Sunday, September 19, 2010

Batwoman: Elegy HC

I'm not a huge fan of Greg Rucka's, although he certainly has written stuff I like. This series falls squarely in the middle, with some fantastic elements and some pieces that don't work so well.

First, the good stuff. Kate Kane is a fascinating new character. I love her supportive father and her fascinating relationship with him and her lost family members. Kate is a stand-up, noble character with great motivation; I think she's a wonderful addition to the DCU. I love Alice as her villain too. Villains with a personal touch always work best, and factor in that she's a perfect fit for Gotham, and Alice has star potential too.

The art is absolutely stunning. JH Williams experiments with pages in innovative ways every single issue. His ability to alter the tone of the artwork for different story elements makes the story work perfectly.

Now, the bad; I hate the other antagonists. The Book of Caine just doesn't work for Batwoman. It's too crazy. Sure, she can fight an evil cult, but there shouldn't be shape-shifting animal men in it! That's too wacky, even for Gotham. And maybe I missed some background, but I have no memory of those animal dudes. This picked up from 52, was there anything else? I know I skipped some Book of Caine comic during Final Crisis, was that connected? I just never got into the conflict with the cult, it seemed like it didn't belong.

Fair

1 comment:

Martin Gray said...

Agree with everything you say. I dropped the Book of Caine mini series (or whatever it was called) too, and if the animal men were in 52, well, that was years ago.