Tasked by Batman to find and take down an evil international crime ring, Kate Kane aka Batwoman discovers the case is far more complicated — and personal — than she expected.

This book starts with basically a recap of the Kate Kane/Batwoman origin story as introduced in the New 52 run of the character. (Although I do think the “Reader’s Digest” version they give here could be a bit confusing if you hadn’t read those previous books.) This establishes the background and continuity, while adding a new wrinkle of the “lost year” in the Kate Kane story. This is a period between Kate’s being kicked out of the military and before her transformation into the Batwoman. Here this Rebirth run invents the new character of Safiyah (new if, unlike me, you hadn’t watched the TV series and met her there) and her relationship with Kate.

As this book does a lot of recapping and backfilling, it seems to take a while before it really gets going. Once it did, I started getting quite invested in it. Then it takes a hard left turn in the final issue, with a story about a Gotham run by an evil Batman, which isn’t picked up again in Volume 2, so I can’t make hide nor hair why it showed ip randomly here.

Illustrations are good overall. ( )

I was pretty excited about this one after enjoying [b:Batwoman: Elegy|6911529|Batwoman Elegy|Greg Rucka|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1492568441s/6911529.jpg|7137063] so much. Ultimately, I was very disappointed. The artwork was great but the story didn't do it for me at all. I didn't enjoy the writing, the story, or the characters. But I loved the art. So there's that.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the digital ARC. ( )

Katherine Kane is on a quest to track down who might be selling dangerous weapons on the black market. In the course of her investigation she's drawn back to the island that used to be run by a former lover and that has now been taken over by a corporation whose goals are darker than they seem.

I spent this entire volume being So Lost. In theory there's an explanation of Batwoman's backstory thus far at the beginning of the volume but it's done in weird comic panels with insufficient text and I couldn't wrap my brain around what was going on or even who Batwoman is. And then the final comic included in the volume involves a jump forward into the future and I got even more lost. Probably more enjoyable for those who are deeply immersed into the whole Batman universe but not a great entry point. ( )

Batwoman gets the standalone treatment here in this DC Rebirth title where she has to find out where some new weapons are coming form. Her search takes her to Coryana, an outlaw island (think: a pirate’s paradise) where she spent some time a few years ago while in a relationship with Safiyah. Safiyah is the unofficial leader of Coryana, and is no longer to be found on the island when Kate Kane (Batwoman) returns. It seems Kate left some enemies behind on Coryana when she left the island several years ago.

First of all, I really like the artwork in this comic series. The story starts slow at first, mostly because it takes an issue or two to introduce Kate and the supporting cast properly. The book ends with a mystery and I’m eager to continue to learn who is really behind The Many Arms of Death. ( )

I want to extend a special thank you to DC Comics and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC of this book!

This should have been a slam dunk on paper, guys. When I read that DC’s “Rebirth” series was going to jump start Batwoman (after cancelling her during the “New 52” run), I was happy. When I found out that it was going to be written by Marguerite Bennett of “DC Bombshells” fame, I was ELATED!! Not only do I love the “DC Bombshells” series, as you all know, I really love what has been done with Batwoman/Kate Kane within it. Kate Kane is a super great and super important superhero, as she is tough as nails and also an out and proud lesbian, and seeing her get a series again is great. I love Kate Kane and I love that she is getting page time.

But sadly, I don’t love how her story has picked up in “Rebirth”. In fact, I was pretty underwhelmed by it. AND I DO NOT UNDERSTAND IT BECAUSE IT IS BATWOMAN AND IT IS MARGUERITE BENNETT!

I think that my mistake was thinking that since Bennett was taking the lead that it would have a similar tone to “Bombshells”. It decidedly does not. In fact, this is some pretty dark and gritty stuff going on on these pages. I’m vaguely resentful because I gave up on “Batwoman” during her “New 52” run because it was so bleak, dark, and scattered, and I hoped that it would bring focus back to Kate, Bette, and Maggie Sawyer. But, alas, Bette and Maggie are mentioned only in passing, and Kate is on the hunt for traffickers of Monster Venom, which has spiked in usage and is causing a lot of trouble. The group is called the Many Arms of Death, and Kate is on the case! This, however, brings us to a spike in Kate’s own past, as she returns to an island that she spent some time on with Safiyah, the leader of a rowdy band of outlaws, during her search. Safiyah and Kate were lovers during Kate’s stint (captivity?) on this island, and now Safiyah has disappeared… Though some old faces remain, and are determined to cause trouble for Kate, just as a looming corporation has plans for the island. I mean, fine, okay, but I kind of liked it when Batwoman was doing her own thing in Gotham, and wasn’t being told what to do by Bruce Wayne. International drug traffickers and corrupt executives doesn’t really get my goat in my comics, and I couldn’t really bring myself to get invested in this entire storyline. I did like seeing Julia Pennyworth, Alfred’s daughter, acting as Batwoman’s sidekick. She provides some very fun humor and snark to go along with the brooding angst that Kate brings us (there’s a rather funny joke she has regarding ‘creepy twin bingo’ and a square that says ‘weird incest vibes’). But it was a small solace in a storyline that just had me more bored than anything else.

AND THEN, after we got through that bit (for now) and finally made our way BACK to Gotham, we jumped ahead to some kind of strange dystopian future where Batwoman is helping fight against some new, corrupt Batman (who is not Bruce Wayne). I’m sure that this will all play out and make sense as time goes on, but I’m not so sure that I’m at all interested in THAT kind of storyline either.

I do want to reiterate that I love Kate Kane. I love that she has been changed from an inept and shallow love interest to Batman to a strong, driven warrior in her own right. I also like seeing her woo and court and kiss and flirt with so many ladies, as that’s the perfect mirror to the original ‘Bruce Wayne As Playboy’ trope that she initially was written to fall for back in the day. I want to love these new stories for her because I want Batwoman to succeed and live up to her awesomeness. But the way it’s happening here outside of “Bombshells” just isn’t meeting the wants and needs I have for an entertaining comic, and I’m very sad about that.

I should mention, however, that some of the art in this is absolutely beautiful. Stephanie Hans did this issue in the collection, and I just love the dreamlike quality to it.

I’m sorry to say that the new “Batwoman” arc in “Rebirth” just may not be for me. I have some time before the next trade comes out to ruminate on whether or not I’m going to continue, but as of right now I may just need to stick with “DC Bombshells” for my Kate Kane fix. I wish her all the best and all the success that she deserves, though. ( )