By Don M. Ventura
Two pages into Batwoman #0 and I knew I was enjoying something special.
One expects no less when J.H. Williams III is drawing the book and his work is as memorable as ever here. Williams has also co-written the script with W. Haden Blackman. The book can be considered an introduction to the character of Batwoman and her alter ego, Kate Kane; you will not have needed to read another Batwoman book before jumping onto this issue.
Batwoman is back in action in Gotham and she has a secret (very secret) admirer in Bruce Wayne, who spends the issue chronicling her abilities and attempting to uncover her true identity. While Batwoman is the star of the book, Williams and Blackman never have her utter a word. Bruce enlightens the reader through the end of the book.
Williams’s pages are incredibly dynamic and breathtaking. From the opening sequence when Batman is spying on Batwoman from an adjacent rooftop. Then Batwoman jumps down to thwart the heist of a sarcophagus. Dave Stewart’s colors are phenomenal. His Batwoman become even more haunting under his reserved palette.
Williams Stewart do so many wonderful things with the artwork to make Batwoman #0 a treat. Each time Batwoman lands a final blow to the bad guys, the entire panel is colored an alarming red. Who needs Pow, Zock of Boom? Then there are these wonderful Art Deco panels which harken Flash Gordon and Buck Rogers magazine covers. The page in which the villain Shard seems to have the upper hand as the mummy’s tomb glares down at the opponents is nothing less than brilliant.
Williams and Blackman have use this kickoff issue to entertain us with a strong action piece interspersed with a character work as Batman stalks Kate, attempting to breakdown what is her persona and what is a façade. Amy Reeder is responsible for drawing the sequences involving Kate and it works out to be an effective storytelling device. There are many pages where Williams and Reeder’s work shares the same page; the book becomes as much a dichotomy as its protagonist.
So what does Batman learn about his prey? Kane comes from money, she’s boning up on her adversaries, acting out as a socialite is probably a front, and she has astounding reflexes.
Batwoman #0 is a brief introductory tale, at about 16 pages, but there a good deal of exposition told in its lovely pages. Williams, Blackman, Reeder, and Stewart have produced a wonderful opener that entertains and does what a good 0 issue should.
It makes you want more.
No comments:
Post a Comment