Batwoman: Elegy [Hardcover]

Greg Rucka (Author), J.H. Williams (Illustrator), J.G. Jones (Illustrator)

Book Description

Release date: July 6, 2010

A new era begins as Batwoman is unleashed on Gotham City! Marked by the blood-red bat emblem, Kate Kane is a soldier fighting her own private war - one that began years ago and haunts her every waking moment. In this first tale, Batwoman battles a madwoman known only as Alice, inspired by Alice in Wonderland, who sees her life as a fairy tale and everyone around her as expendable extras!

Batwoman must stop Alice from unleashing a toxic death cloud over all of Gotham City -- but Alice has more up her sleeve than just poison, and Batwoman's life will never ever be the same again.

Also, witness the origin of Batwoman in the shocking and tragic story "Go," in which young Kate Kane and her family are kidnapped by terrorists, and Kate's life - and the lives of her family - will never be the same!

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Starred Review. On the surface, this is a fairly straightforward superhero thriller, in which the new (lesbian, tattooed, Jewish) Batwoman tussles with a crime-worshipping cult that's trying to poison Gotham City, and discovers how her personal history is entwined with that of their leader, a pale, murderous Lewis Carroll–quoting porcelain goth. In practice, it's spectacular—the kind of adventure story that you race through the first time and return to, to pore over slowly. The obvious attraction is Williams and colorist Dave Stewart's artwork, whose mutable style and wildly inventive layouts get across the story's twisted chronology and psychological subtleties all by themselves. Almost every page is some kind of visual set piece with symbolic resonance, and the big action scenes are as thrilling as superhero comics get. The second half of the book, Go, is Batwoman's origin story and the history of her relationship with her father; Williams actually adopts different visual aesthetics for different types of flashbacks within it, including a clever pastiche of David Mazzucchelli's Batman: Year One. Rucka's writing also deepens on closer examination, mostly because his Batwoman, Kate Kane, is a superhero like no other: don't-ask/don't-tell'ed out of the Marines, she treats her spandex-and-Kevlar work as a kind of military service that gives her life meaning. (July)
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From Booklist

*Starred Review* There are a number of reasons why this story arc, which appeared last year in Detective Comics following Batman’s (for now anyway) death, is a departure from more traditional caped-crusader fare. For starters, Batwoman (aka Kate Kane) is the most prominent gay character in DC’s universe, and she kicks ass with combat boots not stilettos (though her suit is still painted on). This volume deftly blends the story of her origin as a superhero with a dark thriller that pits her against Gotham’s newest resident crazy, the High Madame of the Religion of Crime. In flashbacks, Kane get kicked out of the military for standing tall at the conflicting crossroads of Don’t ask, don’t tell and the West Point Honor Code that says A cadet will not lie, cheat, steal, or tolerate those who do. In the present thread, she locks horns with the gothy villain Alice, who speaks entirely in quotations from Lewis Carroll. All this makes for a nuanced, literary, and culturally charged story, but the real knockout element is Williams’ art nouveau–inspired compositions. The consistently arresting layouts and twirling line work cross the design sensibility of Alphonse Mucha with Gotham City’s special blend of midnight grittiness. Rucka and Williams have crafted a superhero comic that is ambitious and unique in its approach, and it deserves to be read and then read again to appreciate the fullness of its smart storytelling and even more impressive artistry. --Ian Chipman

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 192 pages
• Publisher: DC Comics (July 6, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1401226922
• ISBN-13: 978-1401226923
• Product Dimensions: 7.5 x 0.6 x 11.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (59 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #596,421 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

The author of four novels about professional bodyguard Atticus Kodiak -- Keeper (nominated for a Shamus Award by the Private Eye Writers of America), Finder, Smoker, and Shooting at Midnight, Greg Rucka has been writing since he was eight years old, and hopefully is improving with age. A longtime comics fan, his first graphic novel series was the suspense thriller Whiteout, published by Oni Press and nominated for three Eisner Awards in 1999. Since that time he has been a contributing writer for DC Comics and an active participant in the Batman series of titles.
Born and raised in California, he earned his undergraduate degree at Vassar College and his MFA at the University of Southern California. He currently resides in Portland, Oregon. Mr. Rucka has two tattoos, and rides a motorcycle.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

22 of 24 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Amazing artwork and a compelling story July 7, 2010

By Ralph Jenkins

Format:Hardcover

The first thing you will notice about this book is the spectacular artwork. Artist J.H. Williams (Alan Moore's Promethea) employs several different styles over the course of the story, but his primary style (for when Batwoman goes into action) is especially beautiful. These pages are painted with a B&W ink wash and then the talented Dave Stewart (Hellboy, The Umbrella Academy) adds the colors, and the result is stunning. It's also obvious that a lot of thought went into the overall design of each page, not just individual drawings. There are even details in the art that you don't really notice until after you've finished the story.

