Batwoman #6 is written by Greg Rucka and published by DC Comics. Artwork is by Jeff Spokes and letters by Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou. Main cover art (left) is by DaNi and Matt Hollingsworth.
Batwoman #6 is available from today, in comic book stores and on digital platforms where all good comic books are sold. Grab your physical copy from Forbidden Planet or digitally from Amazon Comixology UK.
Synopsis
Broken by Alice’s death, Kate Kane was left in pieces. How did the fall that claimed her sister’s life lead to a rebirth in Petalon, and what does it mean for the future? Witness the truth of what happened that night in Gotham as Batwoman’s DC Next Level journey continues in a special issue drawn by guest artist Jeff Spokes!
Review
Greg Rucka’s Batwoman is jumping back into the past this week for an issues designed to fill in the blanks. Finally we’re learning about the climactic events which led to Alice’s disappearance and Kate’s arrival in Greece. Jeff Spokes joins the team to tackle a defining moment in the sister’s lives ahead of the book’s convergence with Batman for the “Bad Seeds” event.
The mystery of how Kate “killed” Alice has been lingering all the way back to issue #1 of the series. But whilst questions remained there’s never been a desperate need to fill in the blanks. So it’s interesting that Rucka is choosing now as the moment to explore this part of the story. With just one issue to go until events in Gotham overtake those in Greece there isn’t a huge amount of time to dig into the psychology of it all.
The events of Batwoman #6 shatter both Kate and Alice’s spirits despite the entire story being crammed into just one issue. The danger here is that crucial events in both sister’s lives end up condensed into a filler issue, used to pad out the series before a major event takes over. But that is just simply not the case. Rucka finds the right way to break the story so that events don’t feel rushed. But also so that the issue doesn’t feel overstuffed. In that respect, Batwoman #6 feels more like a teaser to emphasise just how broken these two are before we see them come back together later in the year.
As for the events of this issue themselves, the opening is a literal white knuckle ride. Rucka and Jeff Spokes bring the terror and confusion to the page with real intensity. Framing it from Kate’s point of view feels right to follow the perspective of the series so far. But it doesn’t feel odd when it then switches positions to follow Alice when she too washes up on shore.
There’s also something really satisfying when Rucka is able to balance both sides of the coin. Dipping between a bereft Kate and the injured Alice drives home the dichotomy between them. I struggled a little to sympathise with Kate, an elite detective capable of going toe-to-toe with Batman but unable to find out her sister was alive. Whereas I had absolutely no issue in sympathising with poor Alice. It’s hard to tell if it was a traumatic brain injury or if she simply got swept up in the moment. But to see her tragically taking on Kate’s life rounds out her arc in this volume of Batwoman perfectly.
There’s no doubting that DaNi would have done an incredible job of bringing this chapter of the story to life. But I do like the idea that DC has been implementing recently of guest artists stepping in for flashback stories and side quests. It worked so well for Absolute Batman by just signalling a shift in the timeline through a different art style. It’s perhaps a little more subtle here but nonetheless still as effective.
Spokes brings a heavier level of detail to the artwork. In comparison to DaNi it feels like we’ve stepped into the past for a deep forensic exploration of the details. The panel above with Alice’s lifeless body in the water feels like a crime scene photo almost. The fluidity of these panels and the way Spokes captures the energy of the story, particularly in those opening pages, feels well matched to what Rucka is saying with the story. The use of colour in this issue is also worth noting. The red of Kate’s costume is so vibrant against the backdrop of the dark Gotham night that it instantly locked me into the story.
Verdict
Batwoman #6 takes what could have been a filler issue before “Bad Seeds” and turns it into a defining moment in both Kate and Alice’s lives. Guest artist Jeff Spokes brings a whole new dynamic to this chapter of the story allowing it to shine on its own merits.
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