Detective Comics # 854 - Elegy, Part One: Agitato; Pipeline: Chapter One / Part One

It's been a while since I reviewed anything, but this book made me get up off of my butt and do some writing.

Let me start off by saying that I had very low expectations for this book. I'm not the biggest fan of Batwoman. I never really cared for the character; however, it's a Gotham City book, and I love my Gotham City tales. And this book was amazing. Rucka's writing is solid, this was a given. He really did make me care about this B or C-List character.

So what makes this pick of the week? For the first time in my comic reading career, the art is what made me pick this book as the best of the week. I hate intrraweb acronyms but.... OMFG! Two different art styles, both awesome. One more cartoony and brightly colored when she was in Katherine Kate mode and another darker, grittier, tri-colored mode for Batwoman mode. It was exciting, new, and beautiful.

Williams panel composition while Katherine was in Batwoman mode was beautiful. Pages that at first look like splash pages that turn out to have small action filled panels buried in the background is one of the most amazing compositional pieces I've seen in quite a long time...

Now, The Question short in the back was pretty good, but after reading a great book like this, I sadly didn't care for it as much.

 Even being a fan of Rucka's work, I was still a bit wary of a Detective Comics arc starring Batwoman. But from the get-go the progressive artwork and paneling and the solid story featuring a trippy new villain Alice dismissed any apprehension I felt when I picked up this issue. J. H. Williams III is one the greatest breakout artists in recent memory. His psychedelic panels propel the story fluidly and with a rejuvenating respite from the normal comic panels. He literally thinks outside the box. I can't gush enough about how fantastic Batwoman is! This is a must read.

I didn't know what to expect when picking up this book and, needless to say, I was pleasantly surprised.  I know, a lot of people are saying on the message boards and the internets that they should've been more clever when revealing that she's a lesbian.  I don't think they needed to be clever because it isn't a big deal.  Just get on with the story line.  I look forward to seeing where this goes, there's definitely a lot of potential.  You gotta give credit to what DC has done with the Batman family in recent months.  The second feature is great, too!

First off, art. The art was great i loved the way it looked, phenomenal work. Second, Content...It had plenty of content just like any other comic, but i felt it went a little too quickly. Not in terms of how much paper there was but it kinda felt to me like it went by a little too fast, like not enough ground was covered. But, since this is only the start of the Batwoman run it can slide. Story-wise, i cant pass judgment because its only the start of this arc, but it looks like it could wind up being pretty gritty if it goes in the right direction. So, my final answer Regis, Is this was a pretty good issue, id buy it if i hadn't already.