
Batwoman Vol. 1: The Many Arms of Death
DC
Nov 15, 2017
Issue #62 - Julien Baker
Reading Batwoman is a bit of a frustrating experience, mostly because this mix of interesting ideas and gorgeous art leaves a lot of the potential on the cutting room floor. This is a collection that decidedly does not benefit from being a collection: first, the inclusion of the scatter-shot, time-jumping Batwoman: Rebirth issue, while fine on its own for what it was, does not serve the larger story. And the final chapter, which sets up the next storyline, is a far enough departure from what came before that rather than leave the reader wanting more, simply heightens the confusion and disjointed feel.
However—the content between these first and last chapters has what you should expect from the talented writing team of James Tynion IV and Marguerite Bennett: a dip into Kate Kane’s origins that furthers the current plot, emotionally resonant encounters with bad guys and allies, mysterious villains and plots that are intriguing, even if unanswered, and stakes that are personal to Batwoman.
This is the disadvantage of print collections—there is definitely enough good stuff here to save the volume, enough beautiful art by Steve Epting (and one stunning chapter done by Stephanie Hans, which works due to a change in character POV), and pretty good Bat-action. A slimmer, tighter volume containing just issues 1-5 of the proper Batwoman series would have been better, but we can still recommend this, especially to Bat-fans. (www.dccomics.com)
Author rating: 6/10
Average reader rating: 8,653/10
Current Issue

Issue #70
Nov 18, 2022 Issue #70 - My Favorite Movie (Sharon Van Etten and Ezra Furman)
Most Recent
- 10 Best Songs of the Week: Geese, Hannah Jadagu, Lael Neale, Mega Bog, and More (News) — Songs of the Week, Geese, Hannah Jadagu, Lael Neale, Mega Bog, Caroline Rose, Bully, Westerman, Noel Gallagher, Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds, Bernice, Wednesday
- 20% Off Subscriptions This Week as Under the Radar’s New Issue is Shipping Soon (News) —
- Great Expectations (Review) —
- Rianne Downey @ The Deaf Institute, Manchester, UK, 23rd March, 2023 (Review) — Rianne Downey
- Premiere: Constant Follower and Scott William Urquhart Share Single “Watching The Black River Run” (News) — Scott William Urquhart
Comments
Submit your comment
There are no comments for this entry yet.