Rather good artwork (though it lacks the innovative layouts of previous volumes) and a rather average plot. The final issue began a different storyline (without closure), teasing a bleak futuristic Gotham, but it's hard to believe that's anything other than an avoidable future, so I'm not sure what stakes it really has. A pretty book to look at, but not as fun to read.

Aesthetically, this graphic novel is beautiful. The artwork really draws you in with all the ways it plays with red. Kate Kane, or Batwoman, is a redhead and frequently called a siren and the color theme really plays into that. Also, the story, at its core, is about passion, and regrettable pasts, and Kane trying to live up to the legacy of the Bat without becoming Batman herself. Kane's story takes us a little into her childhood and career(supposedly most of it is laid out in another volume? - which I did not read) but goes more into her lost year at an island somewhere off the coast of Malta - an idyllic paradise run by a warlord-consultant of sorts, and dips a little into a future where the Batman (Tim Drake) has roided out on law and order.

While I find the novel as a whole average, it is because I was enchanted by the artwork. The story itself left me feeling a bit 'meh'. It jumps around from past to future disconnectedly, and I was confused with what was happening a lot of the time. Knife's whole vendetta against Kate was built up and then reduced to petty jealousy - which is sad, because until then her whole anti-colonial narrative was way better.

In short, the story is disappointing but the artwork rescues it somewhat.

Received an advance reader copy in exchange for a fair review from DC Comics, via Netgalley.

Beautiful artwork, which is to be expected from a collection like this. I hadn't known anything about Kate Kane before, so some parts were confusing to follow. A great addition to broader representation of characters in the DC universe.

Batwoman (2017-) Vol. 1: The Many Arms of Death by Marguerite Bennett is a great read. An intense and complex storyline that is full of action, mystery and suspense. A deeply compelling look into Batwoman's past is accompanied by lush graphics that add to your reading pleasure. Join Batwoman and her assistant, Julia as she fights to stop the illegal sale of weapons in this action packed super heroine adventure. I am posting an honest review after reading an ARC copy of this book.

If Batman is too tame for you, then Batwoman will be right up your alley. Having not read about Batwoman before (apart from in the crossover event, Night Of The Monster Men), I found it very interesting how they managed to weave in her origin without making it purely an origin story.

Lets start with the art style. I have been constantly amazed by majority of the art style used in the DC Rebirth comics, and Batwoman took it to another level. At times it seemed to be like a better version of a watercolour painting, with things seamlessly blending together. The colours used complimented each other and Batwoman’s red hair did not overpower the panels.

The storyline was a tad hit-and-miss for me. Whilst I did enjoy reading about how and why Kate Kane decides to become Batwoman, the present day events surrounding the leftover Monster Venom is just confusing. Not much seemed to happen surrounding Batwoman finding the Monster Venom and what did occur seemed very anticlimactic compared to the history between the characters.

I suspect they story will just keep getting better from here, but worth the read just for the art work.

This is from an advance review copy for which I thank the publisher. This review was embargoed by the publisher until today's date of publication

While I enjoy the Marvel and DC comics super hero movies, I have a harder time with the comic books which originated these same heroes. Part of that problem is in the way the female characters are hyper-sexualized. I don't believe this is productive and it certainly isn't appreciated. The movies do great without it, so why do the comic books cling to it so desperately? It's not remotely necessary.

Batgirl (as Bat-girl) has been around since 1961, and Batwoman appeared even earlier, in 1956. It's a shame then that neither of these has made it to the big screen, a brief appearance in the old Batman TV show notwithstanding. I was thrilled to learn that Joss Whedon will write, direct and produce a Batgirl film and even more thrilled that it will be based on Gail Simone's comic book work. Unfortunately there's nothing on the roster for a Batgirl movie the DC Extended Universe before 2021 at least so, although schedules can change, it looks like we have to wait a while for that!

This is one reason why I was pleased to read this graphic novel with writing by Marguerite Bennett and James Tynion IV, and art by Steve Epting, Stephanie Hans, and Renato Arlem, so we have at least one female writer and a female artist involved, and it shows. I was hoping for something a bit better than your usual fare and thankfully, I got it with this.

With the roaring success of Christopher Nolan's Batman trilogy, which had some strong female characters, I was hoping for female super heroes from that world to arrive in its wake. Batwoman would have seemed like an obvious follow-up, but instead DC seems to have opted for more Batman movies instead. Until we get Batman's female counterpart on the screen, we have the graphic novels, and that's why I think it's critical that we get more like this one.

