Black Magick, Volume 001: Awakening by Greg Rucka and Nicola Scott

Black Magick, Volume 001: Awakening was published by Image Press in 2016. It follows a Portsmouth, New Hampshire police detective, Rowan Black, as she investigates a series of crimes that seem to be pointing at her. It’s worrisome; in addition to being a cop, Rowan is a witch, and these crimes hint at a magical enemy who has targeted both Rowan and her coven. Poised in the potential crossfire is her non-magical partner Morgan, whose wife is about to have their first baby. For whatever reasons, Rowan has not shared her belief system with her colleagues so there is also the risk that uncovering the perpetrator will “out” her.

After a highly visual opening that has the feel of a television teaser, Awakening plunges us right into the story. Rowan is called to the scene of a hostage situ... Read More

Batwoman: Elegy, by Greg Rucka (author) & J.H. Williams III (artist)

At this point the Dark Knight has so many sidekicks and associates that it’s difficult to keep track of them all. There have been five different Robins in the main DC continuity, and each of the superheroes who “graduated” from the title has stuck around under a new name (or did until DC rebooted the continuity last year). There have also been several Batgirls, Catwoman, a Catgirl (for a brief stretch), the Huntress, Batwing, and Azrael. Batman himself has had several different incarnations during that awkward period where Bruce Wayne pulled the patented “superhero-death-but-not-really.” In all of that kerfuffle, it would have been very easy for a character like Batwoman to slip through the cracks into relative obscurity in much the way Batwing has (did anyone even know there was a fellow called Batwing? Apparently he has his own ongoing series, but I had... Read More

Wonder Woman: The Hiketeia by Greg Rucka (writer) and J.G. Jones (artist)

I’m a card-carrying geek if there ever was one, but there are a few areas where my fannish education has been a little spotty, one of them being superhero comics. It’s not for lack of enjoying them when I do read them; it’s more that the reams of backstory and frequent reboots feel a little daunting. Then, this past Christmas, I found a copy of The Hiketeia among the presents from my boyfriend, along with a Post-It note that read, ‘I’ll turn you into a comic book geek yet!”

The Hiketeia was, by all measures, a gateway drug that was right up my alley. Greek mythology, powerful female characters, cool art, and a plot centering on conflicting vows? Sign me up!

Writer Greg Rucka introduces the eponymous Hiketeia, a ritual by which a supplicant throws himself or herself on someone els... Read More