J. H. Williams III & W. Haden Blackman: writers
Amy Reeder: penciller & cover
Rob Hunter & Richard Friend: inkers
The Solicitation
Artist Amy Reeder and inker Richard Friend join the Batwoman team with this new arc, as the epic "To Drown the World" begins!
Six lives, inextricably linked in the past and present, each on a collision course with the others: Batwoman, fighting for duty and vengeance against a threat of arcane power. Detective Maggie Sawyer, investigating a case that could end her career. DEO Agent Cameron Chase, commanding a vigilante she despises. Colonel Jacob Kane, clutching at a life that's slipping away. Maro, a new villain corrupting Gotham City. And Kate Kane, wrestling with decisions that will test her loyalties.
Preview
The Story
Um, wow. Where to begin...
There is an almost insane randomness to it that just seems unnecessary. The solicitation is right in that we try to follow 6 different people and there own stories. Again ,we do try. If you break it down by the page count, each story is only getting 3-4 pages to set things up. Each story line is also jumping back and forth in time, to either a week ago, two weeks ago, etc.
The first story takes place now and has Batwoman appear to be skewered by a guy with a hook for a hand. It is the same guy that randomly skewered Flamebird a couple of issues ago. That's about it.
Second story takes place a month ago and introduces Jacob, a nurse at Gotham Hospital. Batwoman's father is checking in on Flamebird, who is attempting to recover form being skewered. He reads to her hoping that she will wake up.
Third story is a bit on Maggie Sawyer, the captain of Gotham Major Crimes Unit. She gets yelled at by a mother who has a missing kid. When the mom leaves the room, Maggie pulls out a picture frame and starts to cry. You are meant to think that Maggie has a long lost child or something like that.
Fourth story follows Maro. He is some nut job who was the actually killer of the children from the previous story arc. He created the weeping woman that was the big bad of the last arc.
Fifth story is Kate's story. We are following the morning after her and Maggie were together. Kate lies about a bruise she has and tells Maggie that she doesn't want to talk about her past and if Maggie pushes her then Kate will leave.
The sixth story takes ten pages of the book. Agent Chase doesn't like working with Batwoman, and Batwoman has a new suit. The new suit allows her to get shot at multiple times and it barely leaves a mark.
Cut back to the first story again with the guy with the hook for a hand. Turns out Batwoman wasn't as skewered as he thought and now she is ready to fight. End the issue.
I think I understand what this issue was meant for. I think that these are all two page stories that were on the cutting room floor from previous issues and would make more sense in those issues than here. Then you could take the two main stories that you wanted to write about - the Batwoman's new suit story and the first story where she gets skewered, and develop those concepts more.
If this was the first issue I try out for Batwoman because I saw that there is another artist on the book, nothing in this issue would make me want to come back. I don't know anything that is even going on in the book. Its like seeing the first five minutes of the second act of a play and you are clueless as to what is going on and don't understand the meaning of what is happening. Take that example and do it for five different plays that are supposed to be connected somehow.
Scratch your head, and repeat until your scalp is bleeding raw. Yeesh.
The Art
I don't think I've ever seen Amy Reeder's art before. Its definitely a different style than Williams, but I like it. It will be good for a fill in. A couple of things I would point out that looked awkward was the consistency in how people's faces are drawn. Some were very circular, almost as if they were a caricature. Then some were very detailed and focused. And the one page where Batwoman is fighting the people who just shot her looks ridiculous. I seriously didn't know what she was supposed to be doing, either leaping out of the page or throwing the guy or something. It just looked awkward as can be.
The Cover
It looks like Batwoman only has one eye. Other than that, I really enjoyed it. Its the kind of cover I would expect to find on a trade or something, it just pops with me.
Grades
Words: 5/10
Pictures: 7/10
Recommend: Not at all. Typically I like this book better for the art than the story. A guest artist will point out that flaw, and then show you how well the regular artist is compared to a fill in. I think it has to do with the fact that Williams knows where he is going with the story and figures he can work the art around what he is doing since he is the co-writer on the book. But when it comes time to tell someone else that information so they could draw it, he definitely is lacking.
Buy Next Issue: Hopefully it tells me more about what is going on in this issue.
Previous Issues
Batwoman #5
Batwoman #4
Three Issue Trial
No comments:
Post a Comment