Batman: July 2009 Archives

The great thing about the comics medium is the collaboration that happens between creators.  Sometimes we are lucky to see certain teams that just produce magical, unforgettable stories.  Lee/Kirby, Thomas/Smith, O'Neill/Adams, Moore/Gibbons, and Bendis/Oeming are just a few that come to mind right away.  After reading Detective Comics 854, I think Greg Rucka and JH Williams also belong in that roster as well.

I wasn't too sure about picking up this issue at first.  I haven't bought Detective Comics in ages and I wasn't too excited about the first few appearances of Batwoman.  After listening to Rucka's podcast interview with John Siuntres on Word Balloon, I decided to give it a read.

First off, the artwork by JH Williams is so unique, so beautiful, so other-worldly, words just can't describe it.  He's crafted the panel layouts in a very unique style.  Cinematic, but it definitely breaks through the stand panel grid layout when Batwoman is in action.  When she's back as Kate Kane (Batwoman), the panel layout changes to a more conventional format.  The color by Dave Stewart is just as important to the artwork.  The Batwoman scenes almost remind me of the old black and white magazines, that experimented with telling some stories using one color--Red--to add an element of danger to the story.  The color palette changes when Kate is in her civilian identity, full color, not garish, rich in browns and sandalwoods.  When the villain Alice shows up, she has a unique, lighter color scheme that clashes with Batwoman.  In Rucka's Work Balloon interview, he mentions that Williams and Stewart chose the colors very deliberately--for example, finding the exact right shade of red.

Enough about the art, how's the story?  One of the best that Greg Rucka has written in comics to date.  The plot is interesting, but I think he's also done a great job in carving out a section of Gotham City for Batwoman to inhabit.  She meets Batman briefly, but it's not stated whether this is Bruce Wayne or Dick Grayson--Rucka very much wanted this story to be timeless.  (Although reference is made to Kate's injuries from Final Crisis.)  Instead of a Batcave, Kate operates out of her condo, with her ex-military father providing intelligence and armory support.  Unlike Batman, Kate does carry a gun.  All of this stuff gives Kate a really interesting background, and since Rucka is knowledgeable about these things, it gives the story a little more weight.  I expect this will shine through more as the story progresses.

The main mystery involves "the thirteen covens of crime" who have elected a new leader, as all Gotham scum know, since they've seen the white smoke.  It's really comforting to me to know that Gotham scum operate just like the Catholic church!  The new leader turns out to be Alice, a bizarre woman who speaks in literary allusions.  I am glad that Rucka chose to create a new villain for this initial story instead of just throwing Kate against the Joker.

I think they are many smart choices that Rucka has made here.  All of the above, certainly, but probably just as important--Rucka is not overly wordy here.  He allows JH Williams' artwork to really breath on each and every page.  That's really awesome, and it's also why I think this run on Detective Comics is going to be a classic.  Nuff said.