The Batwoman Begins arc begins here.
In Kathy Kane’s early years as Batwoman, she always had difficulty keeping tabs on Batman as a test to prove herself and her worth as a different force of good in Gotham City. Her father was always her mentor figure and assistant in her humble beginnings in the war on crime but times have changed since two years ago. Batwoman and her father are on two opposite ends since their fallout and her father’s betrayal. Despite this, there have been recent crime activity concerning her, and it may have something to do with an old enemy from many years ago in her early stints. Can Batwoman overcome her grievance against her father? Will her father redeem himself? What are these monster sightings and what’s its connection to her and the Bat family? And will her past catch up to her before it’s too late?
This was a beautifully illustrated issue with a solid narrative centered on Batwoman and her current dilemma between herself, and her father. You can see how connected she and her father were as a crime fighting unit in comparison to where they stand now and it’s gnawing at her here and there. She can’t help to reflect just like anyone else in life who happen to have fallouts with their own parents in various ways (minus the costumes and capes). Both Tynion and Bennet continue to show the contrasts of who these characters that inhabit Gotham City once were and who they are currently. There seems to be overall.narrative that focuses on reflection, constantly seeing how much one has progressed or regressed as time has gone by and how much that affects them. This is one of their great strengths as writers aside from being able to handle a wide cast of characters despite the fact that this issue is centered on 5 primary characters rather than a party full of them.
The art in this book by Ben Oliver in terms of the illustration, layouts, grids, and colors are top notch. It exudes such a combination between a cinematic film and a top notch production eastern anime style. I can’t help but think of a good comparison to none other than Ghost in The Shell in terms of the way it’s beautifully drawn. Maybe it’s an overstatement, but the art is definitely not underwhelming, that’s for sure. Each of the characters are rendered magnificently, and the pages just flow making it easy to follow. The lettering by Patrizio is also well handled and established in a way that accompanies the art rather than getting in the way of the art. This is definitely a highly recommended issue aside from it being a well handled Bat Family-centered series.
Newsdesk