Batwoman #33 “Best Shots”
Written by Marc Andreyko
Art by Jeremy Haun and Scott Kolins
Lions! Tigers! And vampires! Oh my! Ok… Just vampires, but still, you get the picture.
Last month we got to witness exactly how dangerous Nocturna is as a free woman. She’s ruthless, sees herself above others and the law, and has a knack for getting what she wants. Kate experienced her first hand, and it honestly has her a little on edge. Ok, considering she’s having nightmares that she’s a vampire killing Maggie, maybe she’s really on edge.
Kate visits her therapist to try and get an understanding of what the dream means and… well… It’s just the standard therapist stuff. This is something that I honestly can’t get behind. Kate is was a strong woman, and you would never see Rucka, Blackman, or Williams’ interpretation of Kate Kane in therapy discussing things in this way. I’m sorry. I hate to pull out the previous creative teams, but they’re the ones that really defined Kate Kane. And she’s fought demigods, so why is she getting this shook up over a vampire? I just wish we could scrap these therapist sessions, and remind everyone that Kate Kane is NOT Barbara Gordon.
Maggie is still in Metropolis fighting for custody of Jamie. While I really enjoyed this plot at first, it doesn’t really seem to be going anywhere – at least as far as the reader can tell. Kate keeps mentioning that she feels guilty about her role in the situation, but that’s essentially all we’re seeing. Andreyko is trying to show Kate’s “work/life balance” (for a lack of better words), but things seem to have stalled. This issue did branch out a little, with Kate making a move that probably isn’t too bright, and has me slightly worried. What does she do? Well, you’ll just have to pick up the issue and see (Or you can look below where I keep my spoilers).
Anyway, moving on… Kate continues to try to track and research Nocturna, and shes not the only one. As we found out in the last issue, an assassin by the name of Killshot (yes, he’s a wannabe Deadshot) has been hired by the daughter of one of Nocturna’s victims, to take out Nocturna. It’s a personal vendetta based on Nocturna’s slinky, man abusing ways. And if you’re wondering, she’s still up to her old ways. Has she found a new man to use? Yep. Are they officially dating? Well, considering he asked her to marry him… I’d say yes. While they’re both charming together, the bliss doesn’t last long. Their first public outing leads to a three way attack: Killshot vs Batwoman vs Night-Thief. Who will win? Who will lose? And will Nocturna leave her new love interested long enough to join the rumpus.
Recommended if:
- You want to see Batwoman’s reaction to Nocturna.
- You’ve been wanting to see Kate take action in the custody case for Jamie.
- You’re interested to see how Killshot affects the dynamic of the book.
For more details, opinions, and spoilers, see below!
The Art: Art duties were split for this issue. Haun, was consistent and solid as always. Kolins, not so much. His art is pretty poor compared to the Haun, and it’s hard not to notice. If there’s one thing I no longer have to wonder, it’s what Rumor Willis would look like if she played Kate Kane/ Batwoman. Don’t believe me?
The Good: The dream sequence at the beginning was a nice touch. I initially thought the story was going to jump back to two days prior to show how we got to this point, but then Kate woke up… looks like the joke was on me. Other than that, I thought everything else about this issue was underwhelming.
The Bad: The therapist. I can’t describe how much this plot irritates me. Nocturna also took a step back for me as well. I feel like I went form reading about a dangerous killer in last month’s issue, to one of the Kardashian sisters this month. I’m not too sure on how I feel about Kate calling Maggie’s ex to discuss the child custody either. It’s just not something you should do. I just don’t feel good about it.
Overall: Andreyko fumbles with this issue a bit, and we don’t seem to progress on the plot – which is something he’s been good at. A large chunk of the book also seems to be Kolins art, which doesn’t help this book in any ways. I’m hoping they re-find their footing with this brewing fight, or that they throw in a curveball to surprise readers. If they don’t, I’m worried to see what will happen to this title.
SCORE: 5/10
