Kate Kane: Batwoman Appreciation 2018

[Caivu]

Edit: double post again

[ZorakLovesComics]

I read Batwoman up until J. H. Williams III left. I can't really speak on the later stuff because of that but I do love what I read. The art really spoiled me.

[Man-Thing]

Just read today's issue. Damn that was a trip. That final splash page with all the arcs we'll never see

[Caivu]

Just read today's issue. Damn that was a trip. That final splash page with all the arcs we'll never see

Don't give up hope on that front.

[Caivu]

Unused(?) Bad Blood art by Alon Chou:

IMG_20180815_213721.jpg

[Caivu]

By Arief Leuvenardi:

Screenshot_20180816-043942.jpg

[Dylan Davison]

Don't give up hope on that front.

Yeah, with the show coming up they should at least try a new series.

[Caivu]

Yeah, with the show coming up they should at least try a new series.

I'm seriously going to politely yell at DC about it if they don't follow up on those teases. At the very least follow up on Tahani and Fatima; what are they up to? What's Tahani going to do now since she can't pull this sort of complex gambit again?

But the final two-page spread has enough potential to, without exaggeration, fill out another 18-issue series at least. It would be a cruel waste to abandon all those ideas.

[millernumber1]

I'm seriously going to politely yell at DC about it if they don't follow up on those teases. At the very least follow up on Tahani and Fatima; what are they up to? What's Tahani going to do now since she can't pull this sort of complex gambit again?

But the final two-page spread has enough potential to, without exaggeration, fill out another 18-issue series at least. It would be a cruel waste to abandon all those ideas.

See...that would just keep me away again. I was just reading ProgmanX's reviews on the Batwoman series, and they are as onboard as you are, but I think it's clear that there's not a widespread resonance for Tahani, etc, in the Kate fandom. Or do you disagree - you think there really is an audience? And if so, why didn't the readership respond to this iteration of her solo?

[Caivu]

See...that would just keep me away again. I was just reading ProgmanX's reviews on the Batwoman series, and they are as onboard as you are, but I think it's clear that there's not a widespread resonance for Tahani, etc, in the Kate fandom. Or do you disagree - you think there really is an audience? And if so, why didn't the readership respond to this iteration of her solo?

I'm not going to say she's the most popular villain, but aside from maybe Nocturna, she is the most evil one Kate's faced, and the only one so far who's completely gotten away; aside from her plans failing, she suffered no repurcussions for her actions. Even Wolf Spider got beaten up.

Plus, she was intended to be an archenemy, and that one panel at the end of #18 clearly shows further intent for her. It's not a matter of whether fans like it, it's about not abandoning an entire series worth of ideas when they're right there. Do something with all that raw material. It would be cruel to show all that potential and just waste it.

The larger question of why this series didn't click with lots of people has an easy answer, I think: it's not what they expected. It's not what I expected, but I rolled with it. Many didn't, and never appreciated what this book was doing and how far it planned things in advance. Just today I read a review where the author clearly had no idea what this book was even about beyond the surface.

[Dylan Davison]

I'm seriously going to politely yell at DC about it if they don't follow up on those teases. At the very least follow up on Tahani and Fatima; what are they up to? What's Tahani going to do now since she can't pull this sort of complex gambit again?

But the final two-page spread has enough potential to, without exaggeration, fill out another 18-issue series at least. It would be a cruel waste to abandon all those ideas.

I mean it seemed like things that had yet to come, and to me it feels like a hint of a new series, idk.

Maybe a question and batwoman series? Haha. Wishful thinking, I'm sure.

[Caivu]

I mean it seemed like things that had yet to come, and to me it feels like a hint of a new series, idk.

Maybe a question and batwoman series? Haha. Wishful thinking, I'm sure.

I desperately hope so. A lot of lines in this seemed like winks to the audience to that effect.

[Dylan Davison]

I desperately hope so. A lot of lines in this seemed like winks to the audience to that effect.

Agreed. I mean, Flash, Arrow, Supergirl all have comics, right? So if her show does get picked up, she should have one too.

[millernumber1]

I'm not going to say she's the most popular villain, but aside from maybe Nocturna, she is the most evil one Kate's faced, and the only one so far who's completely gotten away; aside from her plans failing, she suffered no repurcussions for her actions. Even Wolf Spider got beaten up.

Plus, she was intended to be an archenemy, and that one panel at the end of #18 clearly shows further intent for her. It's not a matter of whether fans like it, it's about not abandoning an entire series worth of ideas when they're right there. Do something with all that raw material. It would be cruel to show all that potential and just waste it.

The larger question of why this series didn't click with lots of people has an easy answer, I think: it's not what they expected. It's not what I expected, but I rolled with it. Many didn't, and never appreciated what this book was doing and how far it planned things in advance. Just today I read a review where the author clearly had no idea what this book was even about beyond the surface.

I think, if you want more Kate, you need to balance existing audience expectations and new reader enthusiasm. I don't think Bennett did either, so I don't see how even someone who really loves Tahani and the Lost Year cast can reasonably argue that DC should sink more time and energy into that concept, at least not in the direct follow up (unless that follow up isn't for five years, minimum).

Bennett clearly got some really devoted fans, and that's great - but that's not enough to sustain a solo that we all know Kate can sustain. I think agitating for more of what didn't sustain this book is the wrong way to go. Now, obviously, I'm not a fan of this run, so I would say something like that. But I think it's reasonable to say that something didn't work here, and blaming it all on the audience doesn't seem like a good way to go.

[Caivu]

They don't have to return to the Lost Year. That's done and dusted. It got brought back into Kate's life to hurt her, and she made amends for it, and moved on. This kind of plan can't reasonably work on her again. But that doesn't mean Tahani and Fatima aren't still useful as villains, and they're just one thread in those teases.