Is realizing I have unwittingly modeled my entire post transition self on a character in this run a good reason to do a re read?

....who knows, but I'm doin it

For reference https://twitter.com/Blankzilla/status/1385022311636504576?s=19

Ah

I miss her

God it just blows my mind that there is a lesbian superhero with a TV show who is LITERALLY BATMAN BUT A LADY with an iconic outfit and she hasn't had a book in three years

Just

How

It's the easiest WOO LOOK AT OUR QUEER REP lay-up in the universe

I will never not love scenes where a hero dramatically reveals their identity and the person they are doing it for just goes

"....God you FINALLY admit it, I've been DYING."

Always fun

Always good

The Clayface, well, face turn is really just a masterstroke. Obviously it hasn't stuck, but just about every time a Bat-Villain is reformed it is such a fun story and while there are lots of fun bits here, the built in tragedy of Basil (hi Feat of Clay) is just SO powerful

I love that rather than revert Bruce back to grumpy loner hardass for the nth time Tynion had the brilliant realization that Kate is an even BIGGER hardass and can fill the same narrative niche

Blatant Danger Room knock offs are one of my favorite recurring things in comics and the Mud Room is easily one of the best for actually putting in the work to make it different and weird instead of Just Holograms

Hot take:

The Belfry is cooler than the Batcave has ever been

I will forever love Leslie always giving Bruce shit for using teenagers as allies

Like I love teen heroes but it's good to have someone going HEY IDIOTS

I honestly think the Rebirth Bat suit is my favorite Batman outfit

The purple cape lining pops HARD and the chunky bat logo with the yellow outline is a nice middle ground between the standalone logo and the yellow spotlight

I know folks have some gripes about Cass in this run, I agree Orphan is a bad name that misses her whole deal, but I love how Tynion doesn't even try to pretend she doesn't love her family and friends and check in on them in her own way

What a rad page

I think Barrows is really good on this book but I appreciate the guts on Martinez going "okay I can follow his lead" and flexing this hard with the layout on the FIRST PAGE of his time on the book

God

I love that The Colony is just a direct condemnation of the hyper militarized, violent takes on Batman and other heroes that are just all over the place. It's something that rings even truer now that Tynion is in charge of Batman proper and doing different, exciting things.

I love that Cass is consistently treated as The Big Gun of the team

Her training room critique from Kate is that she is so far beyond the rest of them that she spreads herself too thin trying to protect the others

God she's cool

This is some good goofy comic book shit

Shot. Chaser.

Boy

A fleed of armed drones attacking a civilian center to try and kill suspected terrorists with no clear proof of their existence and killing hundreds, deemed as acceptable by the US Military

Love that comics are never political

Tynion actually doing SOMETHING with Bruce and Kate being relatives and knowing each other since they were kids alone makes him one of the best Batwoman writers, and that's even without this scene being just so sweet

I really love these little painterly flourishes Barrows and Lucas throw in. They aren't necessary at all but they're gorgeous and just give it some extra OOMPH.

There are fewer things in life better than a pissed off Kate Kane

Even knowing it's not a real death, the whole build up to Tim "dying" is just textbook Heroic Sacrifice writing, and I mean that in the best way. I'm not even Tim's biggest fan and this hits HARD

I feel like Eddy Barrows really doesn't get enough credit as an incredibly talented emotional artist. Lucas' colors help a ton, but the expression work and framing of every bit of this scene makes it SING without a single word being said.

God

That last page.

My HEART.

I wonder if every writer who writes Montoya when she's not actively The Question has a standing agreement to have her say "That's the question, isn't it?" At least once per arc

Martinez goes so much harder on inventive panel layouts and page composition than he needs to and I really appreciate it. It's not surprising he and Tynion have continued to work together for years, they just click and feed off each other's vibes.

