The Batmom

Batwoman #12

Batwoman #12/J.H. Williams III & W. Haden Blackman

COVERGIRL: My dad’s old school, preferring to riff on the Lord’s name when angry, instead of employing more vulgar and, in my opinion, satisfactory cusses. In deference to him, and in response to the Batwoman-Wonder Woman combo promised by this cover, I say a hearty, “GOD DAMN!”

INSIDE STORY: Batwoman seeks Sune and her gaggle of horrific urban legends brought to life. Employing the help of werewolf Kyle Abbot, she find Bloody Mary, whose myth little Gotham girls recite at slumber parties to engender the chills.

Batwoman employs the children’s chant: “Bloody Mary show yourself. Bloody Mary show yourself! BLOODY MARY SHOW YOURSELF!”

Instead of collapsing into giggles like Gotham’s tweens, Batwoman summons the demon spirit. Mary informs Batwoman that Medusa isn’t an organization, but rather the Queen Monster, snake-tressed Gorgon of old.

Gotham’s superheroes face a variety of evils, but Greek gods are the stuff of someone else's legend: Wonder Woman’s. Batwoman tells DEO boss Bones it’s time to bring in the Amazon.

Though Kate Kane doesn’t reach out to Diana until book’s end, Wonder Woman’s current status is woven (gorgeously) throughout the book. She’s battling a serpentine crew, and vows to destroy them all. Serpentine. Medusa. Do I have to spell it out?

Also, Gotham parents grieving for their kidnapped children berate poor hard-working Maggie Sawyer. Kate’s not up to the task of comforting. She’s off to Paradise Island.

Also, Bette Kane/Flamebird is out of the hospital and living with Uncle Jake.

RAMBLE: Have I said, "God Damn?" Yippee! Though as overstuffed as usual, super duper double whooper issue.

Gorgeous gorgeous gorgeous. I’m always blathering on about the art in this book, so I won’t. But really. Gorgeous.

The juxtaposition of Wonder Woman’s story and Batwoman’s, which can’t help but be awesome for the awesomeness of the awesome women, is the more brilliant for the writing.

I never noticed how distinct Batwoman’s voice is, probably because I was so busy drooling over the art. (Have I mentioned gorgeous?) She’s of Gotham, matter-of-fact and about the facts; closer to Batman-speak than quippy Batgirl’s intelligent chatter.

Wonder Woman, who in her own book remains fairly silent, the better to shine in the midst of her garrulous family’s mad bickering, here speaks like a grandiloquent stereotype of herself. Alone she might sound ridiculous, but when her godly speech runs alongside Batwoman’s straight prose … genius!

I had been excited for September, for all the #0 backstorying, but now I just want to skip ahead to October and see what happens next. Perhaps Harrison’s will let me set up a tent.

WHO THE HELL ARE THESE PEOPLE?

Kate Kane: Survived a brutal kidnapping by terrorists that killed her mother and turned her sister into a crazy villain. West Point student, expelled under Don’t Ask Don’t Tell. Dating Detective Sawyer.

Batwoman: Kate’s awesome superhero alter-ego. Currently working with Agent Chase and the DEO, who will arrest Kate's dad if she doesn’t help them.

Kyle Abbot: Werewolf; sometimes villainous, sometimes helpful

Bloody Mary: Spirit of Mary Worth, who went on a she-killing rampage after her husband proved unfaithful. Hanged. Brought back to miserable half-life, presumably by Medusa, to help capture children.

Bones: Batwoman’s boss in the DEO. His name is literal. The man’s a skeletal version of The X-Files’ Cigarette Smoking Man.

DEO: Department of Extranormal Operations

Jake Kane: Kate’s dad and military big-wig. Kate won’t talk to him, though he’ll talk to her.

Bette Kane/Flamebird: Kate’s cousin/Batwoman’s former mentee, member of Teen Titans/tennis star. Felled and rendered comatose by one of Medusa’s minions; now back to life and living with Uncle Jake Kane. 

Detective Maggie Sawyer: Police detective assigned to the Medusa case. Kate’s love interest.

