Batwoman #35 Review

Written by: Marc Andreyko
Art by: Georges Jeanty
Cover Price: $2.99
Release Date: October 15, 2014

...in Space

Batwoman is one of my favorite books.  I enjoy it for what it is, a street level adventure that is equal parts dealing with the everyday struggles of life and balancing that with being a superhero.  While I have enjoyed Marc Andreyko's run (dare I say as much as J.H. Williams'), the last couple issues have turned the book upside down, on it's side and upside down again.  I haven't agreed with everything he's done, but it is Andreyko's book and I'm glad to see him take it from Williams' shadow and into his own territory.  Now that Futures End is over (thank God), we can get back to our stories which means Batwoman in...Space?



I'll admit it, I'm a huge sucker for any character shot into Space.  Muppets, Jason, Animal Man...you put an established character in Space and it usually equals fun.  This issue proves that point once again.  Batwoman and a great group of characters start the issue fighting some crazy villains (in Space) and it's awesome.  Marc Andreyko throws the reader into Space alongside them without explaining anything and I like it.

Batwoman's team consists of Etrigan, Black Alice, Clayface and Ragman.  Now that's diversity for you.  Again, Andreyko doesn't tell us anything else about the team, but I am very interested in finding out more.  We do get the main villain, who will be very familiar to Etrigan and Demon Knights fans, and while we see what's she's after, that too is shrouded in mystery.

The bulk of the issue is just a back-and-forth fight that ends with a death and a desperate attempt to get the team back to Earth.  Once again, the cliffhanger doesn't even promise that the team will survive, but it doesn't matter because the next issue is going to show how it all began.  I usually cry foul at such nonsense, but I want to see it so I'll just shut my mouth and look forward to next month.

Again, I'm a sucker for "...in Space" so this issue is right up my alley.  I also enjoy a good show me, don't tell me story so I'm intrigued for next month.  I know that this issue is a huge departure from the norm of this book and while it's not a complete fresh start, it still feels new enough to excite me.  In the end, though, this month is a bit story lite, but I'll save full judgement until we find out what got her into Space in the first place.

Georges Jeanty is taking over from one of my favorites, Jeremy Haun and this first issue was a bit of a disappointment.  Jeanty's rough around the edges style is not what I've grown accustomed to in this book and may take a bit to get used too.  It also doesn't help that there were three colorists on this issue.

Bits and Pieces:

Batwoman in Space is a fun premise and that coupled with a pretty awesome team make for an issue that's high on mystery, but low on actual story.  I am excited to see the bigger picture in the near future, but I hope the art improves a bit because what we got so far was a little rough around the edges.  In the end, Marc Andreyko has me intrigues enough to come back next month to see how all this craziness came to be.

6.9/10