Beauty and the Bat

Batwoman #3

Batwoman has a close call against the Weeping Woman who keeps kidnapping and drowning children, and no sooner does she escape her clutches, but she gets apprehended by DEO agent Cameron Chase, who thinks she had something to do with the kidnapping/terrorist attack engineered by her seemingly dead sister. And once she escapes from the DEO agents, her double close calls convince her to fire her cousin Bette as her sidekick. Chase leans on Kate’s father trying to get information, and Kate reconciles with Maggie Sawyer, while Bette prepares to take to the streets in her old Flamebird costume.

Verdict: Thumbs up. This is the most amazingly beautiful comic you’re gonna find. It’s not just that J.H. Williams III is an outstanding artist, but he’s a brilliant draftsman, too, with comics panels unlike anything else you’re going to see. He even uses some old art styles when he draws Kate in flashback. Even without the wonderful storytelling and emotional characterizations, it’s amazing, beautiful, intricate work, and you should — no, you **need** to be reading this comic.

Batgirl #3

Batgirl tries to save one of Mirror’s potential victims on a commuter train, but is foiled because Mirror has hidden his bomb on a passing train instead. Afterward, Babs has a brief but emotional visit with her father in the afternoon and a much more rambunctious but equally emotional encounter with Nightwing that evening. Will Batgirl go it alone, or will she accept help from the people she loves?

Verdict: Thumbs up. This really is a beautifully emotional story, told through flashbacks and fisticuffs. It’s nice to see that the always stormy Babs Gordon/Dick Grayson relationship has survived the Reboot intact, though it’s a bit surprising that everyone in the story seems to expect Babs’ miraculous spinal regeneration to wear off at any moment. Still, for a comic that I was considering dropping, I’m very happy to see that this comic is definitely worth keeping in the pull file…

Today’s Cool Links:

• Siskoid has some fun suggestions for Elseworlds comics that would make fun RPG backgrounds.
• Gavok takes a closer look at another comic y’all should be reading: Avengers Academy.
• Like D&D? Like politics? Check out this feature on the presidential candidates as D&D characters.