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I have some mixed feelings about this one. I'll start with the good.

This Batwoman was an entirely new character to me. Apparently she'd shown up in 52, but I avoided that and so went in knowing nothing. And Kate Kane is a really likeable character. The big news when she was introduced was the fact that she's a lesbian. I was honestly relieved to discover that it's not a major plot point or source of drama: she simply is a lesbian. It only becomes an issue in her backstory, when she falls afoul of Don't Ask, Don't Tell. And even that is beautifully understated, in a way that makes it even more emotionally resonant and honest. I also like how her motivations for crime fighting differ from Batman's: like Superman, she fights crime because of a sense of duty, not because of a tramatic past.

The art is just fantastic. It's stylish and atmospheric. There's a definite effort to make Batwoman every bit as iconic as Batman, with her very white skin, blood red hair, and black and red costume. If this version of Batwoman really takes off, it'll be easy to recognize her in even very short appearances. That's good, obviously. It's a dull superhero indeed who isn't instantly recognizable. The art is even great in Kate's private life. Some of the best panels in the entire book deal with her personal life. I'm thinking especially of the ones where she has to leave the army, and later comes out to her father. They're silent, subtle, and powerful. However, the layouts can sometimes get a bit too clever for their own good, getting a touch confusing. Doesn't happen often, though.

The storyline here is a continuation of her appearances in 52, which can be a bit of a barrier to a new reader like myself. I mean, werewolves show up out of nowhere, and how am I supposed to deal with that in a Bat book? Some more context would have been nice. It also ends very abruptly, but this is just the first few issues of an ongoing series. Obviously, this is meant to be the start of a great mythology. It isn't exactly compelling, though.

That can be mostly attributed to the villain that's the focus here. Her name is Alice, and she speaks only in lines from the Alice books. She seems to be an attempt to make a character every bit as striking and menacing as Joker (she even has white facepaint) with trendy Alice in Wonderland references. She just doesn't work for me. I have a hard time believing that somebody who speaks only in quotes from a Victorian children's book could plan, let alone communicate, the evil plot Alice has in this book. Her connection to Batwoman is way too neat to be plausible, too.

This could be a really great book, but it falls just a little short. Part of that is probably because it is part of what is meant to be an ongoing story, and maybe reading it all together would help. But the unconvincing villain would need to be improved first.