Tag Archives: batwoman: rebirth

Review: Batwoman: Rebirth 

batwomanrebirthcoverBatwoman: Rebirth starts off sweetly enough, Kate Kane headed out for birthday waffles and chocolate with her mother and twin sister. That’s where the sweetness ends.

James T. Tynion IV and Marguerite Bennett serve up a story that brings the pain, the struggle, the strength and, the fire. We are treated to a back story for the ages complete with a rescue mission, a lesbian love affair, a fall from grace and, a triumphant return from the ashes to turn her into the hero that Batwoman becomes. There is passion in the pages that draws the reader into the fire behind Kane’s fight, telling the story of a woman who loses her family, finds herself, loses herself and, becomes reborn. We get to see first hand the struggles, the pain, the heartache and, the love that drives her.

Bennett and Tynion serve up Kane’s past on a silver platter, we watch the moment that made her want to fight, the love affair that sent her into exile, the year out of sight that showed her the demons that haunted her and, how Batman came into her life and trained her to be his equal in every way. This story focused on Kate Kane and nothing more, she retained her agency, her goals and, her dreams. Everything that made her an equal to the man in black and,  everything that made her unique is laid out in the pages of this issue. Because of the source material, this could have easily turned into the story of how Batwoman was lost and found by Batman and made her everything she was. The writers could have made this just another Batman spin-off but, luckily for us, they chose to go another way.

Bennett, known for being an out queer writer, handles Kane’s sexuality flawlessly carrying over her talented portrayal of the character from Bombshells. She showcases her sexuality with great care making it part of who she is without making it all that she is. There is never a feeling that she is only a lesbian for shock value which is refreshing and makes her a multifaceted character in her own story instead of a sideshow. The reveal of her sexuality so early on in issue one helps in the character development and informs the reader about the things that drive her, by the discrimination and slick side comments she’s faced.

Steve Epting and Ben Oliver‘s artwork is sleek and stylized without being overly sexual or adding a male gaze to the character. You can tell she is a woman and you can tell she has relationships with other women, without it feeling cheap or unnecessary. Each panel is detailed and well thought out drawing you into the story and there’s a genuine feeling of involvement in Batwoman’s life. The art makes you feel like a fly on the wall in a good way.

Overall between the storytelling and the art, this issue felt sincere, smart, well thought out, and engaging. There wasn’t a lot of action but, there didn’t need to be, it was about human connection, the things that drive us and, make us into what we become.

Story: James T. Tynion IV & Marguerite Bennett Art: Steve Epting & Ben Oliver
Story: 9.5 Art: 9.4 Overall: 9.4 Recommendation: Buy

DC Comics provided Graphic Policy with a free copy for review

Around the Tubes

tws_cv1_dsIt was new comic book day yesterday. What’d you get? What’s you like? What’d you dislike? Sound off in the comments below! While you decide on that, here’s some comic news and reviews from around the web in our morning roundup.

Around the Tubes

The Beat – Breaking news: only 30% of the news on comics news sites is actually about comics – And we’re about 70%.

TechCrunch – Pixar offers free online lessons in storytelling via Khan Academy – This is pretty cool and if you want some storytelling tips, they are some of the best at it.

Arizona State University – The rise of graphic novels – This is a pretty cool event.

Newsarama – Coming Soon: DC Comics Commercials In Movie Theaters – About time. We pitched this idea years ago.

The Comichron – Exclusive: Comichron’s provisional Direct Market comics sales rankings and market shares for 2016 – Some interesting initial data.

 

Around the Tubes Reviews

Newsarama – Batwoman: Rebirth #1

Newsarama – Daredevil #17

Talking Comics – Deathstroke #12

Atomic Junk Shop – Doctor Crowe #1

Comic Attack – Horizon #8

Newsarama – The Wild Storm #1

Preview: Batwoman: Rebirth #1

Batwoman: Rebirth #1

(W) Marguerite Bennett, James Tynion IV (A) Ben Oliver (A/CA) Steve Epting
RATED T+
In Shops: Feb 15, 2017
SRP: $2.99

The newest chapter of Batwoman’s life begins here! Monster Venom is the hottest new bioweapon on the market…and to break up the syndicate spreading it around the world, Batwoman’s going to have to return to the place where she spent some of her darkest hours! Learn where Batwoman comes from, and where she’s going, in this one-shot prologue to the first big Batwoman epic, “The Many Arms Of Death”!

