Okay, I guess the Zero Year tie in is actually in this collection. My bad! This is what happens when you read on Comixology.

Anyhow, the wrap up for the Batwoman/Batman stuff ends up being good but kind of bizarre, and we get an okay storyline with Batwoman chasing art thief Wolf Spider around, which ends up having some good fight scenes. Ultimately, I think the book is pretty weak without Williams and Blackman, but this was an okay place to stop. ( )

Batwoman Vol. 5: Webs (The New 52) by Marc Andreyko (illustrated by Jeremy Haun and Trevor McCarthy) is a continuation of the story of Kate Kane, the new Batwoman who is not so much part of the Bat family. This graphic novel collects issues of Batwoman #25 – #34 as well as Batwoman Annual #1.

I was on my merry way to reading the graphic novels in this series and was very glad to borrow Batwoman Vol. 5: Webs (The New 52) by Marc Andreyko (illustrated by Jeremy Haun and Trevor McCarthy) from my friend. I noticed was that the creative team has changed, which could go either way – I’m always game.

The first thing I noticed is that this Batwoman is not the same Batwoman that has been established in the previous graphic novels. She’s corny, has some cheesy lines and the stories seemed rushed.

I liked the new villains and enjoyed the team that Batwoman surrounds herself with. I enjoyed the art, it was not as unique as the previous issues but it was less confusing as well.

The previous Batwoman seemed, to me, more edgy and interesting. The character actually took a step backwards and instead of becoming more of an adult, actually became more immature. This is due to the internal monologues we are privy to, it’s fine once in a while but throughout the book those gave an indication of a whiny little girl playing with the big boys (and girls).

The ending of the previous issue’s cliffhanger was disappointing at best, as if the creative team was just trying to finish off the storyline to start one of their own. This is an OK graphic novel, but it would be difficult to follow the previous team.

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Batwoman encounters a couple of new foes who threaten to bring her down while she has to deal with some pretty hard knocks in her personal life as well.

After finishing the previous volume that ended with quite the cliffhanger, I didn't realize until I picked up the physical copy of this volume that the authors and illustrators for this series changed again. The book started out by finishing up the storylines in the previous volume and it was clear the new creative team didn't care much about those as they half-heartedly tied them up quickly and poorly. Colonel Kane's shocking revelation in the previous title that he has a son is dismissed entirely as simply Bones having a delusion (even though the initial statement came from Kane himself) and Alice no longer speaks only in Lewis Carroll quotes but just says stereotypical comic book villain lines (this was really painful to read). Still, there were some satisfying conclusions here like Cameron Chase abandoning the DEO for private civilian life, Batman remaining unmasked, and Batwoman and Batman forming an uneasy alliance.

The next part of the book introduced a flashback scene to an earlier part of Kate Kane's life in which she is tired of losing loved ones and returning home from the military only for funerals. Reeling from this impotence, she goes out on a non-masked vigilante patrol and ends up encountering Maggie Sawyer ever so briefly when she is found by the Gotham City police. While the storyline here is okay, I felt like it was a bit at odds with the origins story from Batwoman: Elegy so I didn't like that. One thing I did like though is the hint that Kate Kane and Bruce Wayne are actually related; the exact relationship is unclear but they appear to be cousins.

The final and longest part of the book was the most interesting, in which the creators then introduced their own new plotline. A new villain emerges in Gotham - the Wolf Spider, whose art thefts are targeting high society folks and involve a mystery harkening back to the Depression era. And, when the notorious black widow Nocturna is found not guilty in the courts, she returns to her nefarious ways and sets Batwoman in her sights as well.

This new story was entertaining but seemed more superficial than previous ones in the Batwoman series. There is one interesting segment where Batwoman is affected by a toxin and goes through a series of dreams/nightmares about her life so far, and there is a "blast from the past" moment where Kate runs into her old girlfriend from West Point -- the very same relationship that had resulted in her getting kicked out under Don't Ask, Don't Tell. And there is a secondary plotline about Maggie seeking custody for her daughter Jamie while her relationship with Kate seems to be to jeopardizing that. Kate undergoes counselling to help her deal with the situation. Still, somehow this book managed to feel like it was more about the fight scenes than about the characterizations overall.

Now I'm torn about whether I pick up Volume 6, as it's gotten really, really bad reviews. But the curious side of me wants to know how the story concludes... ( )