Amy Reeder Is J.H. Williams' Equal
It had to happen eventually, but I'm still sad to see it finally happen; Batwoman has had an issue that wasn't utter perfection. Now I know there are people who were worried about the transition from the god J.H. Williams III to.... anyone else, but that is not the weak point in this issue by any means at all. Amy Reeder's artwork is just as much a visual delight as Williams' is. Maybe it's Williams writing, but the panel layouts manage to capture the same quality of artistic genius to the point of divinity that the first five issues had. It doesn't go as far, but the focuses of the story justified that. Batwoman wasn't the main focus of this issue. Her scenes were as amazing as her scenes in the other issues, they just weren't as plentiful.
The style balances itself nicely as it transitions between six characters across 4 months. Batwoman clearly stands out the most, with Chase getting a close second likely due to Batwoman's presence, but it's a balance between 'Superhero Style' and 'Day-to-Day style.' And even between different characters in each there is subtle variation. It makes things feel interesting even when the pacing gets a bit choppy.
Each scene individually is full of great writing and powerful emotions. We get to see a full human side to each and every key figure. And the revelations of various truths are treated with equal surprise and tension whether they be the manufactured mystical nature of The Weeping Woman, or the realization that someone has, or had, a child some time previously in their life.
Reeder's artwork isn't Williams' wealth of detail, but it has a distinct animated feel that lets it practically leap off the page like every good comic should do but rarely ever does this well. Reeder does some amazing work worthy of alternating arcs with Williams. Green lights flashed the instant I saw this cover. This is a cover that, by all rights, I should really dislike. It's so dangerously close to being a poorly zoomed standard image. But Reeder did SOMETHING, I can't quite put my finger on what it is, that makes this cover as powerful and compelling as any that Williams put out. There's perfect detail in the art, but a spark of beauty in the simplicity of the design. And I haven't checked this, but I think the colorist must be the same because I see a lot of the same kind of blur to some of the shadows, a grainy effect that works perfectly. If I had to complain about anything art-wise, it would be that something just bothers me about the way Reeder draws Batwoman's boobs. They're probably more accurate than most comic boobs, but something just doesn't look quite right about them most of the time.
But in the end, something's missing from this issue. Each and every piston is made of the finest materials and working efficiently, but there's just not enough. This issue feels short and uncertain. The transitions in time are fine, but it ends feeling like not enough was accomplished. It's clear that the reason for this emptiness is due to the issue being torn between picking up the pieces from the previous arc and moving on with the next arc. These two elements aren't very well balanced, and stuck in the issue in various places. I understand the arcs are linked, but this issue can't decide which focus is more important to it, so it ends up not giving 100% to either.
In Conclusion: 4/5
Don't get me wrong, this is still a very great issue, it just isn't as beyond perfect as the first five issues. It just doesn't give that extra 'oomph.' And I cannot stress enough that it has NOTHING to do with the change in artists. I love J.H. Williams work on this book and Amy Reeder's work on this book 100% equally. Don't you dare think that this book suffers in quality from not having J.H. Williams drawing, Amy Reeder is phenomenal artist who should be extremely proud of herself for being so incredible and being able to stand side by side with Williams. Amy Reeder is now in my highest tier of favorite artists. This issue just tries to rush into the next arc too fast and pick up the pieces left by the last arc at the same time. Try picking up broken glass as you're driving, you'd have to go slow to pick them up or else you have a mess. Thankfully this isn't a mess, it just isn't perfect. But frankly, I barely had $3 for comics today. I'll have more tomorrow to fill out more of my pull list, but I have -1 regrets about choosing this as my sole purchase for the day. If I had to cut my DC pull to only 1 series, it would still be this. Thankfully my money situation isn't THAT bad, but still.
