Definitely the best issue of the Rucka/Williams run so far, in my opinion. Easily Rucka's best script, and dare I say that it was also Williams' best work as well?

Maybe I'm just a bit desensitized to the "dark" red-black style Williams utilized a lot in the first arc--which is easily the most visually striking style he's used--but the balance of styles in this issue was really masterful. In general, I'm a big fan of juxtapositions of different styles: that goes for DJ mixes and mash-ups and it goes for this comic series. As far as his notoriously creative layouts, I was particularly impressed with the montage of what Kate did after leaving the military...

...And as I said in my review of the previous issue, Rucka also deserves some credit for things like that: after all, he has a heavy influence on WHAT Williams draws, how much of the story is portioned out into individual pages and panels.

In general, I've been more critical of Rucka than most others. I've found a lot of his dialogue to be weak, fraught with cliches, and frustrating. (For example, Alice's quotation-speak? It soon got very annoyingly cutesy, and half the time it barely fit the context.) This is Rucka's best issue yet, though. If I wanted to play pedantic schoolmaster for this issue, the job would be pretty unenjoyable for me, because there's nothing to really take marks off for. On the contrary, this issue was a watershed, because Rucka finally lets us in on the crucial elements of Kate's origin--who she was as a young adult, why she chose to become Batwoman, and how her homosexuality plays into that. Before now I've often griped that Rucka was taking this long (years, really) to give us this origin story; and I've written about how I don't think the "payoff" at the end of the last arc was really worth further delaying the origin story, either. I stand by those criticisms, but the good thing is that with this issue they don't really matter anymore going forward.

As a reader I finally feel like I know enough about who Kate is. Before now I've wondered how Rucka wanted me to interpret the character. I've thought, "Am I SUPPOSED to think she's just a TAD bit of an aloof brat, because of how she treats her step-mother, and because of how she childishly locked her dad out of the room? Or does Rucka expect me to think she's cool/naughty for doing those things? Because that's not enough for me. That's like how Matt Fraction wants me to think of his X-Men: as cool smiling-famous-sexy-beautiful people--when really, to me, they seem kinda bratty and superficial." But with this issue it's pretty clear that Rucka doesn't intend Kate to be anything like a "Mary Sue" or a cipher. In this issue, Kate makes mistakes. She's still cool, stylish as hell, has our sympathies most of the time, is a budding hero, kicks ass, etc. ... but she very much isn't perfect, has obvious flaws, and deserves some criticism (which she gets from Montoya especially).

For years people on the internet have rolled their eyes a bit at Kate being a homosexual...because at times it almost seemed like that was a gimmick. I think some of that sort of criticism was homophobia, sure, but on the other hand...when Rucka refused to give us more of an origin or more coherent, consistent characterization, then, yeah, it did seem like Kate's sexuality was sorta being presented IN LIEU of substantial characterization. I don't think that's what Rucka was doing--I think he always had this origin story in mind--but it just took a damn long time to show us HOW Kate's sexuality really was a great part of what makes her who she is AND what made her become Batwoman. (Not that characters in comics can't be homosexual just for the hell of it either, of course. It's just that Kate's homosexuality was made to be a BIG DEAL by DC.)

Getting all of that out of the way, I have a confession to make: I usually very much do not like overly political art or art concerned with stressing realistic social topics. That said, I loved this issue. What Rucka's doing isn't propaganda (read up on the history of that term, dear reader, because propaganda does NOT always refer to UNDERHANDED methods of advertising, and the history of the term is actually pretty interesting). In the last day I've heard some people online describe Kate's dismissal from West Point as "predictable" or "cliche"--but I disagree. Believe me, I'm VERY PRICKLY when it comes to stuff like this, but I thought Rucka handled everything fine. It would have been easy for him to have Kate make a big hammy speech about how "THEY HATE ME BECAUSE OF WHO I AM!" etc.--which would have put silent pressure on some readers to say that they liked the issue lest they be branded homophobic--but Rucka doesn't go that route. Not that such a speech would have been an inherent faux pas in my estimation, but my point is that Rucka to his credit is more concerned with telling Kate's story and presenting/uncovering her personality, which is far from perfect.

The thing I don't like about most stories that play a lot with politics or social issues is that the writer assumes that his audience MUST completely agree with him/her politically ("...OR ELSE!"). Rucka doesn't really do that here, and as a self-described prickly reader, I really appreciate that. The guy who dismisses Kate from West Point? He's not demonized. Whoever turned Kate in? That person isn't mentioned let alone demonized. The silent masses who want "don't ask, don't tell" enforced? They're not referred to as hate-mongers. It's not that I really differ much (if at all) from Rucka's own probable opinions of such matters, but in general, I tend to enjoy stories (and people) more when they refrain from outright demonizing half the country (including many of my friends and family members whom I love) as if they were pretty much just as EVIL (for their traditional beliefs) as people who hang others from trees. And I'm not religious, either, but show me a story that plays up the "pssst! y'know many Christians are BAD HYPOCRITES!"-angle, and I'll close the book in disappointment, wishing the author would be more original and less unintentionally prejudiced and myopic. [/gets off soapbox, thank god]

Sorry for that. Really. Anyway, I think the wait for Kate's origin has been worth the wait. Best issue yet. A high-watermark for both creators. Bring on 860.