But what of the story? There are plenty of comics that have terrific art but are poorly written. No such worries here thanks to writer Greg Rucka (Queen & Country). This is sort of a "Batwoman: Year One" (with some sections even mimicking the style of Batman: Year One), but it also gives us a memorable new villain in the psychopathic, Lewis Carroll-quoting Alice. Rucka also does a fantastic job of making Batwoman Kate Kane into her own character, and not just a female version of the Batman.

I can only think of a couple of negatives. A couple of the page layouts were so complex that it took a few seconds to figure out the order in which to read the panels. Also, the book ends in a bit of a cliffhanger, and Rucka has now left DC. Fortunately, Williams will be taking over the writing and continuing the story, but it may be a while until the Alice character returns.

This oversized hardcover is highly recommended. It's not that often that such a perfect marriage of story and art comes along.

14 of 16 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars An Absolute Must-Have! July 13, 2010

By V. R. Smith

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

From the classy introduction by Rachel Maddow to the voluminous bonus features that end this book, it never ceases to amaze. I collected the Detective Comics issues as they came out, and I never could decide which I liked more - Rucka's story, pitting a more realistic and tragically complex Batwoman against a villian who is so twisted and dark - or is it Williams's psychadelic, uber-detailed, gorgeous artwork? The answer is actually simple: we're so lucky that they worked on this project together.

This collection will take you through Batwoman meeting a major villian in the form of Alice, the new High Priestess for the Religion of Crime, an organization Batwoman seeks to destroy since their previous leader tried to kill her (see52, Vol. 4). She discovers that maybe Alice is a little less crazy that she'd originally thought.

And, of course, Batwoman's "origin" story - what made her want to fight crime, vigilante-style? We learn Kate Kane's chilhood tragedy, personal drive, and unimpeachible integrity. And most of all, we learn that she is most certainly not simply a "female Batman." She definitely has her own style.

Included as bonus material are five beautifully drawn alternate covers, showing us other artists takes on Batwoman. The one by Alex Ross is amazing. Also we get to see a few story boards for important scenes, and early character sheets for Kate that show us her personal style, and a very informative rough of the batwoman costume, with handwritten notes on changes made to it since her debut in 52.

Overall, this book is so worth owning, even if you collected the monthly issues. If I could have made only one entertainment purchase for myself all year, it would have been this book.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Looks aren't enough August 20, 2011

By Noel TOP 1000 REVIEWER

Format:Paperback

I was a bit confused with this book' storyline, this being my first exposure to the world of Kate Kane aka Batwoman. There were references to death cults who previously stabbed her in the heart and this being her second run at an age old prophecy; then there was the inclusion of animal people (who are they? Where did they come from?) I was a bit lost at sea despite being familiar with the superhero world of DC.

I liked that DC made her a gay superhero but didn't make it a big deal or central to the story. It's good to see a company as big as DC embracing equal rights.

But the best thing about the book is something everyone has noted in the reviews - JH Williams III's artwork. It is ravishing! I read "Desolation Jones" a few years ago because I'm a big fan of Warren Ellis' but was amazed at the detailed artwork in the book. The biggest reason for picking up this book was so I could see this artist's work again and boy was it worth it.

As for the writing though, Greg Rucka is a competent writer but by no means a great writer. His work here is average at best; it pushes the story forward but doesn't provide any memorable scenes or great lines. It's your basic Batman/Joker storyline without the Y chromosome.

Which leads me to the villain - Alice. Not only is the "Alice in Wonderland" theme overplayed in the Batman world but Alice is distinctly like Harley Quinn in every way except appearance and only then just barely. She's just not that original a villain.

And if I'm honest, neither is Batwoman that compelling a character. Her origin story is gone into here but as a superhero? She's kind of sub-par. I mean, her dad saves her on two occasions and on another a weird band of animal people save her. I just don't think she can match Batman or even lesser DC superheroes like Aqua Man or Wonder Woman.

The origin story was ok as it contained enough mystery to give the earlier, action heavy opening chapters more depth, but I wasn't as blown away by this book as I'd been expecting given the hugely positive reviews. The book stands out for the art rather than the average writing and by-the-numbers plotting, and while I think Batwoman is an interesting character I feel Greg Rucka isn't the writer to make her a great superhero.

"Elegy" is probably great if you love the character and know her story a lot more than I did and while this can be read more or less as a standalone, it's not nearly as amazing a book as other reviewers have said. It's a decent read just don't expect anything original - except for the exceptional artwork.