Look, even to a DC Comics Zombie, the company's September relaunch can seem intimidating. The information is almost overwhelming—52 brand new books, a smattering of new characters interjected into the publisher's traditional roster, and completely new creative teams on almost every book. On top of that, the chances of all 52 (or even a high percentage) being worth buying is minuscule. So, for you gentle reader, I have taken the time to separate the wheat from the chaff, to isolate the cream of the crop, and to highlight the must-haves of the DCnU. Once a week, between now and the end of August, I will attempt to explain and justify my choices for the 15 most important books of DC's upcoming relaunch.
This week, the The Best of the Ancillary Bat-books: Batgirl, Batwoman, and Batman and Robin!
Batgirl (Gail Simone and Ardian Syaf)
Last month, as DC was revealing the books that would make up their New 52 relaunch, Tripp and I attempted to guess what books would be on the list. To me, a Batgirl book seemed like a no-brainer. After all, Brian Q. Miller's run on the book was making Stephanie Brown the most popular iteration of the character since the original Barbara Gordon character. While early indications implied that September would see a mixture of relaunch, re-branding and reboot, I was certain Batgirl would be one of the least changed. Steph was a fan favorite and Barbara Gordon was one of those rare characters that had transitioned successfully to a new persona in Oracle. Early revelations (and logic) implied that characters and books that worked well would be returning in the DCnU. As we have seen, Batman and Green Lantern are barely being touched. Then, when the first cover of new Batgirl was released with Barbara Gordon's rust colored hair instead of Steph's blonde, the comic book community went kerplooey. Because of Miller's recent run and Bab's beloved status as both Batgirl and Oracle, the new book is, without a doubt, the comic that has caused the most press of the DC Relaunch. Fittingly, it is also one of the books with the greatest potential.
The evolution of Barbara Gordon is a fascinating story. Like Jimmy Olsen and Perry White before her, Babs' origins are based in a separate medium from comic books. Her first appearance coincided with the third season of the popular Adam West Batman television series. Played by the lovely Yvonne Craig, she sported the iconic dark purple batsuit with long hair flowing out from under her cowl. Once Batgirl made her first appearance within the DCU proper, she became one of the company's most popular heroines. In the late 1980s Alan Moore had Joker paralyze her in the Killing Joke. (Spoiler alert, for those of you that have not read a comic book that is over twenty years old by this point, I guess.) Later creators would take Barbara and transform her into Oracle, the digital eyes and ears of the DCU. Way back in the late 1980s and early 1990s, Babs was capable of stuff Anonymous can only dreams about. Dennis O'Neil and Chuck Dixon would transition Oracle into her most famous roles—as one of Batman's biggest allies and the leader of The Birds of Prey, respectively.
While Oracle's role in the greater DCU has won many people over, it was not without its controversy. Gail Simone famously included Barbara on her list of Women in Refrigerators. The name refers to Alex Dewitt who was shoved into a fridge by Major Force as way to taunt her boyfriend Green Lantern Kyle Rayner. The Women in Refrigerators list catalogs female characters who were injured, depowered or otherwise came to violent ends. Simone was later given an opportunity to remedy the situation when she wrote Birds of Prey. She helped build Barbara/Oracle into one of the most powerful, respected, and popular members of the DC pantheon. As one of a very limited number of disabled characters in superhero comics, Oracle gained a very unique place in comic books. The idea of Barbara returning to her Batgirl role and DC's seeming plan to erase her Oracle years, has not sat well with many Babs fans.
Personally, I think the choice to return Barbara to her Batgirl role is a perplexing one. The powers-that-be-at-DC have stated that they wanted to return some of their characters to their most iconic versions—a decision I understand to an extent. Yet, it opens all kinds of weird questions. Is Barbara's most iconic persona Batgirl at this point? As a child of the 90s, to me, Barbara is Oracle. I was vaguely aware she was once Batgirl, but Oracle was much cooler and interesting. On top of that, there are an extremely limited number of characters that writers have been able to transition from one role to another as successfully as Barbara went from Batgirl to Oracle. Plus, Miller's pre-relaunch run on Batgirl was well received and had laid the groundwork from Stephanie Brown's rise to prominence. In my opinion, Batgirl is one of the few books where DC missed the point of their own relaunch.
Complicating things is the fact that Batgirl is going to be a good book. Taking the helm is none other than Gail Simone, one of the writers who had a hand in making Barbara Gordon's Oracle alter-ego so popular. If there is anyone that understands what makes Barbara an interesting character it is Simone. She has stated that she identifies with the character and all indications point to her requesting the assignment. Simone is as close to a cult-favorite I can think of within the comic book industry. Her run on Secret Six did not exactly sell like hotcakes, but the comic was consistently called the best book published by DC. (Incidentally, S6's disappearance in the DCnU is another perplexing choice on DC's part, but that's for a different post.) Over the last five years, Simone also had fan-favorite runs on Birds of Prey and Atom. Relative newcomer Ardian Syaf is slated to handle artistic duties on Batgirl. Since 2008, Syaf has been pretty prolific, mostly working for DC. His work has a nice finished look, smooth but detailed and he knows how to arrange pages well. Though it was very limited, they have worked together in the past—Syaf penciled issue 7 of Simone's Birds of Prey.
Bottom-line: Simone is well aware of the various sides of the Batgirl controversy. She will handle the character and her transition better than anyone else could. Few writers understand Barbara Gordon like Simone and she will treat the character with care. In the end, I hope she is able to please many of the fans of Oracle and Batgirl, and Babs and Steph.
