High on the heels of the trauma from issue one’s explosive start, in issue #2 of Batwoman we get a sense of foreboding from Kate Kane’s dad, Jacob, as he FaceTimes his second wife Cat, about his daughter’s mental health. Apparently, we learn she’s in good hands because Dr. Sedaris was recommended to him by Bruce Wayne, Kate’s cousin.
… or at least we were led to believe that some of the said trauma was attempting to be unpacked by Kate at this sanatorium, albeit for a brief moment…
Back to Jacob, who jokes about being a retired U.S. Army Colonel, but he’s still clearly using his military skills and arsenal of technology to keep tabs on Kate with a tracker. He has discovered that she’s escaped from the sanatorium to draw out an enemy named Master Slay and his acolytes—and panic mode sets in.
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Suddenly, it becomes a race against the clock as Jacob tries to stop the blood shed from happening before the Petalon, Greece, turns into a full-frontal kill zone. But while this is going-on, we (the reader) learn that it’s ultimately just a diversion, as a parallel narrative reveals to us that something far more nefarious is going on. As it would seem, Kate’s going to be (forced) to play the long game in this cat-and-mouse scenario. There is a cult called Daughters of Lilith led by someone named Despina in which she appears as their leader and primary antagonist.
I’m going to infer that Despina is our ‘final boss’ and not Master Slay…in fact, she wields wealth, influence, and beauty (a deadly trifecta)—her power runs deep as we learn about her family’s legacy in Petalon which stretches back to antiquity.
We know what’s coming for Kate as the reader, and I just hope for her sake that she’s prepared when she unravels the truth.
In this issue, Greg Rucka’s writing offers meticulous cinematic pacing, setting us up for a dark and dangerous showdown between Kate and Master Slay. Meanwhile, DaNi’s neo-noir and moody art is so perfectly suited to the ethos of this story—the synergy between Rucka’s words and the tense tactile-soaked aesthetic gives this a wholly organic and gritty feel. This is bolstered with Matt Hollingsworth choice of colors which helps evoke a sense of disturbance and danger in the story. I particularly enjoyed the calculated use of aubergines, fire reds, and gauzy blues with grays. It gives a distorted and disruptive ambiance…in other words… this hit the nail right on the head.
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Ultimately, these considerations made the story very enjoyable but the only caveat I still need to address (because it’s not been rectified since I first noted it) is that this ‘Next Level’ series is not accessible to brand new readers. As an example, if you don’t know Kate’s mom and dad and their backstory, you would have to do a Google search about these characters to understand their relevance and enrichment of this specific narrative. As I said before, the premise of this series is that underserved characters are getting their (overdue) limelight now; and additionally, with an opportunity for new storylines, this is supposed to serve as an easy entry point for newbie comic readers. But I (still) don’t buy it. It’s not a dealbreaker (I’d still personally recommend this to people), but I’d advise giving it a first-time run through—mentally noting what you didn’t understand—and then looking up these people and giving it a second read. You’ll be struck with a “oh, now I get it” sort of sentiment in the end.
Despite this setback, I found myself able to venture into this universe as a reader and become fully absorbed with the plight of Kate and her dad, in this instance. If something was truly amiss (e.g. the art was drawn in too jovial of a manner), I don’t know about you, but it would give me pause. But because the synergy on all fronts was so riveting, I became fully immersed with no intrusive ‘hiccups’ in my reading journey.
With lives hanging the balance at the end of issue #2, it makes for a perfectly ripe cliffhanger that leads into issue #3, which leaves me in excited anticipation.
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