In a very small way, this is an origin story, but the origin is conveyed in a series of touching single frame images with a palette as red as Kate Kane's hair: Kate at age nine, shooting a bow, at twenty in the military, and at twenty-seven crashing into the frame as Batwoman. But something is missing, and this crashes into the story on the next pages. A car is rammed by a truck, parents and a child are kidnapped, a mom dead. Next, Kate is depicted in unarmed combat at West Point. It's all disjointed, as is Kate.

Because of this disjunction, I had, I confess, a bit of a hard time getting into the story, but it found its footing quickly - or I did, one or the other! There is a new drug on the street: Monster Venom - and it can literally do what its name says: turn people into monsters. In order to fight it, Batwoman finds that she has to revisit one of her own points of origin: the island of Coryana in the Mediterranean. Here she confronts more than just her past.

This novel contains not only the expected - and hoped for - action scenes, it also carries with it a journey into memory and pain, disillusionment and determination. And Batwoman proves equal to what's asked of her, even to the female villain who is like a breath of fresh air as villains go. I'd like to see more of her.

It's reassuring to know there's someone we can count on, especially since Batwoman seems to have her head together more than Batman does despite her traumatic history and self-doubt. I liked this story and I recommend it. The story not only works, it's intelligent and has depth, and the art and coloring, by Jeromy Cox and Adriano Lucas not only complement the story all the way, they bring it to visual life. I look forward to more stories like this one. Hopefully we won't have to wait on Joss Whedon to get them!

I've been a fan of Batwoman since the Elegy storyline, I guess, and I followed the character through the Williams run in the New 52, after which the series fizzled and I lost track of her. I was happy to see the Rebirth version coming back and was anxious to jump into it. Having Bennett and Tynion behind it seemed like extra incentive.

It's a rather strange story, though. It's supposed to be a jumping on point (and I'm guessing yet another soft reboot), but it felt a little off and certainly not introductory to me. I almost felt like my mild familiarity with past storylines and characterizations was a hindrance. I found myself unable to invest in this story or the unremarkable new characters.

There's some compelling art and a plot that might have worked if it had been told differently, so I wouldn't give up on the series.

To further weaken the collection, it includes an issue that, from what I had to dig up online, sets up a story that will take place in Detective Comics, so it won't be continued in Batwoman, doesn't seem interesting anyway, and feels like a waste of time. I'm glad to see Kate back in her own series, but I'd have been happier had it gotten off to a better start.

Much darker version of Batwoman which suits her, wa sgreat to see an insight into her past but I wanted to see more of Pax Batmana!

Loved the artwork, beautifully done. The red is used so wonderfully and to great effect.
I’ve loved Kate as Batwoman since I walked into my local comic shop and the owner promised me I’d love Elegy or I’d get my money back. Kate is tough and thinks differently from Bruce and is a different type of bat then him, but that’s alright. We don’t need two Batman’s, we really really don’t.
I like how Kate loves and who she has loved has such an impact on her story. I liked a lot about this story, it felt a little disjointed at parts and if I’d just been reading this as issues I might not have gotten very far but being able to go to one part after another kept me from giving up too soon. I’m glad I’d been keeping up with detective comics though and have other friends who are super into comics, it helped keep me from being too lost at the end.
I’m curious to see how this will all play out and where the story is going to go, I’m happy to see Kate in her own storyline again too.

I am so disappointed in this rebirth. First off it does not feel like a rebirth. It feels like you have jumped into a story 1- years old. Lots of plot lines and so many holes. Almost as if you have to read other books at the same time to know what is going on. Plus, I expect new things with a rebirth title. Kate being drummed out of the military for being gay is no longer valid in these time. The writers could have come up with a new reason. Plus Batwoman only seems to want a girl, or to get revenge. This is all over the place, and I don’t want to be in any of them.

While I was excited for the return of Batwoman in the DCU's Rebirth this just didn't live up to my expectations. I found the first half of this volume to be very boring with the lesbian romance story. I mean the romance between Kate and Montoya was more believable. The artwork was a nice touch and the very ending storyline which was started also salvaged what would have been a 2 star rating from me. I will look forward to reading the second volume as that story did catch my interest.

Having wandered from comics for a few years I kept up reading about what was taking place while still not reading the comics coming out. One item of note was that there was a new Batwoman in town and this time rather than be a love interest for Batman she would be a lesbian as well as Jewish in an attempt to diversify characters at DC. To my knowledge this wasn’t the first time a lesbian appeared in a comic but being the world of Batman it made a splash.

Introduced during their 52 saga with her own series following it seems like the character garnered sales with the announcement of who she was and her sexual situation but never really took off afterwards. Still, sales were enough to continue using the character and now with the Rebirth storyline going on she’s back again.

