Hi Everyone.

J.H. Williams III is my favourite comic book artist, and as I've collected and read a few of his works, I've noticed a few things that I find interesting that may have been overlooked. I'm making this blog as I posted a thread before pointing out a couple of my findings, and a couple of people found them interesting, so I'm doing this to expand upon that.

I don't own everything that J.H. Williams has drawn, so all of the pictures I'm using are from things that I own. If this blog proves popular, I may do a follow up when I buy more of his works. I'm also not necessarily claiming to be the first person to have spotted some of these things, it's just things that I've found interesting.

Anyway, let's get started.

This is what J.H. Williams looks like:

You may or may not have spotted him in Batwoman #2 in this picture:

I don't know if it's common for artists to draw themselves into their work, but it seems like a cool thing to do. I'm not totally sure, but I think the guy in the blue shirt may be co-writer Haden Blackman

Also in the same scene:

Does the guy standing behind Kate look familiar? That's because it's Michael Jones , from Desolation Jones , by Warren Ellis , which was drawn by Williams:

I think this is a bit more well known, but still interesting. Williams appeared in Promethea #30 , along with writer Alan Moore

This might be my imagination, but as I know Williams is a fellow Fields Of The Nephilim fan, I think his design for Felix Faust in Justice Riders may be inspired by singer Carl McCoy. What do you think?:

Fish seem to be a slightly recurring theme, appearing in Desolation Jones #3 on Nicoles' T-shirt:

In Detective Comics #821 on this sign:

And several times in Batwoman . I'll just put this one picture up, but there's quite a few fish appearances. Look out for them. :)

Remember the pool themed villians, Q-Ball And The Pool Hall Gang from Batwoman #1 and Batwoman #0 ?

Despite what the internet might tell you, this isn't the first appearance of their leader, Q-Ball. He actually appeared thirteen years earlier in Chase #6 (as in Cameron Chase from Batwoman) as an enemy of The Acro-Bat:

As far as I'm aware, these are his only appearances, so he seems to be exclusive to J.H. Williams' works.

Graffiti can be a good place to sneak things in, especially references to music. Let's look at some.

You'll notice in this picture the I 'heart' Wendy. A nice touch as Wendy is the name of Williams' wife. Trust Obey could be a reference to the band of the same name, formed by The Crow creator James O'Barr.

Another I 'heart' Wendy, plus, the number 242 is most likely a reference to Belgian EBM band, Front 242. March Of The Pigs is the name of a song by Nine Inch Nails.

Rock 'N' Roll Suicide is a song by David Bowie.

Another Front 242 tag.

'Sisters rule' is probably a reference to The Sisters Of Mercy, who Williams is a fan of. Plus, Front 242 and March Of The Pigs again.

This poster is the cover for Danzigs first album.

'A Slight Case Of Over Bombing' is the name of The Sisters Of Mercys' greatest hits album. Plus Front 242 again. He must really like them. They are pretty good I suppose.

The Nefilim was a metal band formed by Fields Of The Nephilim singer Carl McCoy(see above). I 'heart' Wendy again.

KMFDM are an industrial band. March Of The Pigs Again.

Bands that Williams likes also appear on T-Shirts on people in his work. Such as.

The 69 Eyes:

H.I.M.:

And of course:

And Kate Kane had Sisters Of Mercy and Blondie posters on her wall as a child:

The Sisters Of Mercy logo is seen on the left. It looks like this:

Speaking of bands, there's a fictional band worth mentioning.

In this picture from Detective Comics #854 Kate has a poster on her wall of a band called Darkseids Witch:

I thought I'd spotted their poster in Batwoman #3 , at a gig that her and Maggie Sawyer were supposed to attend:

Similar font, but why is there an 'F' instead of an 'S'?

Because they seem to have changed their name to:

I wonder why they changed it. Maybe Darkseid threatened to sue them. :P

This last section is just about things in Batwoman and doesn't cross into other series'. Some of this might count as spoilers if you don't know anything about Batwoman. If you've read Batwoman: Elegy , Batwoman: Hydrology or the second #0, you'll be alright.

Have you noticed that Kate and Beth as children are presented in similar colours to what they wear when they grow up:

Pastel colours with swirly patterns for Beth, bold red and black for Kate:

Bold red and black for Kate, Batwoman.

Pastel colours with swirly patterns for Beth, Alice.

Also, as Alice Beth has coloured and styled her hair to match her mothers':

And finally. In the second #0 when Kate mentions that her being out of control gave Jake Kane a reason to look after her, this shot references Detective Comics #858 when Jacob took her from the scene of her mother and sisters murder, when he was the only one left to look after her:

Well that's all I've got for now, apart from a few tiny things that aren't really worth mentioning. Hope you enjoyed this blog, and found at least some of it informative or interesting. Any questions, feel free to ask. :)

My J.H. Williams collection consists of:

Batman: Conspiracy

Batwoman #0-17

Batwoman: Elegy

Chase

Desolation Jones: Made In England

Justice Riders

Promethea #5-7, #30

Seven Soldiers Of Victory #0-1

And I highly recommend them all. :)

Scarlotte