REVIEW: Batwoman #2

Coming off of a strong first issue, Batwoman #2 fails to live up to the high bar set by the first. “The Many Arms of Death” part 2 finds Kate Kane on the trail of the murderer of Rafael, a former employee of Safiyah. It also further explores Kate’s relationship with Safiyah and her time on Coryana, while she was healing from an injury. Finally, we are given details about the downfall of Coryana by a company known as the Kali Corporation.

The writing is solid, but it relies on flashbacks and a lot of exposition. We are introduced to a lot of supporting characters, but not given enough time to fully understand and relate to their motivations. I found the underlying plot uninteresting despite loving Kate as Batwoman. Due to all the time needed to explore the other characters, Julia Pennyworth is, unfortunately, not given much to do in this issue.

Steve Epting’s art is incredible and the standout feature of this issue. This is one of the best-looking books on the market. I have no complaints about the art in this book. Detail is near perfect and characters have an extremely clean, uncluttered look. This is an absolute treat for comic readers. The action flows nicely and the panels are creatively framed with weapons and characters occasionally breaking out of panels. Unfortunately, outside of an outstanding fight scene with Kate battling Knife, Epting isn’t given a lot of action to work with.

The cover is great. I like how impossibly perfect the Bat symbol appears in the frame. The painted art looks gorgeous and sets your expectation for the quality of the art, albeit in a different style, in the issue. The alternate cover looks decent, but Tahani (Knife) looks static and lifeless in it.

I give this book 3.5 out of 5 stars. It’s a decent issue with excellent art that does its job in setting up further issues. However, I found it rather average on its own.

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Written by Marguerite Bennett & James Tynion IV
Art by Steve Epting
Colors by Jeromy Cox
Published by DC Comics