Batwoman: Everything You Need To Know

2. Batwoman's Comics - Where Do New Readers Start?

Though the comics medium has a somewhat-deserved reputation for being particularly difficult to access, with decades' worth of continuity, confusing reboots, relaunches and redesigns making collecting a difficult prospect for newcomers, the good news is that because Batwoman is a relatively new creation, it's really easy to devour their greatest hits in no time at all.

Fans looking to explore the character should consider giving '52' a read, but it shouldn't be considered essential. For most fans, their first port of call should be Batwoman: Elegy, the first collection of stories written by the formidable Greg Rucka. DC have recently reprinted this story and other Rucka Batwoman tales in Batwoman by Greg Rucka and J.H. Williams III, and it's really where the character first took off.

Somewhat confusing, however, is the way the publisher have numbered these collections. Despite picking up almost immediately where 'Elegy' left off, Batwoman: Hydrology (written by Hayden Blackman and Williams) is referred to as Vol. 1. You can thank the New 52 for confusing everyone in that regard, but it's still a wonderful book, and sparked what would become a four volume stint on the character in the following months, with To Drown the World, World's Finest, and This Blood is Thick rounding off a truly epic and defining tale in Batwoman's relatively short vigilante career.

Blackman and Williams would depart the book (and thus leave their run without a definitive conclusion), after DC Editorial shockingly refused to allow Kate Kane to marry longtime partner Maggie Sawyer in their conclusive final arc. Following this came only cursory appearances in various Bat-media, but when the New 52 made way for DC Rebirth in 2016, Kate finally returned to the spotlight and reclaimed her own solo comic, written by James Tynion IV and Marguerite Bennett.