As the epic Batwoman/Wonder Woman crossover storyline continues, things continue on surprisingly well for this title. I might even be saying the same if Williams weren’t providing the artwork, as excellent as it is. The story, crossover content be damned, is actually quite well anchored, moving along in a slow and believable fashion and never neglecting to get at the emotional core of what’s going on. Add the mind-blowing art on to that, of course — art which captures quieter moments just as beautifully as swiftly-moving action scenes — and you’ve got another fine issue of this innovative comic.
Written by J.H. Williams III & W. Haden Blackman
Illustrated by J.H. Williams III– Batwoman and Wonder Woman team up!
– Batwoman and Wonder Woman team up! (We’re so excited we had to say it twice!)
The solicit above may be something of an exaggeration. Yes, Batwoman has located Wonder Woman, and yes, they’re riding around in a submarine (!) together. But the confrontation with Medusa is put off a little as they investigate what should have been her place of imprisonment, a heavily guarded labyrinth — or, as Batwoman puts it, the Amazonian Arkham Asylum. Along the way they encounter not Medusa but an equally impressive entity — and by impressive I mean both creepy AND crawly.
Stylistically, Williams and Blackman make some nods to the excellent #0 issue here — nothing that would detract from this issue if you haven’t read the prologue, but nice all the same. The same long, introspective caption boxes appear, and they shouldn’t work but they do, deftly balancing the magnificent art and keeping the emotional dimension to Kate’s journey very much present. It’s especially interesting to see Kate’s more vulnerable side as revealed in these captions: she compares herself to Wonder Woman and finds that her image of herself comes up lacking.
Wonder Woman, meanwhile, gets some interesting introspection of her own, and comes across surprisingly critical of Batwoman and her abilities. It’s unclear whether that tension is resolved by the end of the issue — clearly these are two very different characters, and whether they can ever really collaborate easily is a question that’s still up in the air.
In terms of subplots, we do as usual pay a quick visit to Bette and check in on her recovery, and again there are those long caption boxes, filling us in as to the Colonel’s state of mind as well as hers. An earlier check-in with the DEO reveals that they’re definitely bearing Bette in mind as a strategic pawn, and she continues to be in a very vulnerable position here. What’s more, the neat side-by-side rendering of the Colonel’s and of Bette’s thoughts makes it abundantly clear that there’s something of a failure to communicate between them — something like the relationship between him and Beth as briefly explored in the #0 issue.
This wouldn’t be “Batwoman” review if I didn’t gush about J.H. Williams’ artwork, but there’s even more to gush about than usual here. Williams uses the new mythological landscapes being explored as an excuse to fly off the handle a little bit, and he really draws the hell out of those double-page spreads, adding all sorts of mystifying and intriguing details to the settings. In the labyrinth scene especially it’s easy to get lost in all the details, inferring whole myths out of the clues hidden everywhere you look. Another particularly effective spread goes a long way toward proving that Williams can make a panel out of pretty much anything: in this case, millipede silhouettes. The effect is chilling, to say to the least.
In terms of colour scheme, Dave Stewart has in effect united the worlds of Batwoman and Wonder Woman and established an overall dusky tone for the artwork, and as lovely as it was to see two contrasting palettes clash in the last issue, this is probably easier on all our retinas. An early underwater scene, meanwhile, looks absolutely great in its greens and greys.
Overall there’s really nothing to complain about in this issue except the bare bones of the thing: did this crossover really have to happen? It was made more than clear in the #0 issue that Kate is a rich character indeed, and surely there’s plenty of interesting stories for her to live out sans help from a certain lasso-wielding superheroine. Still, it’s exciting to watch Blackman and Williams tackle the challenge, and even as they stay true to the essential personalities of these characters, and cogently portray the different worlds they inhabit, it still feels like they’re coming up with something entirely new.
Final Verdict: 8.2 — Buy, unless crossovers give you hives