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Review: Batwoman Rebirth #1

batwomanrebirthcoverMost of Batwoman Rebirth #1 is a rehash of the past ten years of major storylines featuring Kate Kane from the tragic murder of her mother when she was 12 to the most recent “Batwoman Begins” arc in Detective Comics. Writers Marguerite Bennett and James Tynion provide a decent primer for potential new fans of Batwoman while dropping some very intriguing teasers for her ongoing series that starts next month. It’s nice to have the whole of Kate Kane’s arc in a single issue of a comic, but most of it feels like a single issue of a comic-length “Previously on Batwoman Elegy” that costs $2.99.

However, Steve Epting‘s art and Jeromy Cox‘s colors present a possibly compelling reason to at the very least flip through some gorgeous, red tinged full page spreads. Epting’s skill with espionage action from his work on Captain America and especially Velvet with Ed Brubaker serves him well in a scene set in Kate Lane’s lost year where she was living with her girlfriend Safiyah on a Mediterranean Island. The interaction between shadows, shifting angles, and a focus on the background instead of the foreground during certain panels definitely whetted my appetite for more stealth incursions in the Batwoman ongoing title. Epting also plays off J.H. Williams stellar work with layouts by setting up pages at the beginning and end of the comic that look like something has shattered in Batwoman with figures from her past accusing her and asking her questions about what she’s doing with her life. The faded red from Cox evokes her costume as well as her rage and tumultous life from childhood to being kicked out of West Point and even the past year of Detective Comics. And the juicy image on the final page shows that these events have taken perhaps a little bit too much of a negative toll on her.

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Most of the big beats in Batwoman Rebirth #1 were already explored in depth in the excellent Batwoman Elegy comic, but Bennett and Tynion make a valiant effort to add shading to that classic story. The interactions between Bennett is an excellent writer of flirting as seen in Bombshells, the Angela comics, and Josie and the Pussycats, and Epting’s gift with body language along with close-ups on lips and hands create instant chemistry between Kate and her three girlfriends that pop up in the flashbacks. The nearly silent page  of Kate and Renee Montoya is a pure masterpiece and a visual argument for why they should be a couple. Except these hints of romance are suddenly swept away for boring recaps of “Batwoman Begins” combined with one tantalizing image at the end. The scales of interesting and a skippable re-do aren’t evenly balanced though.

Batwoman Rebirth #1 has fantastic art and colors from Steve Epting and Jeromy Cox, who will hopefully return her book’s visuals to the lofty heights of J.H. Williams and Amy Reeder several years back. Bennett and Tynion’s plot is skippable for long time Batwoman aficionadoes, and Elegy is a better introduction for new fans so this is definitely a comic you pick up just for the art and the occasional spark of intrigue or romance.

Story: Marguerite Bennett, James Tynion IV Art: Steve Epting Colors: Jeromy Cox
Story: 6 Art: 9 Overall: 7 Recommendation: Read

DC Comics provided Graphic Policy with a FREE copy for review

Graphic Policy’s Top Comic Picks this Week!

super-sonsWednesdays are new comic book day! Each week hundreds of comics are released, and that can be pretty daunting to go over and choose what to buy. That’s where we come in!

We’re bringing back something we haven’t done for a while, what the team thinks. Our contributors are choosing up to five books each week and why they’re choosing the books.

Find out what folks think below, and what comics you should be looking out for this Wednesday.

Joe

Top Pick: Animosity #5 (Aftershock) – This is one of the best comics to come out in the last year. It’s consistent, interesting, emotional, and just everything I want in a story. I never know where the series is headed next and that is what keeps me coming back.