Medusa: Mysterious, evil She who leads a serpentine band of vile villains.

Sune: AKA Maro. Shapeshifter. Medusa’s second-in-command.

Wonder Woman: WONDER WOMAN!

WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON?

Batwoman is trying to bring down Medusa and free the Gotham children she and her crew have kidnapped.

Batwoman 11

Batwoman Battles Maro the Shapeshifter on the cover of #11

COVERGIRL: Just shy of loving it. Full-on love the pale green python circling the action and the red-and-white-film-negative look on the right, but the monstrous face looks cheap. If that makes sense. Everything is as sharp and crisp as a new dollar bill except Sir/Madam Melty. Perhaps that’s the point. Let’s flip it open. 

INSIDE STORY: Sir Melty. The skully melt-head is Maro, or is it Sune, or is Sune Maro and Maro Sune, or are they everyone or at least a lot of someones?

The last one. Sort of. Maro is a shapeshifter. He’s also, thanks to Falchion’s demise, leader of the subterranean band of creepy misfits plaguing Gotham. He sets his freak minions to the task of smiting Batwoman and the rest of the city and delivers Gotham’s kidnapped children to a scaly green She named Mitera.

Batwoman battles the creepy misfits, saving her DEO partner Agent Chase in the process. But because Batwoman stopped Chase from killing Maro/Sune, Chase thinks she’s a traitor and tells Detective Sawyer the same. As Batwoman watches Chase and Sawyer from afar, she vows she will save the children.

Also, Kate pushes her relationship with Sawyer forward, sharing pictures of her dead mother, dead sister, and estranged father. Sawyer does the same, revealing she has a daughter she lost in a custody battle.

Also, with some encouragement from Uncle Jake, Bette Kane wakes up!

RAMBLE: Beautiful issue. Art art art let’s talk about the art: the contrast between Batwoman’s black + fire red and Maro’s nighttime-teal + black; the similarities (significant?) between Maro’s palette and that of Undersea Chase; the spread with sea-green Llorona and her tsunami shriek splitting the Batwoman-saves-Chase segments; the page immediately following, all oily blacks and ocean blue-green.

While I admire Batwoman’s character and enjoy the (often overstuffed) story, I go ga-ga for the book’s art. Bonkers gaga. Lady Bonkers Gaga Overtired Overcaffeinated Batmom Getting Silly for the Art.

Also, not sure why, but this issue I kept noticing the cool sound words. (Is a word onomatopoetic if it’s mimicking a sound but isn’t a proper word? They are:

SKEECH • SKIRCH • RRRMMMBBBLEBBBLE • RRRUUUMMMBBLLE • BAKOW • THUNK • KKRRINNGGK • DRNNGHKSHOOM • THOOOTH

WHO THE HELL ARE THESE PEOPLE?

Kate Kane: Survived a brutal kidnapping by terrorists that killed her mother and turned her sister into a crazy villain. West Point student, expelled under Don’t Ask Don’t Tell. Dating Detective Sawyer.

Batwoman: Kate’s awesome superhero alter-ego. Currently working with Agent Chase and the DEO, who will arrest Kate's dad if she doesn’t help them.

DEO: Department of Extranormal Operations

Jake Kane: Kate’s dad and military big-wig. Kate won’t talk to him, though he’ll talk to her. He's been sitting vigil at Bette's bedside for several issues.

Bette Kane/Flamebird: Kate’s cousin/Batwoman’s mentee, member of Teen Titans/tennis star. Has been unconscious for several issues.

Agent Cameron Chase: DEO agent. Currently working with Batwoman.

Detective Sawyer: Police detective. Kate’s love interest.

Falchion: Medusa kingpin. Dresses like a Roman centurion. Recently slain.

Llorona: Cursed ghost of an alcoholic mother whose children drowned; unwilling serving Medusa/Maro

Maro: Medusa second-in-command-turned-first-in-command.

Medusa: Mysterious, evil organization.

Sune: Mid-level Medusa management now working for DEO; sister of Maro

WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON?

