrant and hold true to the book’s pervasive moodiness and noir-ish milieu; and the crisp, shadow-tinged art of Cliff Richards is more than capable of telling a story, even one that does little to redefine the character. The Huntress’ roots were previously explored in Greg Rucka’s superior miniseries, Batman/Huntress: Cry for Blood (2000), which begs the question as to the purpose of this latter-day origin tale outside of its showing readers how Helena acquired her costume and how the Huntress moniker carries certain sentimental value. Madison’s vision of the Huntress’ backstory is intelligent and for the most part coherent, though largely uninspired.
unladylike's review against another edition
3.0
One of my comic book discussion groups chose this Birds of Prey trilogy thinking they were a new series tying the characters together. It turns out there's nothing new in any of them except for the deceiving cover title. So DC wants to draw more attention to and from the recently-released Birds of Prey film, but not enough to actually produce new serials for Huntress, Harley Quinn, or Black Canary?
Anyway, with that disclaimer out of the way, this story by Greg Rucka from 20 years ago IS quite well-written. I liked learning more of Huntress's backstory, and getting to see The Question (the original one) for a good portion of the book was a bonus. The artwork will seem very outdated, but the lines were sharp and effective in telling the story.
Anyway, with that disclaimer out of the way, this story by Greg Rucka from 20 years ago IS quite well-written. I liked learning more of Huntress's backstory, and getting to see The Question (the original one) for a good portion of the book was a bonus. The artwork will seem very outdated, but the lines were sharp and effective in telling the story.
captwinghead's review against another edition
4.0
I was often confused about the timeline of this book but I still enjoyed it. Helena is one of my favorite characters and her origin as Huntress was awesome to see.
It was more violent than I expected but, considering her backstory, it needed to be. I can totally see how a film about her would work. She is a very strong, independent character and she has many layers. Her motives here are understandable, even if I found her methods brutal.
All in all, this was a cool introduction to a character I love in Birds of Prey.
It was more violent than I expected but, considering her backstory, it needed to be. I can totally see how a film about her would work. She is a very strong, independent character and she has many layers. Her motives here are understandable, even if I found her methods brutal.
All in all, this was a cool introduction to a character I love in Birds of Prey.
dantastic's review against another edition
4.0
When a mobster winds up dead with a crossbow bolt in his chest, all signs point to The Huntress! Can The Huntress clear her name and answer some Questions about her past before Batman and GCPD bring her to justice?
My wife got me this for my birthday. I've long found the peripheral members of the Batman family to be more interesting than Batman and the Earth-2 Huntress is one of my favorites.
This is the first post-Crisis Huntress story I've read and I liked it quite a bit. Helena Bertinelli is the daughter of a mobster, the last Bertinelli after seeing her whole family slaughtered when she was a child. Now, she fights crime in Batman's image but in a more lethal fashion. In this outing, she's framed for murder.
Guest starring the Batman family plus The Question(!) and Richard Dragon, Rucka explores the Huntress' origin as she tries to figure out who's framing her. It reads more like a crime comic than standard super hero stuff, not surprising since Rucka was one of the masterminds behind Gotham Central. Rick Burchett's art is pretty slick. On an odd side note, back in the day I dated a woman whose mother dated Rick Burchett when they were in high school.
I like how The Question was an integral part of the tale, more so than the Batman family, and that he and Helena didn't immediately become entangled. I also like that Helena didn't go all goody-goody at the end despite the guidance of The Question and Dragon. Maybe I missed out by not reading more post-Knightfall Batman stuff because I want to read stories featuring The Huntress.
She's no Helena Wayne but I like this Huntress quite a bit just the same. Four out of five crossbow bolts.
My wife got me this for my birthday. I've long found the peripheral members of the Batman family to be more interesting than Batman and the Earth-2 Huntress is one of my favorites.
This is the first post-Crisis Huntress story I've read and I liked it quite a bit. Helena Bertinelli is the daughter of a mobster, the last Bertinelli after seeing her whole family slaughtered when she was a child. Now, she fights crime in Batman's image but in a more lethal fashion. In this outing, she's framed for murder.
Guest starring the Batman family plus The Question(!) and Richard Dragon, Rucka explores the Huntress' origin as she tries to figure out who's framing her. It reads more like a crime comic than standard super hero stuff, not surprising since Rucka was one of the masterminds behind Gotham Central. Rick Burchett's art is pretty slick. On an odd side note, back in the day I dated a woman whose mother dated Rick Burchett when they were in high school.
I like how The Question was an integral part of the tale, more so than the Batman family, and that he and Helena didn't immediately become entangled. I also like that Helena didn't go all goody-goody at the end despite the guidance of The Question and Dragon. Maybe I missed out by not reading more post-Knightfall Batman stuff because I want to read stories featuring The Huntress.
