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Last week, we got a copy of Batwoman: Elegy Deluxe Edition in the mail from DC Comics. The most surprising thing about the book was the introduction by Rachel Maddow. I didn’t realize that Maddow was a big fan of Greg Rucka’s thrillers, and, in fact, her introduction is much less about the comics and more about Rucka’s writing in general. I’m sure DC Comics is grateful for the synergy, though: Batwoman is famous in the mainstream media primarily because she’s a lesbian.

Elegy isn’t Batwoman’s first appearance in the comics, but it serves as a good introduction for new readers. Maddow’s intro proves strangely out-of-place, because Rucka’s writing isn’t center-stage here: J.H. Williams III’s art is what makes the book zip along. Each page is beautifully designed, and there’s enough variety to keep things interesting. The pages where Batwoman is in her secret identity are more traditional comics pages—square panels in a grid—and when she puts on her costume, things get much more asymmetrical.

Unfortunately, as a book, Elegy doesn’t feel as satisfying as it should. It begins with an adventure but then, in the second half, the gears shift to a slower, more traditional superhero origin tale. There are some nice touches—Batwoman wanted to be a soldier, but she fell prey to don’t ask/don’t tell and, like so many other gay soldiers, decided to dress up like a bat and fight crime instead—but when you repackage your comics into $25 hardcovers, the reader expects a bit more out of the narrative. I’d wait for the eventual paperback release of this one: There’s some good superhero action, but not enough thrills to warrant the exorbitant price and “deluxe” format.

13 replies on “Rachel Maddow (Hearts) Batwoman”

  1. Batwoman has had many back stories and many backgrounds.

    But Julie Newmar will always be sexy.

    As will Eartha Kitt.

    Meow!

  4. @1, only you would mention solely Catwoman actresses on a Batwoman thread, slandering by omission the gorgeous Lee Meriwether, the Batwoman of my faggy heart.

    Bitch.

  5. @4, I’m going to assume that’s a typo, since Lee Meriwether played Catwoman too. But mostly I just want to give Yvonne Craig some love- she was a fantastic Batgirl. Has anyone ever even played Batwoman? I don’t think it’s happened yet.

  6. No, my childhood memory outweighs all facts about Lee Meriwether. She was Batwoman, for she was married to Batman and they were very saucy. See, this is what I get for blowing a fuse at the World Cup. Thanks, jen. Will, you are a bitch though.

  8. I liked it. Paul’s right, it could have been stronger, but the art is Beeyootiful and it has historical significance for me because of the lesbian superhero angle. I showed it to a dyke friend of mine (who doesn’t really read comics) and her eyes lit up like firecrackers. Priceless…

  9. Greg Rucka is a pretty decent writer; Perfect Dark: Initial Vector was about the best possible book about Perfect Dark that could have been written. For what that’s worth.

  10. @9 are you the Greg Rucka? Pretty funny, if so.

    Anything with art by J.H. Williams is worth picking up — the Promethea series he did with Alan Moore a few years back was nothing short of amazing, like Neil Gaiman’s Sandman crossed with Wonder Woman crossed with a PhD dissertation on the nature and semiotics of magic symbols.

    Speaking of Wonder Woman, Greg Rucka’s work on that character was pretty darn good…

  12. @11, there’s been at least two Batwomen in the Batman comics since the 1950s. The original, Kathy Kane, was introduced as a heterosexual love interest for Batman after psychiatrist Dr. Fredric Wertham wrote a bestseller called “Seduction of the Innocent” in 1954 that alarmed parents about rampant immorality in kids’ comics, such as a “blatantly homosexual relationship” between Batman & Robin. Ironically, the latest incarnation of the character, Kate Kane, is a lesbian and DC/WB made a big media splash promoting that aspect of her character when she was introduced four years ago.

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