Batwoman #5

by Hussein Wasiti on July 19, 2017

Writers: Marguerite Bennett and James Tynion IV
Artist: Stephanie Hans
Letterer: Deron Bennett
 
This was, quite frankly, a boring and useless issue. We know about the relationship between Kate and Safiyah and how much they mean to each other, yet Marguerite Bennett and James Tynion insist of showing us what it's all about. The history behind their relationship was mysterious and I liked the fact that it was  previously unknown to me. Here we get their initial meeting presented to us, and their relationship deflates. 
 
This story is told from the point of view of Safiyah, and it was a chore to get through. Some of her dialogue went on and on and was poorly written.
 
Stephanie Hans is an artist I have little experience with. She did the covers to Batman #14 and #15, which I didn't like, and she did some art in the Wonder Woman Annual #1, which I thought was fine. She gets to do a whole issue here, and her art was mostly good. I find her art fantastic when presented as more stylised; the reds and oranges of the sun look stunning. When in other environmental situations, it can look a little less refined.
 
I'm just bummed we had to go back to the Safiyah/Coryana/Tahani story AGAIN after it was so poorly handled in the opening arc of the series. Going back to this story was extremely pointless and was simply filler. I think we should give this team of writers one more arc before deciding if they're right for the book or not. Tynion can't even write her well in Detective Comics.
 
In one of the most skippable issues I've ever read, Bennett and Tynion decide to go back to Coryana for yet another story featuring Safiyah and Tahani. Hans' art is worth looking at but you should avoid this issue entirely.
 

Our Score:

4/10

A Look Inside

Comments

I completely disagree with all of this. This first arc was really enjoyable and this issue provides some much-needed context for Kate's past time on the island. But what really got to me was this line: "Tynion can't even write her well in Detective Comics." Huh? Tynion writes her excellently in Detective, and has from the start of his run. His Kate is right in line with how she was written under Rucka and Williams/Blackman. Bennett writes her very well too, for the record.