This book collects the story to date with us learning more about Kate Kane aka Batwoman and her life prior to her return to Gotham. It is a year unaccounted for but that we now learn about. Shipwrecked off Coryana, an island known to be a safe haven for criminals of all sorts, she is taken in by its unofficial queen, Safiyah. Not only does she mend physically and mentally, she also because entangled romantically with her benefactor to the displeasure of Tahani, an earlier lover and rescuee of Safiyah.

We learn most of this in flashback as the real nature of the story is about Kate returning to Coryana, now controlled by a major corporation known as the Kali Corporation. When Kate left it resulted in Safiyah leaving as well and with no one to protect the island from outside interference Kali came in. But the corporation is a front for a terrorist organization that Tahani, now called Knife, belongs to. And their intentions for Coryana are not near the noble goals that they claim.

The artwork here is quite good and does the Batman family proud. The story is more involved than one would expect with less concern about action and detective work than it is about the personal history of Kate Kane. While not overly indulgent there is plenty or romance involved here. Those who find this offensive will surely be so but others will understand this is a story about something that happens in life. It’s real. At the same time this is a different type of Batman story in that most of his adventures had little to do with romance though it popped up on occasion.

Kate Kane is an interesting characters and this compilation of issues could make a nice starting point for those interested to learn more about her and her past. Well put together my only issue with the compilation is the sudden departure at the end. Not reading comics on a weekly basis perhaps I missed something but we change for the Coryana story to one of a future where a Batman-like fascist regime has taken over half of Gotham, marching bootjacks and all, and Kane has returned to take on this new Batman. The complete 180 in storyline with only one issue covering this made me wonder what was going on. Other than that the books is solid.

This was a really solid volume. I loved the art, and the story was pretty cohesive. I found the end to be a bit jarring, but intriguing enough that I am excited for the second volume.

Thank you to Net Galley and DC for the chance to read Batwoman Volume 1. This is my honest review.

I'm more of a Marvel Reader than a DC reader, but have found myself reading more DC this year than I have in years. Some of it has been great, but some kinda meh. I think this is the perfect mix of that trend.

There are certain things I enjoyed. I mostly enjoyed the art and I enjoyed some elements of the character and story. The overall impression wasn't really bad, but it was a bit underwhelming. I'm not sure if it was the pacing or the story structure. There wasn't really anything here that made me want to read more.

Hello and welcome back to my latest blog about this awesome Comic book. This book is a look at Katherine Kane and her history in the DC World. Even though it is Katherine History, its like an updated version of Katherine. The art work makes Katherine look even more badass then she originally was. It gives us this beautiful modern version of a favorite classic DC character.

I rated this book a four out five stars, and yes I will be buying it. It will be my very first comic ever. I loved how intense the art is in this book. How vibrant Katherine as a person has become. She will forever be one of my favorite Batman Females now because of this book. I seriously cant wait to own it.

Tea Love and Books Meli

I love the rebirth series and this is just another thrilling volume. I look forward to future volumes

I could not get the download to open so could not read or review it.

So not read much on Batwoman before - lots on Catwoman so this was a departure for me. What a great read however. This is a great place to start if you are unfamiliar with her story as it gives a lot of background.and shows her past. Brilliantly written and a captivating story that did not flag and kept me engrossed all the way to the end. I am now hooked and an avid fan. This story leads the reader to believe there will be a lot more to come and this is merely an introduction....I certainly hope so.!

I really didn't have any preconceived notions when starting to read this. I understood that there was a tie-in with Batman, but didn't expect it to be too much (it wasn't in this book, but I expect more in later books). This definitely seemed more of a build the character book, trying to write a new story for Batwoman.

Perhaps I'm not the Batman (or Batwoman) kind of person. I didn't find the book, or the story, all that engaging. The artwork and lettering were very good, and helped carry some of the story. A number of the panels were worth the "read" just for art.

I couldn't help but feel that most of the main (female) characters were cut from the same cloth. I'm not sure they were done "justice". Granted, it is a builder book, and I hope that we see some differentiation in the characters soon.

Though certainly a major improvement over the Batwoman New 52! arc, I still didn't really get into this story. And that's a shame, because I feel like the way that Batwoman has been incorporated into the Bat-family in the Rebirth line has been quite good so far.
I guess I feel like the biggest problem with this story is that it feels very contrived. The idea of an island run by a warlord (warlady?) that everybody just adores as they work for is a bit silly, and the fact that Kate conveniently ended up there and had a romantic fling with that warlord back in her youth really just pushes things over the edge, especially when it all ties in to the Monster Men venom dealings around the world (an aspect of the story that quickly gets abandoned). There were some cool things that happened, but as a whole it just felt very forced.
I must say that the story teased at the beginning and end of this collection about the future Kate leading a militaristic force in an internally wartorn Gotham piqued my interest, but I am worried that story will also get too silly to enjoy reading it very quickly.