J.H. Williams III was in attendance in San Diego at Comic con this past weekend, but his writing partner W. Haden Blackman was not and the two have them have a lot to say when they are together. Comic Book Resources talked with both creators about what is coming up in Batwoman.
CBR: It feels like in this arc you had that realization across the board for a lot of characters, especially Jacob, who even guiltily admitted to loving his other daughter more. Do you feel he and Kate are broken in the same way, or that they need to work together as a team for their own sanity?
J.H. Williams III: Yes and no. I mean the lies between the two of them are so profound and so big that it may be one of those things that could possibly always have some big impact on how they relate to each other, even if they find some way to reconcile. It's one of those things that you can't forget what was done.
W. Haden Blackman: I think the one thing that always interested me that ties them together is they are both suffering from tremendous survivor's guilt, even if they don't articulate it that way or can't acknowledge it. Even Jacob's confession in the last issue, I think a lot of that is driven by survivor's guilt and I think a lot of what Kate does, even putting on her mask, is driven by that.
CBR: Without giving away too much, what can you say about that third arc story? Are you playing on the idea that both Kate and Wonder Woman are warrior women/soldiers?
W. Haden Blackman: They're both warriors in their own ways, but there are some stark differences. I think for us what's been interesting is Batwoman being in the shadow of essentially someone who's a demi-god. What does that mean for her, how does she hold her own, how does that impact her psychologically? Then for Wonder Woman it's teaming up with somebody who has a very strong definitive lines not to cross, like killing for example, where I think that's a little hazier for somebody who runs around with a sword and who was trained to be a warrior.
J.H. Williams III: It's kind of a tricky thing. I mean, I don't want to give away too much but ultimately some of the things spilling over from "To Drown The World" will have a huge impact on where things go in the next arc. One of the things, like I was saying earlier, that we'll be exploring is Batwoman learning she has to work with others to achieve a greater goal. I think it's going to be one of the major themes here moving forward.
W. Haden Blackman: We go back to this quote all the time, but we want there to be no status quo in the book. You don't feel that after an issue and an arc that things went back to normal — there is no normal. Arc three in particular, there are some big things towards the end that will change dramatically Kate and Batwoman's life moving forward. That to us is really exciting, to constantly be pushing forward her life based on the choices she's making.
J.H. Williams III: As far as the way the arc moves, the way it feels when you read it, it's going to be very different than any of the previous arcs we've done. One of the things Haden and I very much are after is trying to get each story to feel, even though it builds off of previous stories, that each has its own weight and feel that's unique to itself. So we're trying some things that will be immediately noticeable as a difference from the previous arcs just in the way it moves and feels.
For the entire interview, including talk about the art, head over to Comic Book Resources. Batwoman #11 is in stores tomorrow.
Posted by Dustin Fritschel