Batwoman is trying to bring down Medusa, a vile organization presumably responsible for kidnapping numerous Gotham children. 

Batwoman #9

COVERGIRL: Reminds me a little of Supergirl 9, what with the circles, but also makes me think of the radar on a submarine. That image helped along by the sea creature in the corner.

There’s this move the over-caffeinated exercise teacher at the Y makes us do, where we stretch our arms back and push our shoulder blades together. I used to think we looked like chickens doing it, but now I know we look like Batwoman on the cover of issue 9.

Or maybe Batwoman looks like a chicken, too.

Bok bok bok kablammie!

INSIDE STORY: Via flashback, Kate & Sune & Agent Chase continue their efforts to bring down Medusa via head honcho Falchion, who by day pretends he’s a yachting playboy. Kate snags an invite to an on-boat gala he’s hosting. She ditches her date, Detective Sawyer, to rummage through Falchion things with Sune, who Falchion still believes is working for him/Medusa. Mid-rummage Sune, in a rather sideways fashion, admits to a crush on Kate.

Following? There’s more!

Back the the hospital, where Kate’s cousin Bette, aka Teen Titan Flamebird, goes into cardiac arrest as her uncle, Kate’s estranged dad Jake, watches in horror.

In the “now” portion of issue 9, Batwoman stars in some gorgeous art while going head-to-head with Falchion, who stabs Sune. As she lay dying or doing what looks a lot like dying but may be just suffering from a dramatic but nonfatal flesh wound, she kisses Batwoman. On the Batlips.

RAMBLE: Batwoman is action packed. As of issue 9, I’m going to go out on a gargoyle’s limb and say too action packed.

The “chapters” of issue #9, in order:

Batwoman Now

Jake Kane 1 Week Ago

Maro 2 Weeks Ago

Maggie Sawyer 3 Nights Ago

Agent Chase 4 Days Ago

Kate 3 Nights Ago

Batwoman Now

Chronological whiplash, right?

I love flashbacks, and I have great respect for the comic book artist who fills relatively few pages with relatively complex narrative. But I found myself losing the thread here.

Wait, what? We’re where? When? Did that just happen? Or has it not happened yet? Will it happen? When?

I love this book’s art, its story, its characters, its superhero. Had I not been trying to so hard to tease apart the narrative tangle, I might have been able to fully enjoy them.

WHO THE HELL ARE THESE PEOPLE?

Kate Kane: Survived a brutal kidnapping by terrorists that killed her mother and turned her sister into a crazy villain. West Point student, expelled under Don’t Ask Don’t Tell. Dating Detective Sawyer.

Batwoman: Kate’s awesome superhero alter-ego. Currently working with Agent Chase and the DEO, who will arrest her dad if she doesn’t help them.

DEO: Department of Extranormal Operations

Jake Kane: Kate’s dad and military big-wig. Kate won’t talk to him, though he’ll talk to her. He's been sitting vigil at Bette's bedside for several issues.

Bette Kane/Flamebird: Kate’s cousin/Batwoman’s mentee, member of Teen Titans/tennis star. Currently unconscious.

Agent Cameron Chase: DEO agent. Currently working with Batwoman.

Detective Sawyer: Police detective. Kate’s love interest.

Falchion: Medusa kingpin. Dresses like a Roman centurion.

Maro: Medusa second-in-command

Medusa: Mysterious, evil organization.

Sune: Mid-level Medusa management now working for DEO; sister of Maro

WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON?

A slew of Gotham children are missing; presumably napped by a vile organization called Medusa. Batwoman/Kate Kane was prepared to seek Medusa and the missing children alone, but is now working with Agent Chase of the DEO after Chase threatened her father Jake. Police Detective Sawyer is also on the case, and is dating Kate. Kate’s cousin Bette, aka Teen Titan Flamebird, has been knocked unconscious by a bad guy with a hook, who turns out to be one of Falchion’s minions. Sune now works alongside Batwoman for the DEO, helping to bring down Falchion/Medusa.