Batwoman engages the enemy, drawing Master Slay and his acolytes onto the field. But can her father, Jacob Kane, reach her before the streets of Petalon become a kill zone? Batwoman #2 is an interesting issue picking up from the debut but feeling like you’ve been dropped into a story going on for years.
Written by Greg Rucka, this new series focuses a lot on Kate Kane/Batwoman’s past, especially her sister and a cult she was involved in. I read that run, and I’m still not 100% sure exactly what’s going on. Kate is sort of in therapy for everything that’s happened, but can still sneak out and do her Batwoman thing?
That’s what this issue focuses on, as Batwoman draws out the cult obsessed with her and drags her father back into the action. The comic visually looks great with an interesting flow to the action and a somewhat brutal delivery of it. But, the delivery so far feels rather choppy. It never feels quite established Kate knows about this cult, but suddenly is confronting them.
But, that’s not really the point of the comic, it’s the ending of it which attempts to be shocking. It’s a pretty crazy moment that points to where Kate’s head is at and also potentially sets something interesting up.
The art by Dani is good and absolutely nails the tone of what Rucka is going for. Matt Hollingsworth colors deliver a darker tone to it all but still makes the comic easy to follow. It’s dark but not to a point that it negatively impacts the issue. Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou‘s lettering too mixes cold emotion with shock.
Batwoman #2 feels like the first two issues really were to get us to the end of this issue. It will drive what comes next in the near term, and possibly the long term, for the character. There’s a lot of small details that show off the potential and how big a moment this might be. The issue overall feels like we’re well into the story, that last few pages make it feel like things are just beginning.
Story: Greg Rucka Art: Dani
Color: Matt Hollingsworth Letterer: Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou
Story: 7.75 Art: 8.0 Overall: 7.75 Recommendation: Read
DC Comics provided Graphic Policy with a FREE copy for review
Purchase: Zeus Comics – Kindle
