Batwoman #14

Co-Writer/Artist: J.H. Williams III
Co-Writer: W. Haden Blackman


This has been a brilliant series so far and one of the most consistent series' DC has out the now. J.H. Williams III has produced good issue after good issue on this series and along with Haden Blackman they have produced a brilliant series which is a joy to read.

Plot

This issues sees Batwoman and Wonder Woman confronting a injured Pegasus about the location of Medusa. It also shows Batwoman break down all the injuries that Pegasus sustained from Falchion, and Pegasus request a favour form Wonder Woman in return for the information.

Review

This was a brilliant issue and continues to show why it's one of my favourite comics in DC. Williams III and Blackman write these issues superbly and I love how we see ton's of sides to the Batwoman character. I like how they write the character, and how even though they're developing the character in this reboot, she still feels like the same character that featured in Detective Comics. I also like how the pair build their stories, as we had Batwoman have a run in with Bloody Mary in a previous story which lead us to Batwoman teaming up with Wonder Woman to track down Medusa.

The art throughout the series has been brilliant but Williams III's art in particular has stood out during this run. I loved his art on the Detective Comics series whilst she was the main character but he's gone above and beyond during this series. The detail in his work is outstanding and whether he's drawing Batwoman, he companions or one of her freaky villains he always adds his own brilliantly unique style whilst keeping the characteristics that have already been established. I especially liked the way he drew Pegasus in this issue and although I would have preferred to see him with his wings (you see that in one panel) it made sense to remove them to drive on the story. The reason for removing the wings actually made the art on him better as due to all the damage he sustained at the hands of Falchion you get to see parts of his skeleton including his nose, jaw and ribs, which were all brilliantly drawn with ton's of detail. I also like how the breakdowns are handled on this series and as with a lot of the DC series' they really add uniqueness to a character and their series. I also like how the breakdowns differ whether it's set in Batwoman's territory or Wonder Woman's like in this issue.

I loved the detective work Batwoman showed in this issue and thought the way it was told and drawn was one of the best detective sequences I've ever seen in comics. It was a similar style of detective work that you'd find in a Sherlock Holmes book or film which I liked seeing as Sherlock Holmes is one of my favourite set of stories and although I'm a huge Batman fan and prefer him as a character Holmes will always go down as the best fictional detective for me. Anyway more about this issue. I loved how Batwoman was able to break down all the injuries Peagasus has to discover how he received them and how on closer inspection she realised that some of her initial thoughts were wrong.

The interaction between Batwoman and Wonder Woman in this issue was brilliant and I like how you can easily see the differences between the two characters. I love how Batwoman doesn't quite understand Wonder Woman and how it's obvious that all the mythological events in this story confuses her. It's also nice to see how Wonder Woman felt about Batwoman in this issue and how she's starting to show some respect towards her. I also like that despite the fact Wonder Woman is getting a lot to do in this story it's still mainly centred around Batwoman and that most things are discovered by her or revolve around her.

I was happy that Medusa was final revealed in this issue but I was torn over what I thought about her design. It wasn't so much the way she was drawn, I liked that, especially her snake like facial features and usual snake hair. It was more the colours used that I wan't too sure if I liked. Anything I've seen Medusa in before she's never glowed white and usually had grey or green colours incorporated into her. Th white glow to her added something unique but I wasn't too sure if I liked it. It defiantly made her stand out which was good but I still wonder if she'd be better in a more traditional colour. The text that was used when she was thinking or speaking wasn't brilliant. Don't get me wrong I liked the the text itself and I like when series have different text for certain characters. I just felt that the colour contrasted with some of the backings making it harder to read at certain points.

Final Verdict

This series continues to be one of the best series' DC is producing the now , and with another amazing issue it's easy to see why. I would highly recommend this issue and am looking forward to seeing Batwoman and Wonder Woman square of against Medusa next issue.

Rating: 4.5/5