DC’s lesbian Batwoman wows with Batwoman: Elegy

When I first learned DC Comics had plans to introduce a lesbian Batwoman into its mix of superheroes and heroines, I was skeptical. The original Batwoman existed only to prove to the world and Comics Code Authority that Batman and Robin were heterosexual, despite the bare thighs and underoos — and she wasn't nearly as popular (or fab-ulous!) as Barbara Gordon, later Batgirl, later Oracle.

Not to mention that the Batman family was already growing more like Rabbit-Man's, a Robin here, a Batgirl there, arguably making the ol' Dark Knight a bit less… dark, and I feared it may be more a gimmick than a sign of the times. Was a character created who happened to be a lesbian — or was a lesbian created who happened to be a character?

There was only one way to find out. (Well, other than Google.) $2.99 and fifteen minutes of reading time. For six months. It began with Detective Comics #854, the first issue which featured Batwoman as the book's lead, and I quickly found that the issue was painful. Excruciating.

This article appears in Jul 1-7, 2010.