The Wild Storm #1 (DC Comics) – WildStorm returns! And Warren Ellis returns with it. I am excited to see what Ellis does with this grittier new and seemingly more grounded approach to some of my favorite characters. It sounds perfect for fans, both old and new.

Super Sons #1 (DC Comics) – Holy cow, it feels like I’ve been waiting forever for this! Robin and Superboy go on wild adventures in what I can imagine as fun, action packed, and nostalgic to be everything a teen superhero book should be.

God Country #2 (Image) – What an awesome comic. A comic that takes the idea behind Thor and has some fun with it. This revolves around an old man with Alzheimer’s who remembers everything when he touches a magical sword. There’s also gods and demons, so there’s that.

Batman #17 (DC Comics) – The end of the last issue was intense, even if it was just symbolic. What will Bane do? What will Batman do? This has been coming to a head and I expect the doors to be blown off everything as these two collide. Tom King’s series is really getting some legs and I expect all of the slower issues to pay off soon with the excellent building up to this pressure cooker story.

 

Alex

Top Pick I: Savage #4 (Valiant) – Usually by the time I’m writing this I’ve already read Valiant’s offerings for the week, but in a strange twist I actually haven’t opened the review copy just yet and I’m debating just waiting for the print copy from my LCS to read, but we’re expecting a bout of weather early in the week that may impact the postal service… anyway. Savage has been a really interesting series so far, and I’m really excited to see whether this issue will tie the character into the rest of the Valiant Universe or not. Plus it has some of the best art I’ve seen in a long time.

Top Pick II: Voracious: Feeding Time #3 (Action Lab Entertainment) – So… I’ve actually already read this issue, and it’s frigging phenomenal. Why am I excited to pick it up? Because are some visual sequences that I need to see in print.

God Country #2 (and #1) (Image) – I somehow missed the first issue of this series, and would have missed this were it not for the fact that it’s being written by Donny Cates, one of the authors behind The Paybacks, which is al the reason I need to go find these issues on Wednesday.

Old Man Logan #18 (Marvel) – The Aliens vibe of the recent arc has been fantastic. Jeff Lemire’s ability to capture the isolation of outer space, as well as the desolation of the waste lands of Old Man Logan’s past is stunning.

Super Sons #1 (DC Comics) – If you put Damian Wayne in a comic, I’m going to read it.

 

Paul

Top Pick: The Mighty Thor #16 (Marvel) – The Shi’ar and their royal guard have invaded Asgard, bested some of their greatest warriors and have managed to kidnap Thor, to bring her face to face with their gods. I am pumped to see the Shi’ar and their royal guard back in action and curious to see what their beef with Asgard and Thor is all about.

Old Man Logan #18 (Marvel) – This a series that has not disappointed.  I’m not Wolverine’s biggest fan, and I have never read the original Old Man Logan story this book is named after. But I have consistently been enjoying this book and recommend it. This story arc in particular has been pretty trippy. Logan is trying to save Alpha Flight from the Brood; but also in the Wastelands trying to rescue the Cage baby and both are happening at the same time? A great story that comes to a close with this issue; you don’t want to miss it.

Uncanny Inhumans #19 (Marvel) – Maximus has the secret to create Terrigen crystals. This cannot be good for the X-Men or mutants as a whole. Or can it? The tie-ins for the Inhumans vs. X-Men event have worked very well in telling the smaller stories outside of the main battle issues, but I think Maximus’ plan will have larger consequences that will bring an end to the fighting, one way or another.

Uncanny X-Men #18 (Marvel) – So last issue was a little slower, focusing on some character development between Storm and Forge. It was an alright issue that saw the X-Men’s plan to take care of the Terrigen cloud literally blow up in their faces. This issue says Magneto will be deploying his team of secret mutant sleeper agents to aid in the fight against the Inhumans. Secret sleepers you say? That alone has me anxious to read this issue.

 

Shay

Gamora #3 (Marvel) – Gamora racks up enemies like nobodies business, she also unearths some secrets that might rock her world.