Batwoman (J.H. Williams III, Haden W. Blackman, and Amy Reeder)
I think few people were surprised by Batwoman's inclusion in the DCnU. Rarely has a new character done so little and been so popular. First appearing in the 2006 year-long event 52, the new Batwoman was mostly famous for being a high-profile lesbian superhero...and little else. After appearing in several issues of 52, Kate Kane was relegated to guest-star status for a couple of years. It was not until 2009 that the new Batwoman was given a starring role in Detective Comics. In a now legendary run, Greg Rucka and J.H. Williams III took Batwoman and turned her into one of the most fascinating and exciting characters at DC. Adapting the original, somewhat one note, high-profile-lesbian premise and adding depth to it, Rucka and Williams created a series of comics that expanded the boundaries of comic books as an art-form. The issues were filled with Williams' gorgeous visual storytelling and the scripts were infused with a weight that only Rucka and a few other writers can achieve. With such a stellar creative team in charge, Batwoman seemed destined to have a meteoric rise within the DC family of characters.
Unfortunately, Batwoman's rise was not to be. Rucka and DC parted ways leaving a large part of the already planned story untold. Her run as the star of 'Tec ended in May 2010 and she was suddenly relegated back to guest-star status. Thankfully, a hope yet remained. Near the end of 2010 Batwoman #0 was released co-written and co-drawn by J. H. Williams III with Haden W. Blackman and Amy Reeder, respectively. Perhaps the most fascinating aspect of the book was that Williams drew the segments were Kate was Batwoman and Reeder drew her civilian life making for a beautiful mixture of visuals.
Sadly, the ongoing Batwoman title by Williams, Blackman and Reeder was seemingly delayed into oblivion. That is until September, when it will be resurrected as part of the DCnU. The creative team remains the same. Williams III is easily one of the best, if not the best, superhero comic artists working today. His early work resembled Tony Harris' 1990s style but has evolved into something wholly unique. His page layouts are spectacular—panels and pages flow into each other naturally. Reading a comic book drawn by Williams III is sometimes like reading a beautiful wall-filling mural. Reeder, while not quite as spectacular, fits the high-flying life style that Kate Kane lives in her daily life. Blackman who has made a name for himself writing Star Wars books for Dark Horse will keep the stories and scripting grounded (for lack of a better word). If you've listened to the podcast you may have heard me make a few snide remarks about artists turned writers, but Williams is not without scripting experience. He co-wrote a short-lived gem in the late 1990s titled Chase that was canceled before its time. Written in the deeply continuity-connected Starman mold, it featured a strong female character holding her own in the male dominated DCU. This bodes well for Batwoman. In the end, Batwoman will be the best drawn book of the DC Relaunch. It may lack the Detective Comics run's Greg Rucka punch, but it's scripting will be solid enough to not detract from it gorgeous presentation.
Batman and Robin (Peter Tomasi and Patrick Gleason)
Batman and Robin is the one book of the DC Relaunch that I am buying entirely for myself. That's not to say that I do not think it will be one of the better books of the DCnU. Rather that it is a book that I am buying completely because I want it. Sure, I am excited to read all of the books I am purchasing, but several of them are books that I have chosen very carefully because I think they will be important or particularly good. Batman and Robin is not one of those books. Don't get me wrong, I have no doubt it will be solid. Spectacular? ...eh, maybe.
The thing is, Batman and Robin has a pretty strong lineage. Originally, started back during Morrison's run as the main Bat-writer, it was a place to showcase Dick Grayson and Damian Wayne as a crime-fighting duo. Written by Morrison with art from a string of high profile artists, it was one of the best books DC published over the last few years. So, it's no surprise that Batman and Robin is one of the books that will be reintroduced in the DCnU.
With the advent of the New 52, the book is shifting to the writer artist team of Peter Tomasi and Patrick Gleason. As a pair, they had a long run on Green Lantern Corps, the secondary Green Lantern franchise book. Personally, I think GLC was a stronger comic than the main series—thanks mostly to the way the two books were plotted. Geoff John's Green Lantern was the book that had to deal with the major ongoing plot points, while Tomasi was allowed to explore the lives and events surrounding the Green Lanterns without having to move the main arch forward. He was able to play around with secondary characters and ideas that first appeared in Green Lantern without having to explain or introduce them. This made room for deeper character explorations and a more interesting cast of characters.
This could be a good sign. After all, the main Bat-book is Scott Snyder's Batman. Tomasi and Gleason will be able to tell stories on the outskirts of major stories. While Snyder handles the overarching Batman stories of the DCnU, Batman and Robin will most likely tell short but interesting stories starring Bruce and Damian Wayne. The other Bat-books will probably effect the book peripherally but, for the most part, I predict that B&R will be mostly self contained.
The thing is, Batman and Robin is positioned to be the second best Batman book of the DCnU. (At least until Batman Inc starts coming out again.) I know I harp on Daniel and Finch too much, but Tomasi's scripting is streets ahead of anything they can write. Meanwhile, Gleason is one of the best monthly artists in the industry. His art fit the alien worlds of DC's universe perfectly, and it should translate well to the grotesque world of Gotham. Gleason is the real selling point of B&R, in my opinion, but that does not mean Tomasi is not capable of writing spectacular comic books. His run on GLC and his Black Adam miniseries were very, very good. The bottom-line is this: Batman and Robin will be the second best Batman book published by DC for the foreseeable future. If you want self-contained, solid Batman stories, this is the place to get them. Add to that Gleason's art and a healthy dose of Damian Wayne and you have a book with a ton of potential.
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