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So, I picked this up after reading some of the hype about how Batwoman is a lesbian and it is awesome, but I kind of felt like it was just ok and maybe people were overreacting to the whole thing in general. One of the interesting things about Batwoman is that it is one of the few comic books that actually uses a full-on cover style of art throughout the entire book. And like any comics fan, there have definitely been a lot of times when I've bought a comic based on the cover art and felt sort of disappointed that the entire book couldn't be drawn in that same cool, elaborate style. But reading Batwoman, I think I actually get why most comics DON'T try to do that and not just because of the production values of creating and printing it.

While I really do think the Batwoman art style would look gorgeous as a poster on the wall or as a cover and I like her character design a lot, I think using that same art style throughout the main narrative of the book is actually kind of jarring. I mean, I really appreciate artistic flourishes in comic books. I appreciate the unique stylistic touches comic book artists put in. I can dig a creative layout. And not only that, I think comic book artists SHOULD be experimenting with that stuff and pushing the boundaries and really striving not just to illustrate the story, but to tell the story through the art. However, I also think that sometimes when artists get too caught up in the look of the comic book it can actually start to get in the way of your immersion into the story. By the time I finished reading the book, my eyes felt exhausted by taking in all of the colors and slick graphics and layout designs. It is kind of like when you get a huge piece of an incredibly rich chocolate torte. The first couple bites are amazing, but by the time you finish the whole slice you're really grossed out.

In terms of the writing, the story felt like pretty standard comic book fare to me. Ok story, but not really knocking my socks off and the whole don't ask, don't tell component felt a bit forced to me. I did enjoy getting the chance to read about a lesbian superhero character I guess, but as a long-time Hothead Paisano, maybe not as novel or important seeming to me as it was to some folks who place a higher value on the "mainstream" comics industry. I also kind of felt like the radical potential of having a lesbian superhero was also a bit dampened for me by the fact that she's Batwoman, a female retread of a male mainstay of superhero comics. I mean, yes it's cool she's a lesbian, but she's also not really a hero in her own right, but still a weird, ghettoized offshoot of the big tent in the circus. Call me when one of the big, main male superheros turns out to be gay or when a female superhero really breaks into superstardom in her own right.