COMIC BOOK REVIEW - Batwoman: To Drown The World
Alright, so it’s been a while since I read a novel from this series, but I was keen to see what the next novel in the Batwoman Series had to offer. From what I’ve heard and seen, it seems that the CW adaptation has been garnering an impressive number of fans, so whilst you guys wait for me to watch the next season of that, I thought it was time to return to the comics. The last novel, ‘Hydrology’ sees Batwoman turn down working with Batman, and start working with the D.E.O. in Gotham!
‘To Drown The World’ continues where our last story left off. Kate Kane, aka Batwoman, is still being blackmailed by Agent Chase of the D.E.O. into working with them as opposed to Batman, and in return, Chase won’t go after Kate’s father. Batwoman and Chase are teaming up to solve the mystery of the missing kids in Gotham. Also on the case is Kate’s girlfriend and Gotham cop, Maggie Sawyer. Maggie doesn’t know about Kate’s alter-ego which is probably a good thing given that she’s head of the special unit tasked with bringing Batwoman in. During this particular mission, Batwoman discovers that a mysterious group known as Medusa have been responsible for the missing children, and using some sort of mystic arts to enhance humans and other sorts, including Killer Croc. The enhancement causes these individuals to become monsters, and their transformation aids to power the leader of Medusa; a man named Christopher Falchion. In an attempt to get closer to Falchion and Medusa, Agent Chase identifies a former member named Sune, who Medusa are now trying to off. Batwoman rescues her and the three of them join forces to take down Falchion. Sune has magical abilities and tells Kate that she wishes to get revenge on Falchion. The pair get their chance soon enough when they’re discovered and have to battle him. He’s quickly dispatched only to be replaced with someone else! The new leader commands all the forces of Medusa to go after Batwoman and she has to fight tremendously hard to survive. Meanwhile, Bette Kane, aka Flamebird and Kate’s former sidekick, lies in a coma, with only her uncle Jacob coming to visit her. In an attempt to reconcile his issues with Kate, he spends his time reading to Bette in the hope that she’ll wake up from her coma. Can Kate survive Medusa’s plan? And can Jacob do the impossible and wake up his niece?
The first thing to be said is that the novel switches between several characters’ stories, which I don’t mind. What I did find a tad frustrating was that the stories were also switching from different time points which made the entire thing quite confusing. That way by the time you get to the end of the novel, you can’t figure out what exactly happened when. That being said, I have to say I rather enjoyed the fact that we see Batwoman, who’s traditionally considered a street-level character, carry out missions against supernatural threats. I know Gotham has always had a history with the mystic, but it’s nice to have a Bat-Family member be immersed in that world!
From an artwork perspective, I’d say that I was a fan of the colour style, however, there were certainly panels where I wasn’t particularly feeling it. The covers on the other hand were decent, and some of them really carried that supernatural feel to them. Overall, this was an interesting novel and certainly an intriguing step for Batwoman. Where the story goes from here remains to be seen!
Favourite Panel:
We very rarely get moments like this, especially from characters like Major Kane.
Favourite Character:
It’s obviously Batwoman, although I will say that’s more due to the lack of supporting cast more than anything!
Rating:
Story Arc: 11/20
Character Development: 13.5/20
Artwork: 12/20
Enjoyability: 9/20
Re-readability: 8.5/20
Overall: 54/100
Level: Advanced