SHUT UP, HARPER

I'M DOING FINE YOU DON'T KNOW ANYTHING SHUT UP STUPID JERK

I still can't believe Tynion went

Hey

You know what friendship should form the emotional backbone of my run

CLAYFACE AND CASSANDRA CAIN

and it WORKS

This is why I love Kate in this book so much

She has zero deference to Bruce and will always call him on his shit

Even characters like Babs and Dick, who have long since left his shadow, have history as his sidekicks that colors their relationship

Kate's his peer

God

Harper is just such a funky little queer lady in every possible way

Good for her

Oh you're SO CLOSE, Luke

Just a few more steps

The Victim Syndicate is just

Such a brilliant idea for a group of bat-villains

People caught in the crossfire of Batman's super-brawls and left forever scarred, seeking vengeance against Batman and those who enable him

Just

Chef kiss

A+ concept

This is a touch I appreciate.

Making queer folks feel like an active part of a world like the DCU isn't just having a handful of queer heroes

It's not defaulting to heteronormative relationships in all levels of storytelling, like tying a gay couple to Batman's earliest days

Azrael is a fave of mine, I'm a sucker for Paladin types and he has a sick outfit, but god every time I see him out of costume and he looks like a dork ass nerd I crack up

Egon Spengler lookin ass

Oh, buddy

Steph's turning on the team works for me, not just because she's still raw from Tim "dying" but because she's Stephanie. She loves being a superhero, but it's borne out of a desire to help and better the world. When all she sees is pain and chaos, well

She'll help another way

BASIL YOU'RE DOING GREAT, SWEETIE

The Mr. Oz thing is just

So fucking weird in hindsight

Because it was this big line wide mystery and seemed SO important and then it's

It's just Jor-El and led to a mediocre Superman crossover

A prominent mystery that is seeded through books and ends poorly? DC Magic, baby

...yeah I'm probably gonna just mix this into the re-read since it's a direct spin off of this book and this arc is, essentially, a backdoor pilot

I HAVE ARRIVED

It is legitimately weirding me out at this point

Did

Did I get Pagemastered

Love Kate just cutting through Batman's Straight Boy Eggshells Walk

"No its not complicated, they booted me for being a lesbian so now I'm doing this."

Boom. Done.

GOD

SHE'S SO COOL

AND I'M SO GAY

This is what kills me about Kate's current neglect

She was finally built up into a proper equal to Batman

Not a sidekick, not a romantic interest or legacy. She was BATWOMAN, full stop. His peer.

And now she's not even part of the ensemble

This Pixar Mom Dumptruck Ass variant is killing me

Wait

Kate debuted as Batwoman 2 years ago in canon

She was 27

AM I THE SAME FUCKING AGE AS BATWOMAN

NO

NO HOW DID THIS HAPPEN

Gotta say

Straight up "yeah I was gonna eat you out but you really hurt my jaw" innuendo is just so much more outright horny than I expect from the big 2

Gonna give Bennett credit for that one, I think

I get why folks don't want an over-reliance on queer trauma in stories, and I agree. If it's the only story we have, we have nothing but pain.

But in Kate's case, it works. Bat-Characters are often defined by overcoming their tragedies and being a proud lesbian IS a triumph.

Jesus fuck

If the current X-Books had the guts go be the THIS shamelessly horny (and sapphic) I would have much fewer complaints

I forgot about Julia Pennyworth existing and I am ASHAMED

I love how absolutely fucking terrible to use this monitor would be

OH THAT'S SOME *YEARNING*

Oh god Cass

Cass you poor lady I am so sorry

There's another layer to it with the ticking clock and shifting form, but I can't help but assume Tynion has to be at least partially inspired by Ben Grimm with Basil here. Big tragic man made of Earth who wants to be better.

Human Basil even looks like Ben!

