Detective Comics #854

Detective Comics #854

In the modern era of superhero comics, two interconnected truisms have developed regarding mainstream superheroes.  The first is that no character death, no matter how final it seems, ever lasts.  The second, often connected to the first, is that every “bold new direction”taken by a publisher is eventually undone to return to the mainstream status quo.  With those two facts in mind, it’s necessary to take the “new era” of Detective Comics (in the wake of Batman’s recent death in Final Crisis) with a grain of salt.

With that grain of salt in mind, this issue is very new in some ways: Bruce Wayne’s no longer Batman, as a result of Final Crisis and the Battle for the Cowl series, and Katherine Kane, Batwoman, is part of the solution for Gotham in his absence starting in this issue.  Greg Rucka created the character, and as such has a really good grasp on her; she definitely seems like a well-thought out, rounded character even in this one appearance.  While some of Katerine’s actions in this issue place her in her own section of the Bat-family, other parts of the issue show her as a reflection of Batman himself, in terms of the relationship between her superhero and civilian identity, her support network, and her willingness to sacrifice personal relationships for the benefit of The Mission.

Perhaps the most noteworthy part of this issue, though, is the art by JH Williams III, which is absolutely gorgeous.  He manages to manipulate panel size and shape for emotional affect, as well as using completely different colour themes for the Batwoman and Katherine parts of the story.

The main drawback of the issue is, while it’s been solicited as a new era, and it’s the first issue of the title to star Batwoman, it feels very much like you’re dropped in the middle of an ongoing story, without being provided with any reference points as to what’s going on.  We’re told that there’s a group called the Religion of Crime, and that it’s organized into covens.  We’re told, also, that they’re a major threat, but we’re not given much reason as to why they are.  This reduces the seriousness of the threat they represent, leaving the reader not feeling any sense of real danger for Batwoman.

One of the things about this issue that should be applauded, as well, is that it features a return of the backup feature, with police detective Renee Montoya taking on the mantle of The Question.  The only problem with this is, as with the lead story, we have a lesbian vigilante fighting gangs in Gotham City under the tutelage of an older white male who takes care of the “Alfred” role in relation to the hero.  While both stories are well-done, and represent the start of interesting story, having both of them under the same cover only serves to lessen both stories by highlighting those similarities between the two of them.  Both stories would be better served by having Detective trade backup stories with one of the DC books featuring such backups, such as the Streets of Gotham series.