Comic Book of the Week (4.18.2012)

Batman #8 and Avengers vs. X-Men #2

Prior Comics of the Week

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Master Wayne's Keep

What is a bat without his Alfred? 

Who in the world would wear;

a purple outfit? 

A man bent to scare.

Someone dressed to the nines;

with tails and all. 

Someone who thought that the world;

was real small. 

The two tangled and mingled,

but never the cowl, nor the tails

ever became wrinkled. 

One for the win, one for the jails.

And, with the two there was always support. 

One from each camp that would always report. 

The Joker’s mistress, Harley was her name.

At the Dark Knight’s side, Robin was his.

She a demented queen with a wicked reign. 

He a young squire; a martial arts whiz.

From this spurred a tried and true legacy.

Four Robins in all; a full flock for the nest.

Gotham City’s pride, joy, and regency.

Three for the righteous, and one for the test.

The man in purple began the exam,

But the one called Lazarus would decide.

The boy called Todd was reborn to plan.

Broken then mended his mind begets Hyde.

With the first four, only the true son one would remain.

But the others would transform, leaving just Gotham’s reign.

Traveling tents filled with laughter and flight

A colorful family born into the show

Then, one day tragedy would strike

Taken under the wing of the bat…signal aglow

The first of four, one day, became…

Confident, assured, R.I.P. the day

He became the second Bat to bear the name

Out with the old, in with the new, but still Gray

Another son colored in red

Quick as a whip; founded in truth

Tried and tested, he globe trotted, and bled

For the cowled Father, he gave his youth

Not last, maybe not least, the youngest of four

Deserves proper mention to complete Robin’s lore

The League came calling for the Crusader

One worthy to lend the armies of the ghoul.

However, the Dark Knight declined, denying the Maker

Like the youthful dragon the Bat was no fool

The beautiful daughter of the assassin’s immortal

Would fall…in love with her Father’s would-be protégé.

The two would sire the last of four, a lover’s quarrel

Would commence.  Eventually the Bat would fall prey.

The blood of the Bat marked as A positive

Trained well, but tormented; Wayne’s little gift and curse.

The World’s Greatest Detective would fall victim to his own causative

With a lot to learn Damien is blinded and hungers for thirst

There is of course more to this story, but for now we’ll sleep.

Because within these sleepy walls resides Master Wayne’s Keep.

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The NEW 52: Batwoman #1

Batwoman #1 is written by J.H. Williams III and W. Haden Blackman with art and cover by J.H. Williams III.  Batwoman #1 was supposed to be released quite a while ago, but due to production timing and DC’s announcement of the NEW 52 Batwoman was postponed quite a few times before finally make DC’s NEW 52 lineup.  Batwoman has been featured in multiple Batman serials including Batman, Inc. and Detective Comics; now she will be headlining her own run simply titled, Batwoman.

Here is teaser for the first of the series courtesy of the DC Comics website:

At last! Batwoman's new series begins, from the multiple award-winning creative team of J.H. Williams III and W. Haden Blackman!

In "Hydrology," part 1 of 5, Batwoman faces deadly new challenges in her war against Gotham City's underworld – and new trials in her life as Kate Kane.

Who or what is stealing children from the barrio, and for what vile purpose? Will Kate train her cousin, Bette Kane (a.k.a. Flamebird), as her new sidekick? How will she handle unsettling revelations about her father, Colonel Jacob Kane? And why is a certain government agency suddenly taking an interest in her?

Personal Thoughts: In January of 2011 a zeroth issue of Batwoman was released explaining a bit of back-story on the character, which included narration by the famous Dark Knight and vigilante, Batman.  The zeroth issue does an excellent job setting up for Batwoman #1 and because the same writer and artist composed the precursor issue the transition between the two comics is nigh seamless.  I would highly recommend reading the zeroth issue before reading Batwoman #1 in order to fully appreciate the new release.

My gut reaction of Batwoman #0 and #1 was fantastic.  I absolutely loved the artwork.  The splashes of color, especially the vibrancy of the red used throughout the issue really stood out making certain scenes highly emotional and poignant.  Personally, I preferred the zeroth issue plot better than the first issue of Batwoman, but regardless the writing was well done and worth the read on both accounts.

Batman’s narration of the zeroth issue as well as his ultimate sleuthing abilities sets the tone for the issue and really brings Batman back to his detective roots.  Issue #1 ends with another encounter from the Caped Crusader leaving a great cliffhanger to start out the following issue.  Overall, the art of the series is most-definitely the lure.  Several panels in Batwoman #1 made me stop and ogle the eye candy because of the coloration and the abstractedness of the piece.  Towards the ends of the issue there is penciling of a skeleton lying in the rain, and as the rainwater swirls together the artwork it fractures off and depicts the crime scene in various stages in a semicircle around the focal point.  A little macabre to say the least, but that followed by another stunning panel of Batwoman and Batman standing beneath the moonlight conversing about the crime sets a masterful tone for the series.

In all honesty I was not expecting to like Batwoman, nor was I expecting to love it; however, this is a must read for any comic book fan, especially one of the Bat Family nature. 

I give Batwoman #1 five-out-of-five stars.  Check back here for more coverage on DC’s NEW 52 as well as local Spokane area events and news.

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