After another explosive issue, Batwoman #3 slows the pace down a touch as both the criminals and Kate’s father reel from Batwoman’s actions. The issue opens in the aftermath of Batwoman murdering two of Master Slay’s hired hands, before quickly shifting back to Kate in her room at the Epione Sanatorium. We can see Kate is deeply troubled, and one of the doctors notices she didn’t use her bed the night before.
We then transition to our antagonists, as Pagona and Mother Despina meet to discuss Batwoman’s actions. Pagona views this breaking of Kate’s moral code as an opportunity, only to be corrected by Despina that the actions were a declaration of war.
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But the bulk of the issue is spent with Kate’s father, Jacob, as he tries to see Kate but is unable to. His concerns are with the wellbeing of his daughter and he asks the doctors to make sure she doesn’t leave her room, before returning to his base of operations and calling for help. Enter Renee Montoya.
In comparison to the first two issues, Batwoman #3 is a bit slower, focused more on the emotional reactions of the supporting cast to the actions of our titular character. Greg Rucka’s dialogue feels natural without overstaying its welcome, and the slower pace keeps the crime-noir feeling to the tone. That being said, the scale feels a bit small.
With a title like “Eschatology”, readers might (understandably) expect something a little more high-stakes. Indeed, there are hints in the first two issues about something much larger afoot. However, the world that is ending appears to be Kate’s. Each issue has now introduced a familiar face and seen Kate turn her back on them.
Right now, the artwork is the primary appeal. DaNi’s art continues to impress, the heavy line-work adding weight to the page, while some of the layouts make great use of negative space. In particular, a page with Pagona and Mother Despina does a really beautiful job of using the negative space in the establishing panel, leading to a minimalistic extreme closeup of Despina’s eye, surrounded by cigarette smoke. It’s a great layout that ends with a visual punch as Despina puts the cigarette out.
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The line art is made all the more beautiful and haunting by Matt Hollingsworth’s colors. Cool purples, blues, and magentas work well with the alternating shadows. And the warm amber tones add a discordant feel to Jacob’s visit to the doctor. Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou’s lettering works well with DaNi’s art. The way the word balloons are rendered as jagged octagonal shapes rather than smooth ovals helps add to the gritty mood.
There’s some fun details sprinkled in throughout, such as a casino named after Tyche, the Greek goddess of fortune. In Kate’s room, a picture of her and Beth as children works as a subtle reminder of her family dynamics, acting as a spectre over the whole story. That being said, not everything works here. DaNi’s lines sometimes obscure the subject. A small appearance by Master Slay feels a bit muddier than it really should, given that he’s one of our primary antagonists.
As Tiffany Leigh pointed out in the review of issue #2, the story here doesn’t seem particularly new-reader friendly. I am admittedly not a big Batwoman reader, and while I have a loose understanding of the dynamics, I have a hard time believing this story would be compelling to anyone who didn’t know these characters. The focus on Jacob, rather than Kate, amplifies that.
Right now, our protagonist seems unknowable. In theory, that could work – I don’t need to be fully inside Kate’s head. But she spends most of this issue completely passive. Without knowing the reasons for her actions, the confrontation between Batwoman and Question falls a bit flat.
Additionally, though the pace set by Greg Rucka’s writing feels right for the tone, the actual structure of the issue feels a bit too similar from what we saw in the prior issue. While there’s something to be said for maintaining a meter in storytelling, the climax here feels less like a rhyme than it does like a retread.
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