Batwoman, Vol. 4: This Blood Is Thick (2014) - Plot & Excerpts
If this is anyone's idea of great sequential storytelling, they're fooling themselves. This final arc from JH Williams and W. Haden Blackman is more of the same overblown storytelling that struggles with simple transitions, logic, and sense. I kept checking back while reading to make sure someone hadn't removed pages from the book I was reading. Nope, it's just that shabbily constructed narratively that it feels like it was published out of coherent order. This monthly was hemorrhaging readers and it's easy to see why.There was much ballyhoo when Williams left the book, with him claiming DC didn't want him to feature a lesbian wedding. I think they were more concerned with the fact that given his inability to write well, if they were going to do it, DC would rather have it done well than have it done by Williams and Blackman. Now this is more like it! This is exactly what I was asking for (see my Vol 3 review). No more spirits or monsters! This volume brought a gritty real-world plot to bear, and not only that just looking at the mere cover you can see the truth: Kate's up for a big personal struggle in this one.SPOILER ALERT!This one really hit home for me. One of my favorite story arcs for the current Batwoman series is the one concerning her sister. That's a huge part of what drew me to these comics when I first picked them up. Kate lost her sister, the person most dear to her in the world. Her sister was brutally taken away from her. After a time, she realizes who is at fault for this: her own father. Even though the initial act was not committed by him, she still holds him responsible for much of it. She feels nearly uncontrollable hate and anger towards her father for this reason. She will stop at nothing to get her sister back, even going so far as to be willing to destroy Batman himself if it can save her sister. These are things that I unfortunately understand very well at this period in my life. In this, Kate and I are of a similar mind.Beyond that, though, she fights Batman! BATMAN! She almost stabs out his eye (seriously, how did his eye NOT get ripped out?), and the comic ends with them fighting. AAGGH! Cliffhanger! But this is a great subplot, forces every reader to realize how desperate Kate is to get her sister back.The only thing I wonder is, this one was so world-shaking for Kate, so very close to home for her, will the following storylines be able to meet or exceed these expectations? We can't always have a Batwoman equivalent of The Dark Knight (film), so how will the writers pull it off next time? A mere cliffhanger doesn't make a good comic, episode, or story. We shall see, I suppose?
What do You think about Batwoman, Vol. 4: This Blood Is Thick (2014)?
Great story. I never would've seen this coming. Kate's sister is alive,and she's a prisoner of DEO.
—utsava
This was *going* to have an epic showdown between Bruce and Kate. *sigh* Stupid DC editorial.
—taylor
Are you kidding me? That's the end?! Holy cliffhanger, Batman!
—xmanxxx
