Batwoman: Elegy [Paperback]

Batwoman is a fantastic character, whilst having the prefix "bat" she is obviously living in the shadow of Bruce Wayne, that is, to her.
To the reader Batwoman stands proudly on her own with no assistance from her male influence necessary. Batwoman. Kicks. Ass.
There's a saddening trend in comics; when a female superhero is placed into the spotlight, her enemies will be small-time, her personal issues will be trivial and her victories will be unimpressive. Not anymore, Batwoman is completely unhampered by the unfair archetypes set by the comics industry. Everything that she is and fights for is fully realized and effectively explained, writer Greg Rucka deserves all the acclaim he gets. His stoic, but touching writing style is matched tenfold by the psychotropic beauty of J.H Williams' art. This is one very, very sexy book, William's approach is so fluid and indulgeant that I was reminded of cel-shaded animation from recent game titles.
The one and only flaw that I can find with Batwoman: Elegy was the villain, whilst her backstory and motives were accurately described I felt, and still feel that her gimmick is dated. Alice in Wonderland is done, the story and concept has been completely drained dry by just about every creative media there is, with varying results. I only hope her inevitable return in future Batwoman titles will see a reinvention of her character into a deadlier, less-intentionally tedious threat.
Nevertheless this was an absolute pleasure to read and I urge others to do so as well.

With the various new bat-titles and re-launches that came under the 'Batman: Reborn' banner after Bruce Wayne's 'death' I was essentially interested in Batman and Robin. Batwoman? Pah, I thought, that's going to suck! And I didn't really think of it much after that.

Then I saw an issue. My jaw hit the floor. Williams III's art is simply gorgeous and the story crafted by Rucka is tremendous. I was so impressed that I tracked down every issue I'd missed (at inflated prices as the printings had all sold out!) and each new monthly issue was at the top of my reading list. As you have no doubt guessed Batwoman was good enough to warrant me buying a collected edition on top of the individual issues. (Nothing beats a nice hardback on the bookshelf.)

I'm not going to go indepth into plot or artistic styles, there's a blurb at the top and a simple google will provide you with some examples of interior panels that my feeble words have no business in trying describe. Simply put 'Batwoman: Elegy' is an incredibly exciting and intelligent read.

If, like me, you thought Batwoman would be just another generic title in an overcrowded marketplace, buy this now and be proven wrong in the best possible way!

I was a bit confused with the book's storyline, this being my first exposure to the world of Kate Kane aka Batwoman. There were references to death cults who previously stabbed her in the heart and this being her second run at an age old prophecy; then there was the inclusion of animal people (who are they? Where did they come from?) I was a bit lost at sea despite being familiar with the superhero world of DC.

I liked that DC made her a gay superhero but didn't make it a big deal or central to the story. It's good to see a company as big as DC embracing equal rights.

But the best thing about the book is something everyone has noted in the reviews - JH Williams III's artwork. It is ravishing! I read "Desolation Jones" a few years ago because I'm a big fan of Warren Ellis' but was amazed at the detailed artwork in the book. The biggest reason for picking up this book was so I could see this artist's work again and boy was it worth it.

As for the writing though, Greg Rucka is a competent writer but by no means a great writer. His work here is average at best; it pushes the story forward but doesn't provide any memorable scenes or great lines. It's your basic Batman/Joker storyline without the Y chromosome.

Which leads me to the villain - Alice. Not only is the "Alice in Wonderland" theme overplayed in the Batman world but Alice is distinctly like Harley Quinn in every way except appearance and only then just barely. She's just not that original a villain.

And if I'm honest, neither is Batwoman that compelling a character. Her origin story is gone into here but as a superhero? She's kind of sub-par. I mean, her dad saves her on two occasions and on another a weird band of animal people save her. I just don't think she can match Batman or even lesser DC superheroes like Aqua Man or Wonder Woman.

The origin story was ok as it contained enough mystery to give the earlier, action heavy opening chapters more depth, but I wasn't as blown away by this book as I'd been expecting given the hugely positive reviews. The book stands out for the art rather than the average writing and by-the-numbers plotting, and while I think Batwoman is an interesting character I feel Greg Rucka isn't the writer to make her a great superhero.

"Elegy" is probably great if you love the character and know her story a lot more than I did and while this can be read more or less as a standalone, it's not nearly as amazing a book as other reviewers have said. It's a decent read just don't expect anything original - except for the exceptional artwork.