Batwoman #2: The Streets Run Red With Bats

Jacob Kane is a man that has lived a hard life both in and out of his service uniform, despite that his love and faith in his daughter Kate is one thing that can soften his rougher edges. However, when Kate escapes the asylum and runs amok in the streets of Petalon, Jake might have to come to grips with the fact that his daughter may be lost to him forever.

Kate Kane is a character defined in both her supreme confidence in her abilities and her unwavering faith in her training as a soldier in a way that her cousin Bruce Wayne is not, but what happens when that confidence is shattered? What happens when Batwoman is afraid? Jacob Kane experiences the answer to that question firsthand, and it shakes him to his core.

Greg Rucka continues this story of mystery and violence in compelling fashion through the eyes of Jake Kane. What we see of Kate is a woman ruled by fear and anger, creating wanton destruction against her enemies, a pair of ancient societies known as the Daughters of Lillith and The Stone. There is no plan, just chaos that culminates in a horrific stalemate in the middle of the city that forces Kate to discard a key rule of the Bat. Kate is out of her emotional element and Rucka shows just how catastrophic that is.

Dani’s scratchy, realistic pencils add to the grit of this story. The characters’ emotions are clear on their faces and nothing is as it seems. The action is violently exciting and rough, with Kate displaying a level of brutality that she never has before. This is rough in the best way.