DETECTIVE COMICS #858

Go, Part 1

December 2009

Written by Greg Rucka

Pencils by J. H. Williams III

Inks by J. H. Williams III

Covers by J. H. Williams III

Synopsis

Kate Kane (aka Batwoman) recalls her childhood with her twin sister Beth, when their father was away for long periods of time due to his military post.  The twins pledge to always remain together.  Now, Batwoman watch as the police investigate the crash site of the plane that carried Alice, who is quite possibly Kate’s twin sister.  Later, Kate takes a blood sample off her uniform that came from Alice so she can test it.  Kate then recalls the time when they and their mom were kidnapped.  When Kate was rescued, her mom and sister had been killed.  

Review by Binkley (e-mail)

It is amusing to note that the future Batwoman was wearing a Superman shirt as pajamas when she was a kid.  Even if you assume the flashbacks scenes were only 10 years ago, Superman has been around for some time. 

In many ways this is the first comic from the pairing of Rucka and Williams that tells its story in a visual style that doesn’t pop out at you for its odd angles or odd coloring choices.  Mostly this is because a good portion of the pages are dedicate to the flashback to Kate’s past. In fact, the panel layouts appear in a traditional manner seen in older comics, which seems appropriate since it occurs in a scene that take place in the past.  Yet, while Williams’ art in this issue invokes the whitewashed tones of someone recalling a memory, it also happens to be consistent with the brief flashes to the past that we saw in previous issues.  This is neither a comment on whether this is good or bad, it just goes to show that Williams is taking great pains to make sure the each issue is not only visually arresting on its own, but that the images blend into the entire multi-part story as well.  When this is finally put together in a trade paperback, the visuals will remain consistent from beginning to end (note how adult Beth/Alice’s hairdo matches mom’s hair and adult Kate’s hairdo matches dad’s hair).  It is a sign that Rucka and Williams are working closely with each other, making sure they know the story and where it will take them by the time it has ended.  As for the story, this is the beginning of Kate’s origin, finally explaining why she took on the mantle of Batwoman.  So far, there is nothing extraordinary about it.  Kate has a past rife with pain and misery and loss and it appears as if she becomes someone else to make up for what happened to her.  Having said that, Rucka and Williams infuse the superhero trope with vitality and energy.  The twins come alive on the page and the pain of being in the military, I think, comes across well.  And the ending is suitably horrifying and sad with Kate looking back at her mom and sister as she is removed from the room. 

Pipeline, Chapter One / Part Four

Written by Greg Rucka

Art by Cully Hamner

Synopsis

In Los Angeles, Renee Montoya (aka The Question) is searching for Louisa, a young girl who was enslaved when Varga brought her over the border.  Now, Renee has found evidence of an entire human trafficking operation.  She manages to evade Varga’s security to escape with the info.  In Long Beach, she infiltrates the ship bringing the girls stateside. She manages to get to the girls only moments before the crew finds her.  However, the FBI has arrived as well.  The girls are saved and Louisa is reunited with her brother.   

Review

“You guys are the worst shots ever.”

I love meta-textual comments like that.  The question (pardon the pun) becomes:  was it written that way or added later in re-writes when it became obvious how ridiculous the shooting and missing appeared when finally drawn?  Not that it matters, I suppose.  This sequence is much like the previous four sequences, with Renee getting out of trouble before getting back into trouble and some of the scenes and panels presented silently.  I say “sequence” because that is what it felt like, five sequences that lead to a small part of a larger story (hinted at by the “chapter” moniker in the title).  On its own, these sequences are well crafted, but not very satisfying (although this is somewhat satisfying since it has a happy ending rather than a cliffhanger).

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