Written by Paul Levitz
Illustrated by Marcus ToHelena Bertinelli takes a trip to Naples, Italy, but she’s not there on holiday. As her alter ego, the Huntress, she’s uncovered a human trafficking and gun-smuggling ring that only scratches the surface of Mafioso activity! With no backup, no safety net, can this one-woman wrecking crew clean up the mean streets of this ancient city?
It is fitting that the advertisement directly following the final page of The Huntress #2 is for Catwoman. Not just because both are Gotham based women; not just because in pre-Crisis Earth 2 continuity, Huntress is Catwoman’s (and Batman’s) daughter – it is fitting because the books are the two polar ends of the spectrum in terms of well written female characters.
Click the jump to see why this is one of the more unusual series being published by DC, and to find out why you should be reading it.
Huntress, written by character co-creator Paul Levitz, has been a pleasant surprise, if a bit of a head-scratcher in terms of why exactly it is being published at this point and in this format. If DC brass feels this character isn’t popular enough to carry its own ongoing series, then a miniseries makes sense. However, part of the New 52 initiative was to get some lesser characters back in the spotlight, and try them out on their own ongoing series. If not, we wouldn’t have ongoing series starring O.M.A.C., Resurrection Man, or Blackhawks. So, does DC actually think more people will buy Grifter every month than The Huntress?
If it isn’t about raising the profile of the character, then why not stick her back in Birds of Prey or have her join one of the Justice League books (or, simply “rest” the character like so many others have been)? Is it to shake up her status quo and do something different with her? Because, as enjoyable as the mini has been so far, Helena seems to be just about the same character she was pre-Flashpoint, albeit with a more bashful costume.
Does DC feel that there aren’t enough Huntress stories to tell to support a monthly series? Because, in this mini, she is out of Gotham and in Italy, the land of her ancestors, in a setting seemingly rife for new stories. The only other miniseries that are currently being published by DC all make sense as minis; Penguin: Pain and Prejudice is an origin re-telling for a villain, Legion: Secret Origin, although better than the two monthly legion books is, again, an origin re-telling, T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents is finishing up Nick Spencer’s run (ditto Batman: Odyssey for Neal Adams), The Shade is a limited prestige project, and My Greatest Adventure, well, that doesn’t really make any sense actually. Does DC feel like they are just so saturated with female heroes that there isn’t room for another monthly book? It isn’t as if this issue has been raised at all over the past few years.
This is all a long winded way of saying that it is a shame this book is only a miniseries, and that it is one of the better books being put out by DC right now, and would be a welcome addition to the publishing slate on a monthly basis. Marcus To is flat out killing it on this book; each page, whether full of action or Italians drinking coffee, looks great. Levitz has a great handle on the character, and there is a story to be explored here that is both superhero fun and socially relevant.
This brings us back to Catwoman – a book that has been reviled if it’s being talked about at all. The character has become even more sexed up, in an attempt to get people to buy her book, as well as feature not only excessive sex but also some serious violence towards women in the second issue. That is so different than what is happening in the pages of Huntress; the costume has been modified to not have a giant “shoot my skin” hole in it, and even though To’s pencils suggest a sexy character, there is nothing gratuitous about the way she is drawn. She is presented as a beautiful, well-dressed woman when she isn’t in her hero’s garb.
Continued belowI hope that this book’s success perhaps lets DC extend this series to an ongoing (unless they Alpha Flight it and cancel it back down to a mini), because this is exactly the type of book that DC is supposed to be publishing: an easy to pick up, entertaining, well drawn book. Levtiz may have his hands full right now with his Legion work, so this may be another opportunity for a female creator to get her hands on a book with a strong female lead. Plus, the book is tangentially connected to the Batman family, so throw a Bat symbol somewhere on the cover and watch sales increase 3k a month.
Regardless of whether or not this leads to more for The Huntress, this story is certainly worth reading, and worthy of your $2.99 a month, for however long it lasts.
Final Verdict: 9.1 – Buy
