Batwoman: Volume 1 - Hydrology

J.H. Williams III and W. Haden Blackman (Authors), J.H. Williams III (Illustrator), D.C. Comics (Publisher)

Hydrology draws on the legend of La Llorona, a woman who, after being spurned by her cheating husband, drowns her children in a fit of rage. Dumbstruck by grief, the woman then drowns herself. La Llorona has been reclaimed by academia as a feminist archetype, fighting the ideal that a woman can only be purely good, or purely bad. As Batwoman, Kate Kane – who is former military and identifies as lesbian–certainly challenges the ideals we may have about superheroes. The artwork in Hydrology is magnificent, especially when the artists choose to mix multiple styles on the same page. The best example: When Kane is enjoying a sexual encounter with an old girlfriend, the panels are wrought in romantic, smudgy, old-fashioned black and white, but those dreamy panels are dropped in over traditional flashy bang! pow! scenes of comic book action. The juxtaposition furthers unconscious assessment of the story, asking you to question where Kane would rather be: enjoying an intimate encounter, or bringing justice to the streets. But that’s precisely where the reclamation of La Llorona as a feminist archetype is important to our understanding of the story. As a woman, Kane should be allowed to be a lover and a fighter. She should not be required to choose between the two.