It was about time I owned a 'Batwoman' comic. A prominent mainstream LBGTQ superheroine like Batwoman deserves as much recognition and praise as possible (I also like the TV series - more rep like in that, please!). She deserves her iconic status. Something like 'Haunted Tides' seemed like a good place to start my education. I'll get to another 'Batwoman' book once it arrives at my doorstep.
I really enjoyed reading this one. I enjoyed the characters and their individual arcs, the action, the mystery, the plot, the structure, the pace, and, surprisingly, the horror and violence (it is quite graphic, be warned). It is very "dark and edgy" and OTT, but there is still a lot of care put into telling the story, with interesting and sympathetic characters. Oddly enough, they do feel human and hopeful, amidst all the tragedy, chaos, blood, dismemberments, supernatural shit, and child death (yes, there's instances of that as well; again, be warned).'Batwoman: Haunted Tides', collecting the first two volumes of J.H. Williams III's original run, is not bad for a New 52 title, and wow does that feel like such a long time ago; it's practically ancient history now.
It can be a bit crowded, with a lot going on as the series progresses. It also takes place after Batwoman/Kate Kane's origin story, and after a crucial, defining tragic event in her life, despite this supposedly being a "reboot". This is one of the many common problems that the New 52 comics had - DC didn't reboot its superheroes for new audiences, it lazily, vaguely retreaded old stories, sometimes skipping them altogether, and expected its audience to already be aware of them, if in passing. Not so fresh, is it?
Similar to the more recent 'Batgirl' comics, particularly in the New 52 (and in the New 52 overall, let's be honest), after reading this comic I'm left wondering if Batwoman had actually achieved anything by the end. She's very cool and capable, but how often is she allowed to get the big jobs done? She isn't an antiheroine, and even then that shouldn't be warped into incompetence! It might be because this is a continuous story run, but DC, please, I'm begging you: let superheroes succeed in saving people and stopping evil plots already! Let them be, you know, heroes! Otherwise what are they doing? Why are they here? What is the point?
This run of 'Batwoman' has well written relationship drama - such as Kate Kane with her lover Detective Maggie Sawyer, and Kate with her family and the devastatingly complicated issues there - however. Personal/civilian baggage works just as well as the super heroics in 'Haunted Tides', if not more so.
Additionally, DC BUT ESPECIALLY IN ITS NEW 52 RUN is too obsessed with Batman. He doesn't have to appear in every DC comic, even ones featuring Bat-Family members. Give Bruce a break, for the love of Diana! (not in that way, dear frak no) He's had more comics, TV shows, films, video games and fan works, official and unofficial, to his name than every fictional character ever, I swear. He is the ultimate Mary Sue, at this point.
But 'Batwoman: Haunted Tides' is fun, for its edgelordy storyline. The queer rep is solid - strong stuff - and the POC rep is... passable, I think, at this moment in time. The POC characters do seem to be relegated to either victims or villains, though.
The artwork is awesome, bold, exceptionally detailed, and sometimes effectively stylistic. There is nary a fanservice panel in sight; whenever nude women are drawn while they are undressing, it is done tastefully, at least by the standards of the New 52 and DC comics in general - a cesspool environment of toxic masculinity that it is, or was. Even that one lesbian sex scene in the first volume isn't explicit; it's drawn in very light colours, mostly white, with the bedcovers over the two women. It is contrasted with a plot-relevant, raw and bloody fight scene, which it overlaps: it conveys very well the heroes' personal life pleasures and escape vs their neglecting their duties and inadvertently letting loved ones nearly get killed.
So give it a chance, give it a go. I can't wait to read another 'Batwoman' title - a more classic, turning point comic, next time.
Final Score: 3.5/5
No comments:
Post a Comment