She's no Helena Wayne but I like this Huntress quite a bit just the same. Four out of five crossbow bolts.
rashthedoctor's review against another edition
4.0
The events of this book are set sometime after "No Man's land" . No men's land was a fantastic story arc in many senses and it led to alienation of Huntress, who was never really a part of the Bat- family anyways , she after all was a killer and Batman used her to lure joker and further alienate her away from the family .
Talking of family, that's what this book is essentially about , the mafia family , that rules Gotham in the shadows of Batman , and Huntress 's family.
This book deals with a proper origin story for Huntress and plays out a mafia story in the viens of "The Godfather " in fact there are quite a few similar scenes in the two , this is garnished with a murder mystery that sees Huntress trying to clear her name from the murder .
The involvement of Batman is very minimal in this book , making this a pure Huntress book , and honestly with a clean , crisp art and the mafia storyline, it was definitely the best Huntress book I ever read , and i feel its an essential read for all bat-fans.
Quick edit : the only reason i dont give it a 5 star rating , is because at points the dialogues were way too corny , the involvement of 'The Question' felt unjustified and the book was marketed as a Batman/Huntress collab , where it barely featured Batman , so i felt cheated in that respect.
Another tiny edit : the comixology version i bought was so lagging when i flipped the pages . Ugh .
Talking of family, that's what this book is essentially about , the mafia family , that rules Gotham in the shadows of Batman , and Huntress 's family.
This book deals with a proper origin story for Huntress and plays out a mafia story in the viens of "The Godfather " in fact there are quite a few similar scenes in the two , this is garnished with a murder mystery that sees Huntress trying to clear her name from the murder .
The involvement of Batman is very minimal in this book , making this a pure Huntress book , and honestly with a clean , crisp art and the mafia storyline, it was definitely the best Huntress book I ever read , and i feel its an essential read for all bat-fans.
Quick edit : the only reason i dont give it a 5 star rating , is because at points the dialogues were way too corny , the involvement of 'The Question' felt unjustified and the book was marketed as a Batman/Huntress collab , where it barely featured Batman , so i felt cheated in that respect.
Another tiny edit : the comixology version i bought was so lagging when i flipped the pages . Ugh .
lberestecki's review
adventurous
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
haileeawrites's review
adventurous
emotional
lighthearted
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
rejena's review against another edition
5.0
One of the best female centric titles I've read all year.
bloodykanary's review against another edition
5.0
J’ai tout simplement adoré. C’est mon coup de cœur de la semaine au milieu de tout ce que j’ai lu. Cette mini-série retrace les origines et les débuts d’Helena Bertinelli dans le costume de Huntress. Que vous dire.
À l’image d’Helena, c’est violent sans être vraiment très sombre, et féministe. On ressent et on voit l’indépendance du personnage, que ce soit dans ses actes ou dans l’écriture. J’ai aussi trouvé bien que sa religion ne soit pas laissée de côté et soit vraiment intégrée à ce qu’elle est sans qu’il y ait spécifiquement une intrigue sur « comment concilier sa foi et le fait qu’elle tue » qui n’aurait pas tout à fait lieu d’être, si tôt dans sa vie. De la même façon, les éléments de culture italienne qui l’ont construite sont bien amenés. Même si c’est possiblement « la culture italienne pour les nuls », on s’en fiche parce que ça a du sens dans l’histoire et/ou la découverte d’Helena. On n’a pas cette sensation de « name-dropping » d’éléments italiens qu’on peut ressentir avec d’autres comics.
La bonne caractérisation de Batman et de Catwoman est d’autant plus agréable qu’ils ont un impact sur Helena et sa finalisation du personnage de Huntress. J’ai trouvé parfaite l’existence de ce lien de « parenté héroïque » avec cette version de Huntress.
Si Huntress vous intéresse ne serait-ce qu’un peu, ça me semble un must-read.
À l’image d’Helena, c’est violent sans être vraiment très sombre, et féministe. On ressent et on voit l’indépendance du personnage, que ce soit dans ses actes ou dans l’écriture. J’ai aussi trouvé bien que sa religion ne soit pas laissée de côté et soit vraiment intégrée à ce qu’elle est sans qu’il y ait spécifiquement une intrigue sur « comment concilier sa foi et le fait qu’elle tue » qui n’aurait pas tout à fait lieu d’être, si tôt dans sa vie. De la même façon, les éléments de culture italienne qui l’ont construite sont bien amenés. Même si c’est possiblement « la culture italienne pour les nuls », on s’en fiche parce que ça a du sens dans l’histoire et/ou la découverte d’Helena. On n’a pas cette sensation de « name-dropping » d’éléments italiens qu’on peut ressentir avec d’autres comics.
La bonne caractérisation de Batman et de Catwoman est d’autant plus agréable qu’ils ont un impact sur Helena et sa finalisation du personnage de Huntress. J’ai trouvé parfaite l’existence de ce lien de « parenté héroïque » avec cette version de Huntress.
Si Huntress vous intéresse ne serait-ce qu’un peu, ça me semble un must-read.