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A review by libra17
Batwoman by Greg Rucka and J.H. Williams by J.H. Williams III, Greg Rucka, Jock
5.0
I read Batwoman so far slightly out of order (the first three volumes of New 52 before the Elegy storyline; oops), so this collection fills in some blanks for me. I was aware of some of the major plot points here, but not all of them and not the story details.
Overall, the writing here was good. I like Kate as a character, her backstory is well fleshed out, her flaws are matter of fact (they're there, but they're understandable, not insurmountable, and not blamed on extraneous factors), and her introduction as Batwoman was very well done. My only real complaint about the writing is that there's some stuff going on that I had no idea about. The Religion of Crime and its warring sects? And this involves a werewolf and other 'monsters' somehow, even though batbooks usually don't deal with magic or supernatural storylines? I realize that there's probably explanation for this somewhere in the previous fifty-ish issues of Detective Comics, but that doesn't help me while reading this collection. In some other trade paperbacks that excerpt individual story arcs from larger works, there is a paragraph or so overview given to orient to the reader and explain parts of the story that might otherwise cause someone to scratch their head and wonder what the hell is going on. The actual New 52 Batwoman series has this, giving an overview of Kate's kidnapping and why she is Batwoman, so why not include something similar here?
Regarding the art, I go back and forth. There are some scenes that saved as a screenshot because I thought they were gorgeous, but most of the art was just sort of 'meh.' But that is my personal preference, though, and I have a similar view of the artwork for all of the Batwoman books I've read so far.
I do intend to continue reading Batwoman, mostly because I have heard really great things about the character and I've seen her in other media - specifically, the DCAU - and liked her. I also plan on at least giving the live action TV series a try despite the fact that live action isn't really my thing, and I plan to continue reading the comics. This collection, especially with the Cutter story, is a good jumping off point and I'm happy to have read it. The few gripes I have with the book aren't enough for me to dock it any stars.
Overall, the writing here was good. I like Kate as a character, her backstory is well fleshed out, her flaws are matter of fact (they're there, but they're understandable, not insurmountable, and not blamed on extraneous factors), and her introduction as Batwoman was very well done. My only real complaint about the writing is that there's some stuff going on that I had no idea about. The Religion of Crime and its warring sects? And this involves a werewolf and other 'monsters' somehow, even though batbooks usually don't deal with magic or supernatural storylines? I realize that there's probably explanation for this somewhere in the previous fifty-ish issues of Detective Comics, but that doesn't help me while reading this collection. In some other trade paperbacks that excerpt individual story arcs from larger works, there is a paragraph or so overview given to orient to the reader and explain parts of the story that might otherwise cause someone to scratch their head and wonder what the hell is going on. The actual New 52 Batwoman series has this, giving an overview of Kate's kidnapping and why she is Batwoman, so why not include something similar here?
Regarding the art, I go back and forth. There are some scenes that saved as a screenshot because I thought they were gorgeous, but most of the art was just sort of 'meh.' But that is my personal preference, though, and I have a similar view of the artwork for all of the Batwoman books I've read so far.
I do intend to continue reading Batwoman, mostly because I have heard really great things about the character and I've seen her in other media - specifically, the DCAU - and liked her. I also plan on at least giving the live action TV series a try despite the fact that live action isn't really my thing, and I plan to continue reading the comics. This collection, especially with the Cutter story, is a good jumping off point and I'm happy to have read it. The few gripes I have with the book aren't enough for me to dock it any stars.