Tag Archives: J.H. Williams

Mar 25 2013

Batwoman 18

batwoman 18

Today, Jack and (guest writer) Nate are discussing Batwoman 18, originally released March 20th, 2013.

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Jack: It’s hard work to start a sequel off with a credible voice. The expression that most often comes to mind is “Space Mutants IV:  the Trilogy Continues.” This is essentially the beginning of Batwoman’s second major story arc, and I am proud to report that J.H. Williams has risen admirably to the occasion. The grim mystery of Gotham’s missing children solved, this series hits the ground running with a new set of problems for our heroes, or at least a set of unsettling complications of all of their old problems. Continue reading →

Feb 26 2013

Batwoman 17

batwoman 17

Today, Patrick and guest-writer Suzanne are discussing Batwoman 17, originally released February 20th, 2013.

Patrick: We’re posting this two days after the Academy Awards, but I’m writing this at 9:25PM, Pacific Standard Time, the Thursday before the ceremony. I’m being so specific because I want to make a prediction: Lincoln will not win Best Picture (editors note: called it!). For everything Lincoln does well, it does not earn the sentiment expressed in its many soaring speeches. Endings are so naturally powerful, and it’s a shame how frequently Spielberg employs John Williams’ moving score and the impassioned performances of some of the best living Hollywood actors to approximate the feeling of catharsis. It’s a shortcut, it’s phony, and it stinks. J.H. Williams III and Hayden Blackman employ no such tricks as they wrap things up in Batwoman 17 and every single moving moment — and there are many — is earned.

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Jan 24 2013

Batwoman 16

Today, Drew and Jack are discussing Batwoman 16, originally released January 23rd, 2013.

Drew: The notion that myths gain their power from our belief in them has been a primary focus of Batwoman in the New 52. It’s a theme that has come up explicitly in the text — as Maro conjures the myths that haunt our dreams, and as Kate seeks out the myths that inspire us to greatness — as well as implicitly in our analyses. Indeed, we’ve made the case that comics are modern mythology so often, I’d forgotten what “myth” might mean besides “story.” It’s parsing that very detail that makes Batwoman 16 such a pleasure to read, as J.H. Williams III and W. Haden Blackman remind us of the pleasures of form afforded to modern storytelling. Continue reading →

Dec 20 2012

Batwoman 15

Today, Shelby and Jack are discussing Batwoman 15, originally released December 19th, 2012.

Shelby: Speaking in the broadest of terms, there are a couple ways to define a person: in relation to the other people in their lives, or based solely on who they are as a person. So far in Batwoman, Maggie Sawyer has largely been defined as a character through her relationships, with Kate, with her daughter Jamie, even her relationship with her job and the missing children. This issue, we get a glimpse of just Maggie, and it looks like she’s starting to come apart at the seams. She’s got a job that’s pretty terrible even on the good days, a girlfriend who just isn’t around often enough, and a stubbornly independent streak which prevents her from asking for help. The batshit crazy she’s had to deal with these last 15 issues is catching up to her in a bad way; I have faith in her, but I worry she won’t make it through to the end.

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Nov 23 2012

Batwoman 14

Today, Jack and Patrick are discussing Batwoman 14, originally released November 21st, 2012.

Jack: When we left off, Batwoman and Wonder Woman had just sought the assistance of Pegasus, who, confusingly, was not a winged horse, but an exceptionally grizzled, disheveled, and unhappy-looking man of purpleish complexion. In this issue, we start to get a grasp on why.  Pegasus is “dying” (or experiencing some not-yet-fully-explained immortal analog for death), and it is not a pleasant picture. Batwoman examines his wounds and mentally outlines a brutal altercation with Falchion, for which Pegasus is distinctly the worse.  He explains Falchion’s complicity in Medusa’s sadistic, misanthropic, world-domination plans. He says that if Wonder Woman will cut off his head so that he can die “a warrior’s death,” he will point them in Medusa’s direction. Batwoman is appalled, but Wonder Woman agrees. Unsurprisingly, he sends them back to Gotham. Wonder Woman kills him, then quietly agonizes over the decision. Continue reading →

Oct 19 2012

Batwoman 13

Today, Patrick and Jack are discussing Batwoman 13, originally released October 17th 2012.

Patrick: One summer time during college, I was looking for a job and I stopped by the mall in Appleton, Wisconsin. There was a sign at the info desk in the food court that said “Help Wanted” and then listed all the stores that were hiring. I didn’t know why, but I was really uncomfortable asking for this information – to the point where I almost wasn’t going to do it. But then I swallowed hard and just to myself “okay, I’ll just be funny.” Humor is the one tool I have at my disposal that I can use to address any situation I get myself into. God help me if I ever find myself pitted against the spawn of Chaos – I’d be fucked. Batwoman’s tools, on the other hand, we can have some confidence in those.

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Aug 17 2012

Batwoman 12

Today, Shelby and Drew are discussing Batwoman 12, originally released August 15th 2012.

Shelby: Oh, the life of a superhero, balancing personal relationships by day and caped ass-whupin’ by night. I have a hard enough time balancing office drone by day, nerd by night, so I don’t know how Kate Kane manages. She is beginning to fall into the classic (and seemingly inevitable) trap all heroes face: your loved ones assume you are sneaky and selfish, going out every night and keeping secrets, when in fact you are working harder than anyone to keep your loved ones safe. Kate starts on this downward slope as J.H. Williams and W. Haden Blackman begin a new arc, again with stories nestled within each other. At least this time it looks like everything is happening in the same chronological order.
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Jul 24 2012

Batwoman 11

Alternating Currents: Batwoman 11, Drew and ShelbyToday, Drew and Shelby are discussing Batwoman 11, originally released July 18th, 2012.

Drew: In their write-up for issue 10, the siblings Ehlers described the “To Drown the World” arc as one about the power of belief. That summary somehow seemed too simple, given the chronological gymnastics that dominated our discussions. The emphasis on the chronology has eased off as the arc draws to its close, taking it out of the realm of gimmick and back to the much more common device of alternating between A and B story lines. What we’re left with are the themes the Ehlers so readily pointed out — how the lies we tell ourselves and others shape the way we perceive the world. I don’t know if it’s intentional or ironic that my faith in the creative team lead me to believe in vain there was more to the narrative gimmickry, but it establishes a fascinating meta-theme for the arc. Continue reading →

Jul 12 2012

Batgirl 11

Today, Shelby and Peter are discussing Batgirl 11, originally released July 11th, 2012.

Shelby: I recently finished Frank Herbert’s Dune (highly recommended if you like old-school science fiction), and one of the prevailing ideas is that of plans within plans within plans. The idea is that your enemies, or your allies, are never what they seem: that every plan you see is part of another more intricate plan, and so on and so on. The only way to survive is to think the same way, to create plans upon plans until even your closest allies aren’t sure your motives. I’m beginning to feel the same vibe from Batgirl; enemies and allies are telescoping inward, and every motive revealed is another motive for another plan.

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Jun 26 2012

Batwoman 10


Today, Patrick and (guest-writer) Jack Ehlers are discussing Batwoman 10, originally released June 20th, 2012.

Patrick: This whole arc has been about the power of belief. The monsters of Medusa’s army are all terrors from the zeitgeist, and while there’s a fair amount of straight-up magic that brings these creatures into play, Maro states time and again that she can only spawn these monsters is because the citizens of Gotham believe in them. Their belief makes the impossible possible. But people don’t just believe in ghosts and hook-handed men and sewer creatures – even in a city as dark as Gotham, they believe in each other and abstract Bat-ideal of justice.

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