Kate’s journey through its twists and turns.
Creative Staff:
Story: Marguerite Bennett
Art: Mirka Andolfo
Colors: J. Nanjan
Letterer: Wes Abbott
What They Say:
Plunged into a nightmare by Black Adam, how will Batwoman and Renee survive?
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
Bombshells: United delighted me for the last couple of issues with Richard Ortiz returning on the art duties as I really dig his style that fits in so well with this book. But the return of Mirka Andolfo with this one just makes me grin stupidly, especially since it’s a Batwoman story through and through. I love the line work used and how Nanjan’s colors brings it to life so well, making it such a fun experience with some enjoyable backgrounds in this installment in particular. We started back in on Kate Kane’s life the last time around with Marguerite Bennett digging into her time in Spain in the “here and now” of the series and this one does get us back there – eventually.
With a lot of good stuff in Spain with Black Adam previously, the first half of this book shows us how things ended for Kate after her first experience there and in Zambesi back in 1938. The idea of her running away after all that went down makes plenty of sense and discovering a new way to fight in a different game is understandable, hence taking up the bat in America and all kinds of fights alongside it to do right by people that were being taken advantage of, both as Kate and as Batwoman. It’s also here that we got her playing cat and mouse with Maggie Sawyer, which lead to the romance that launched the previous series and had me hooked from the get go. Getting a little more background on it here is delightful and I just love the way that Maggie holds her in the hammock scene that we get because it shows so much trust and caring from both of them with what they say and how they engage with each other.
Things are a little more complicated once we get past the montage material and the fun sequences as back in the present it’s her and Renee trying to figure out what’s going on after that fight. They’re in what feels like an Escher designed underworld and are doing their best to make their way out, which lets some fun baseball statistics take shape and work as a way of dealing with it. It’s not the most engaging of material since it’s essentially a lot of sprinting around as their make their way upward but it blends in some nice things about the way red strings are viewed in different cultures and how that can be applied to thinking. Of course, it sets up a fight for the next issue that doesn’t exactly draw you in right away but spending more time with Kate, and with Renee, is definitely a good thing.
In Summary:
I’m not surprised at all that I enjoyed this issue considering the talents and characters within. If I hadn’t enjoyed I’d be wondering what was so broken about the book because it feels so tailor made for me. The forward progress side isn’t there that much when it comes to Black Adam and events in Spain but we do get a little reconnect that’s nicely done. For me, it was getting Bennett and Andolfo taking the time to dig into more of Kate’s past with the connective layers and showcase her time taking up the bat and her time with Maggie. Frankly, I want an entire series like this just focusing on their relationship and how it came about with Andolfo handling the artwork for it. There’s a rich history to romance comics and making a 1930’s style Batwoman romance book? My goodness, how much money do I have to throw at them?
Grade: B+
Age Rating: 13+
Released By: DC Comics via ComiXology
Release Date: December 1sth, 2017
MSRP: $0.99
