Batwoman: Volume 1 Hydrology
This version of Batwoman was part of DC’s New 52 reset that launched in 2011 (the “zero” issue that kicks this collection off came out in 2010, but details). As such it has to introduce us to a bunch of new versions of some old characters and define their relations to each other. This is always busy work that distracts us from any main storyline, which is what happens here. And that’s a shame because I was interested in the La Llorona plot and the whole merging of superhero and horror elements and I thought this got short shrift in the end.
Overall though I thought it was a really good comic. I did want more of the spooky La Llorona but all the world-building stuff was great. Kate Kane could have been a platform figure as a proud lesbian superhero but that part just plays as perfectly normal and not a big deal. She’s still a total sex bomb anyway, with an outfit that gives her torpedo tits with the high beams always on. The Department of Extranormal Operations feels like Hellboy’s B.P.R.D. rebranded and is a good fit for Director Bones. Batman remains a shadowy figure so he doesn’t take over, which was nice for a change. I thought the action scenes got confusing through shattered page layouts, but the fight between Flamebird and the Hook scored points for its brutal realism.
I didn’t know what to expect from this one since Batwoman isn’t a character I’ve ever followed much but Hydrology was a pleasant surprise and made me want to check out the next volume anyway. You can’t ask for much more from stuff like this.
Alex Good 
‘She’s still a total sex bomb anyway, with an outfit that gives her torpedo tits with the high beams always on’
What was it like for you writing the letters pages in Penthouse forum, and why did you stop?
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Unremunerative. Mr.Guccione didn’t believe in paying us drones very well.
Superheroines with zeppelin boobs have always been a thing, but here they’re pretty over-the-top, and the high beams look almost like they belong in Penthouse.
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Can you give me an example when they’re not over the top?
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Orca. Not because they weren’t huge but because I couldn’t tell if they were supposed to be boobs or pecs.
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The New52 was an abomination. I read the massive gn “Doomed” that took place in that era and it was horrible. Superman was about 12 years old, Lois Lane and Clark Kent weren’t a thing. The Foundations of DC were shaken, as it were. Of course, the various directions DC has since gone doesn’t make me feel much better either.
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There’s literally no keeping up with the various universes and reboots in the comic world now. I just dipped my toe into Marvel’s Secret Wars stuff recently and there was no way I was ever going to figure all that out.
I’ve read a bit of the New 52 and it seems hit and miss. Judged on its own, I thought this was a pretty good comic though.
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Is Batwoman the same as Batgirl but grown up?
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Nah, they’re different characters. Batgirl was Barbara Gordon and Batwoman Kate Kane, at least most of the time. Batgirl was more of a sidekick and Batwoman the more independent solo act.
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I didn’t know about Batwoman, I read about her somewhere once and thought it must be a typo and the B should be a C.I liked Catwoman.
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Totally different species!
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ah OK, I’m not a DC afficionado.
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