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BATWOMAN #7

Six lives on converging courses that will change them forever…

Batwoman, in a hidden lair beneath Gotham Harbor, faces a horde of monsters inspired by urban legends led by Falchion, an evil mastermind.

Jacob Kane waits in agony for some sign of life.

Kate Kane tries to enjoy new romance as the werebeast Abbot begs for her help.

Maro, an enigmatic wizard, evokes an evil that all children fear: their own reflections in a darkened mirror.

Detective Maggie Sawyer is caught in a turf war between The Werebeast Cult and The Medusa Syndicate.

DEO Agent Cameron Chase struggles with a new operative who refuses to be controlled.

It’s all coming in “To Drown the World,” part 2.

Story by J.H. Williams III & W. Haden Blackman
Art by Amy Reeder & Rob Hunter
Letters by Todd Klein
Cover by Amy Reeder

Price: $2.99
iFanboy Community Pick of the Week Percentage: 0.0%

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kennyg03/19/12NoRead Review
TheMythicalReader03/14/12YesRead Review
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Comments

  1. Avatar photo misterckent says:
    March 12, 2012 at 4:06 pm

    So excited for this. The last issue had Batwoman as a little less dark, but still some phenomenal writing!

  2. Avatar photo Zeppo says:
    March 12, 2012 at 4:13 pm

    I’m interested to see if the unique approch they’re taking to this arc will pay off. I liked the last issue, but I’m afriad it might get a bit thin after a few issues.

  3. Avatar photo CosmicCube says:
    March 12, 2012 at 4:23 pm

    The covers for this arc are all fish and or water filled. Im hoping for maybe an Aquaman appearance!

    That’d be cool! 😀

  4. Avatar photo AmirCat says:
    March 12, 2012 at 5:39 pm

    It’s sad that Reeder is leaving batwoman. If I can’t have JH Williams III, Reeder is the next best thing. 🙁

    • Avatar photo Zeppo says:
      March 12, 2012 at 5:43 pm

      I know. Shame this arc wont be already.

      I did like McCarthy on Gates of Gotham, but his style doesn’t really match Reeder, it could stand out

    • Avatar photo AmirCat says:
      March 13, 2012 at 4:29 am

      Yeah, I like McCarthy too, but yeah I wish they would just let Reeder finish the issues. McCarthy can do some cool splash pages which is why he was probably brought on. I just hope he wasn’t rushed for this.

  5. flapjaxx says:
    March 12, 2012 at 5:53 pm

    Reader was great in the #0 issue from a year and a half ago, but I thought what she did last issue was only “okay”. I was hoping for more from her. She said that she’s leaving the book over “creative differences”. I’m not sure if Williams III and/or editorial is directing her art style or what, but all I can say is that I was expecting the art to be a bit better and noticed that last issue she seemed to do some uncharacteristic things that seemed more suited to what Williams III does. It was just a bit off. But.. I’m still high on the book overall, though, and will still probably like Reeder’s art well enough no matter what.

    • Avatar photo MrGlass says:
      March 13, 2012 at 12:03 am

      I’m thinking the problem came from Williams not being a true writer and maybe he was keeping to tight a leash on the art direction of the book. If that’s the case I think this series would be better served as a series of OGNs that Williams could bring out whenever he finishes them, maybe one a year?

    • Avatar photo stasisbal says:
      March 13, 2012 at 12:28 am

      I can’t help but speculate on the conflict and a problem with Williams would be my best guess as well. I don’t even mean to fault the guy. But considering how advanced an artist he is, with such a unique style, I can see him being very particular about the way a story he is plotting it drawn. Of course, it could be editorial too but considering how rushed some of the art DC publishes these days is, I can’t imagine it being anything technical with them.

    • Avatar photo AmirCat says:
      March 13, 2012 at 4:31 am

      @MrGlass, I’m there with you on the OGN. I would wait for the OGN, in fact prefer it. Issues are totally piling up, but hardcovers you can put on a bookshelf and will look good.

    • Avatar photo cahubble09 says:
      April 8, 2012 at 1:22 pm

      Interesting comments from Jan ’11 by Reeder here …

      http://blog.midtowncomics.com/midtown-comics-podcast-amy-reeder/2568/

      Working on character development and empowered (non-sexualized) female characters is a big deal for her. I’m betting the sidelining of Kate and Maggie’s relationship in the last two issues may also have been a problem.

      It seemed to me that one issue with this month’s art was the mashing up of Williams’ design style with Reeder’s pencils. In Madame Xanadu I don’t recall Reeder doing the heavily stylized design that characterizes Williams’ work. And even her trademark eyes seem also to be missing this month. I just wonder if perhaps she has been over-coached on this book. And perhaps she was expecting the story to develop into something it was never meant to be.

  6. Avatar photo SleepingMan says:
    March 12, 2012 at 6:55 pm

    WOW, that’s a dynamic cover.

  7. Avatar photo stasisbal says:
    March 13, 2012 at 12:01 am

    Yea, it’s a shame about the art change. It was nice how Batwoman was supposed to have a consistent rotating team. I’m curious what they’ll do after JH Williams’ second arc is done. Of course, that’s a year away so who knows what could happen in that time anyway.

    I was a big fan of Reeder on Madame Xanadu. Aside from one awkward panel I didn’t understand, I enjoyed her first issue of Batwoman just fine. Kinda lame how things turned out for her a DC – she signed an exclusive contract, finished Madame Xanadu, was announced as the alternate artist on Batwoman and did a few covers. Then Batwoman got delayed for various reasons and two years later her contract is about to end and she only got 3 issues into Batwoman. If she still does DC work I’d LOVE to see her draw Supergirl if Asrar needs a break.

  8. Avatar photo Flash923 says:
    March 13, 2012 at 9:59 am

    I think last issue was good can’t remember?!