Batwoman Rebirth #1 (DC Comics) – The issue is a prologue of epic proportions and I’m here for the backstory.

Harley Quinn #14 (DC Comics) – It’s fun with some serious shade to the current political climate and some serious girl power thrown in for good measure.

 

Brett

Top Pick: The Killer Vol. 5 (Archaia/BOOM! Studios) – For those who are unfamiliar with Matz and Luc Jacamon’s epic story the short version is Frank, aka “The Killer” is James Bond for the Third World. Evil political dealings involving oil, assassinations, IMF, political jockeying, imperialism, for a political geek like me, this series has cool and depth. This is the fifth and final installment, and I can’t wait to see how it all wraps up. Will Frank find happiness? Will he go out in a blaze of bullets? How Matz and Jacamon finish the series will be interesting and I can’t wait to see what they have to “say” when it’s over.

Dead Inside #3 (Dark Horse) – A murder inside a prison… sounds like an easy case, right? Nope! The last issue ended with a shocker and this southern noir-ish crime comic has me engrossed.

The Rift #2 (Red 5 Comics) – The first and second issue feel like a classic Amazing Stories or Twilight Zone story. Entertaining and just plain fun. Like comics should be.

Super Sons #1 (DC Comics) – The team-up we’ve seen so far of Jonathan Kent and Damian Wayne in Superman has been amazing and for them to get their own series… well, I’m super excited. Having read the first issue, it’s everything I was hoping for with an energy and enthusiasm that perfectly fits it’s two young leads.

The Wild Storm #1 (DC Comics) – I’m not the biggest Warren Ellis fan (he’s hit and miss for me), but I’m intrigued to see what will happen in this re-imagining of the classic universe. The first issue is a solid start that reminds me a lot of the third volume of Wildcats. In today’s world, that’s exactly what I was hoping for.

Batwoman Begins Starts this January. Check out an Early Look.

This January, a brand-new storyline begins in Detective Comics! Beginning January 11, the fierce team-leader Batwoman is at the center in “Batwoman Begins,” from writers James Tynion IV and Marguerite Bennett. This two-part interlude will lead into the much-anticipated Batwoman: Rebirth beginning February 15. Don’t miss out on where it all begins! More details below:

DETECTIVE COMICS #948 & #949

Written by: James Tynion IV, Marguerite Bennett
Art & Cover by: Ben Oliver
Letters: Marilyn Patrizio

“BATWOMAN BEGINS” parts one and two! This special two-part interlude spotlights team leader Batwoman! In the wake of the “Night of the Monster Men,” A.R.G.U.S. has built a secret research city around the corpse of the megamonster that collapsed in Gotham Harbor…creating Gotham City’s newest and most dangerous neighborhood, Monstertown!

In issue #948, Batman and Batwoman need to get in there to find out who’s been weaponizing monster blood—but who will they have to fight through to do it?

In #949, the mission faces a deadly complication—the Colony wants Jacob Kane back, and they’ll kill to set him free!

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BATWOMAN: REBIRTH #1

Written by: Marguerite Bennett and James Tynion IV
Art by: Ben Oliver and Steve Epting
Cover by: Steve Epting

The newest chapter of Batwoman’s life begins here! Monster Venom is the hottest new bioweapon on the market…and to break up the syndicate spreading it around the world, Batwoman’s going to have to return to the place where she spent some of her darkest hours! Learn where Batwoman comes from, and where she’s going, in this one-shot prologue to the first big Batwoman epic, “The Many Arms Of Death”!

batwoman_rebirth_cvr

 

BATWOMAN #1

Written by: Marguerite Bennett and James Tynion IV
Art & Cover by: Steve Epting

“THE MANY ARMS OF DEATH” part one! At last—Batwoman is back in her own ongoing series! On the island nation of Coryana, anything goes for members of the criminal underworld…and during her lost years after being drummed out of the military, Kate Kane found a kind of refuge there. But now, a deadly new bioweapon is available in the markets of Coryana, and Batwoman will have to face up to the things she did in those days…and the people she left behind, some of whom would be happier to see her dead than alive!

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