Huntress might possibly be my favorite female comic character, since for the majority of her appearances, she’s been handled by some great creators. Her backstory (written by the great Greg Rucka) is very interesting and enthralling, and her current characterization (mostly set up by the equally great Gail Simone) makes her a fun and appealing character to get behind. Basically, she struggles with the same query that most of us wonder about when we read superhero comics: the bad guys will never be rehabilitated, so why not wipe them all out? This, of course, labels her as a psycho and loose cannon in the Batman universe. I think it’s an interesting character design, and for those who are less aware of her, Batman: Streets Of Gotham #5 is a semi-decent introduction.

This month, Paul Dini takes a break and lets Chris Yost tell this story about The Huntress chasing a very rabid Man-Bat. Yost seems to get Huntress’ voice and modus operandi, as her inner dialog captions rang true to her character and gives the readers a good idea of what she’s all about. One complaint, though, is that the plot-wheels seems to be spinning in the mud for most of this issue. Most of the issue is just Huntress chasing Man-Bat while Oracle browbeats her into not using lethal force. It gets a little tiring, but it at looks like the next issue will be something more. Additionally, the B-plot which had to do with the cheery and idealistic Gotham priest was interesting to read, as it was kind of tragic to see him interact with all the horrific happenings in Gotham City, which we all know is par the course for there. A high point for this issue.

I never read the Manhunter co-feature that came at the end of this book, but after reading it this month, I’m kicking myself very hard in the ass. Not only was it a great street level crime/murder story, but the art really helped accentuate that noir feel. This was a great additional story, and I’m rushing to my back issues to check out the previous instalments.

The issues of this series are usually very solid Batman tales, and this is a decent addition. It showcases Huntress very competantly and has probably the best DC co-feature tacked onto the end. Check out for a nice breezy read.