    K

  9. Avatar photo player1 says:
    March 14, 2012 at 5:23 am

    Hearing what’s going on with the creative team makes me glad #5 was my last issue.

    • Avatar photo Jvanvic says:
      March 14, 2012 at 3:57 pm

      I considered stopping at #5, but gave #6 a shot out of curiosity. While the story definitely got better in the last few issues of the first arc, both the writing and the art seemed to be on autopilot for issue #6. Capping it off at #5 was a good call, at least for a while.

  10. Avatar photo Zeppo says:
    March 14, 2012 at 2:57 pm

    Interesting choice to bring Rush back from Rucka’s first detective issue, and turn him into a giant hook-for-a-hand guy. Wonder if JH is follow Rucka’s plan, or just riffing.

  11. kcekada says:
    March 14, 2012 at 7:59 pm

    I thought last issue was pretty good. I think Reeder, though, is stronger on the Kate Kane portions than the Batwoman portions. I had thought that the intent was for Reeder to handle the Kate part, and Williams to handle the Batwoman parts, but obviously I was mistaken.

  12. WookieLoveMachine says:
    March 14, 2012 at 8:37 pm

    I really like Batwoman, but I can’t help but feel Williams needs an artist who will mirror his nonlinear story telling. Reader seems to struggle with the panel overlapping and placement. You can see she is trying to follow inWilliams style while still keeping her own, but its just not working out. Too bad to. I have no doubts that Batwoman will continue to get stronger as the issues continue, but this issue is certainly not on the level I was excepting. I need this to be better next month. On the positive side, did everyone else love Batman and Robin #7 this week? Would have been the pick of the week of it wasn’t for the dramatic return of BKV

  13. Avatar photo ghostmann says:
    March 15, 2012 at 11:43 am

    Now I know why Amy Reeder was fired from this book.

    ugh, this issue was hard to get through.

  14. Avatar photo stasisbal says:
    March 16, 2012 at 1:42 am

    As I said above, I was a fan of Reeder before this. Unfortunately, the art takes a step in the wrong direction this issue. Last issue was stronger. The plot is also all over the place and I had a hard time following it. Honestly, I can’t tell how much of that is due to the art and how much due to the writing. It’s full of characters that are new, that I can’t identify or I don’t remember.

    Imagining this as a J.H. Williams drawn issue, I would probably be impressed enough with the artistry that I’d be OK with a so-so plot. It’s evident this book is ideally a showcase for J.H. Williams and maybe it was a mistake to have a rotating art team at all.

    • Avatar photo kennyg says:
      March 19, 2012 at 5:01 pm

      Wow, this was really a let-down. The selling point of this title has always been Williams’ amazing art. It was something special that would make the writing forgivable, but this is just your standard comic book art. Williams’ work hit me like Alex Ross did when he broke. Without that, this book loses a lot of its shine. And the writing does not save the book either. Too many flashbacks. Please make it stop.

  15. Avatar photo batglassjaw says:
    March 16, 2012 at 9:50 am

    I wouldn’t say the art was that bad. J.H. Williams art is obviously superior, but I think this style worked fine. I don’t find the plot to be too confusing, but specifically in this issue the way it jumped around between all the characters for like one page was kind of annoying. Either way still love this book.

  16. Avatar photo psynetrix says:
    March 16, 2012 at 6:20 pm

    I loved Batwoman #7. The whole back and forth storytelling is great. I am also enjoying her new rogue’s gallery composed of mythic creatures. Amy Reeder’s art is A+, and better of all… Bette!

    Please check my mini-review of Batwoman #7 here:

    http://bit.ly/zfl3Gy

    Comments and feedback are always welcome!

  17. Avatar photo TheMythicalReader says:
    March 17, 2012 at 12:18 am

    I just dug up my copy of Batwoman #0, which featured Reeder on pencils for Kate’s story. I couldn’t help but notice some stylistic differences between #0 and this issue. In the former, there’s a wonderful balance between traditional and non-traditional layouts; the stylistic choices really serve the narrative and convey meaning beyond the basic events of the plot. There’s also a brilliant concision and clarity to the lines; some of the most expressive panels are also the simplest. In this issue, I found some pages to be a bit convoluted and often questioned whether certain panels really added to the narrative. I’ll be sad to see Reeder go because the kind of art she exhibited in #0 could have been a really interesting counterpoint to Williams III’s work.

  18. Avatar photo GaviinNansoong says:
    March 17, 2012 at 9:38 am

    I hate to say it but Amy’s art was defiantly sub-par this month, last issue had a good feel to it and I was pleased with the result, this time the apparent creative problems were more obvious (maybe it was just my perception).

    Hopefully it will not be long before this title is back on track as one of the centrepieces of the new 52, I really like the cast and direction of the book but the visual aspect it key to this title.

  19. Avatar photo Anxy says:
    April 9, 2012 at 4:43 pm

    Since her big rollout in Detective Comics and the Batwoman limited series, I’ve been singing the praises of this character and all the fantastic things J.H. Williams III was doing with her. And, you know, I’m holding on as best I can with her ongoing series, and I’m still loving it when it’s great. But I’ve got to be honest, and I know there are shake-ups in the creative team, but I’m kinda starting to lose the awe I was getting from every new installment of Williams’ Batwoman. I’m still crazy about the character design. I love the costume, love the pale white skin, love the character beneath the mask – he is nothing if not consistent with who Batwoman is – but the (relatively) esoteric villains, the murky, watery stories, the kind of muted reality of this series…I appreciate it, but without the psychedelic one-two punch of Williams and Amy Reeder’s combined visuals, I’m finding it takes more and more patience for me to stay with this book. Not saying I didn’t enjoy the latest issue…but it wasn’t near the top of my “to read” stack.

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