Azrael's design is just

So goddamn cool

No notes

Looks sick

Keep up the good work

The whole odd-couple man of fairh/magic and man of science friendship ain't even close to a fresh take but

Damn if I don't love it when it's done well

Reading this I was like "oh shit this is a neat idea, was there some cool Bat-crossover I somehow missed??" And then realized it was a tease for

Fuckin

Metal

*price is right horn*

This book is SO FUCKING GAY EVERY MINUTE

MAKE MORE SUPERHERO COMICS LIKE THIS, YOU COWARDS

LET WOMEN FEED THEIR LOVERS RAW HONEYCOMB IN A FIELD IN AN ISSUE NAMED AFTER A KATE BUSH SONG

This is the horniest goddamn thing I've ever seen in a Big 2 superhero book

I am BLUSHING

I love that in every single book she is in, Kate is colored like she walked out of a stylized vampire movie

It's just

SUCH a vibe

Legitimately cracked up at my work desk

Kate being unafraid to use dirty tricks and cross lines Bruce never would is such a fun thing for me

It also makes the semi-pariah nature of Jason Todd a little dumb but that's fine

Hrm

I might be gay

There are very few constants in superhero universes

Retcons happen

People die and are brought back

But one of the handful that DO stick is that Lady Shiva is the biggest badass on the planet

God I love this lump of mud

God, my heart

Found family is one of the things I am an easiest sucker for and these two broken, scarred weirdos finding and caring for each other is hitting me right in my emotions

I wish we got a stronger artist for this arc, I feel like Martinez would have KILLED this fight scene, but even with less than stellar art this whole scene is still a gut punch

I feel like Tynion's inspiration from various eras of X-Books is clear on the title, from the constantly simmering, intertwining plots to the more blatant stuff like the Mud Room

So I can't help but feel like this is giving Cass her own Big Wolverine Moment and boy it's deserved

One of the biggest strengths of this Detective Run is, IMO, it's structure. It's not a new invention, but every arc gives time to the whole team but is anchored by a specific character(s). The opener is Tim and Kate. Victim Syndicate is Steph. Then Kate, then Cass. It works!

Team books are often hurt by not actually giving the whole TEAM something to do. Even great ones, like JLA, will often shaft a member or two (Huntress and Wonder Woman).

Tec doesn't, specifically because it constantly rotates focuses and gives everyone time to play.

Is this a little cheesy and clunky? Yeah, sure.

Does that mean it doesn't work? ABSOLUTELY NOT, MY HEART IS CRYING

Kate you gigantic lesbo, what are you WEARING

I love you

Alright let's see how Batwoman is going, I wonder if it's gonna be as gay and horny as it ha-OH

YEAH

YEAH IT IS

Wait is this whole issue's art by Stephanie Hans

Oh my GOD

Who put this unbelievably gorgeous steamy lesbian romance OGN in the middle of my superhero book

I've been tapped to write about this book so I'll dig into it more then but this book is so successful with its romantic plots is it realizes sex isn't just sex.

Comics are shallow, focusing on the titillation, but here it is on the tension, the hunger, the closing distance.

The closest I can think of, in terms of Getting It, is X-Factor. The hottest scene in all of the Krakoa era involves one (1) kiss and one person fully clothed in layers, and it's all because it is built around vulnerability and breaking down barriers instead of just tits and ass.

Anyways Stephanie Hans is an art behemoth and I am so happy she is just killing it over in Die with Gillen every single issue now

God

The raw emotion pouring off these panels is just absurd

Usually it's Kate's hair and outfit that foem the stark red contrasts in scenes but having the entire damn sky be blood red with the two of them in cool blues, with flashes of that red heat on their face, is beautiful

I appreciate that Kate didn't take the Bat to honor Bruce, before or after learning it was him under there.

She took it because she saw how powerful it was and wanted to clothe herself in that to help others. She didn't ask or genuflect, she just took it and made it her own.

Haaaaa, I like the fakeout where it seems like Kate has gone full fash in all of the glimpses of this DoFP style future but actually she's part of the resistance