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| DC Comics |
Greg Rucka
J.H. Williams III
2010
The Summary
"She is the Batwoman, Gotham City's newest protector.
"And battling her at every turn of her still-young crime fighting career is a crazed cult called the Religion of Crime. Led by a Lewis Carroll-quoting madwoman known only as Alice. They plan to turn Gotham City into a wonderland of carnage.
"But Alice has something special in store for the Batwoman--something that will show her everything she thought she knew about her life as a caped crusader is wrong.
"It this one-woman army fighting a war she can't win, against an enemy with more power over her than she could have every guessed?
"Writer Greg Rucka (Gotham Central, Action Comics), J.H. Williams (Batman, Seven Soldiers of Victory), and Dave Stewart proudly present one of the most acclaimed comics of the year.
"Collecting the first seven pulse-pounding, visually stunning issues of their landmark collaboration (Detective Comics #854-860) featuring an expansive behind-the-scenes section, and an introduction by Rachel Maddow, Batwoman: Elegy unveils the shocking origin--and chilling archnemesis--of one of the DC Universe's most memorable characters."
The Good
This book is intense.
Not only do you get the opportunity to see the formative years of Kate's life when her mother and twin sister were killed during a terrorist attack, but it also shows the beginning of her career as Batwoman--that is, her training, her father's involvement, her first steps onto the mean streets of Gotham with the bat symbol on her chest.
And it's great!
However, it's also very, very sad and emotionally gripping. Not to ruin anything, but it's terrible to see the toll her line of work takes on her--and a heavy loss that wracks her with grief all over again. It makes for an interesting story, but it's all a little tragic, very morbid, and, of course, unexpectedly twisted.
Honestly, I liked being able to see where it all started. I've heard Greg Rucka's name in the past, so I was anticipating some great work out of him, and as I'm familiar with J.H. Williams, I was excited to see how they kicked off Batwoman. And they did it with a bang! Overall, it was great, and I'm glad I actually went back and read the prequel. It definitely cleared up a number of questions for me that I had when I jumped into the first volume.
The Bad
Again, confusing artwork.
I know this has been a pretty consistent complaint for me, but it's a quirk of Batwoman that has staying power. Don't get me wrong, I still love the artwork and the creativity and the beautiful illustrations between individual issues; however, it makes Batwoman a bit of a trial. I'm used to it now, for the most part, but it still leads me on a merry chase, making me wonder if I'm really understanding the story...or if I'm completely misinterpreting it.
The Ugly
The usual: blood, gore, death, violence, explicit material, etc.
And there's a nasty little surprise regarding Alice, which you'll know what I'm talking about if you (like me) started with Hydrology instead of Elegy, but I can't say anything else or I'll ruin the story for readers starting out. Just trust me, it's an ugly surprise that, if I hadn't read the first three volumes before Elegy, would have left me shocked and appalled.
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