J. H. Williams recently clarified some of the confusion surrounding the last issue to be printed that was written by him, as well as some of the important plot points that would have happened had he continued. He explained that, while the current arc written by him was intended to wrap up in issue #26, the last issue to come out before the new writer Mark Andreyko takes over will be this month’s issue #24, which details Kate’s showdown with Batman.
“The big showdown between Batwoman and Batman kicks off this issue,” Williams wrote in his blog. “And was going to run into the next 2 issues, a real knockdown heavy hitting battle. This issue was only the first part of it. I’m depressed over this a bit. And frustratingly the issue will give no arc conclusion, or conclusion to our run. We apologize to you readers for that. It wasn’t what we wanted to happen.”
He goes on to explain that a script for issue #25 was written, but it is unlikely to be published, and his disappointment that they couldn’t make it through to issue #26. “What saddens me about it is that our issue 26 two months from now would have ended in a place that would serve as an adequate end cap to our run in a lot of ways. We knew how we were going to wrap things by issue 26, and felt we would have done so in a satisfying manner, or so we hoped.”
Last month, J. H. Williams and Haden Blackman resigned from their posts writing for the Batwoman title claiming that too many last-minute changes and dissatisfactory editorial decisions, such as the highly criticized decision to cut out Kate and Maggie’s marriage, had become more than they could handle. The story later became a hot topic for a period of time, as there was a lot of controversy surrounding the marriage — both the writers and DC assured, however, that it was not due to any discrimination on sexuality.
It is clear that Williams had big plans which will be, sadly, left unresolved by issue #24. His plans included a lot of reveals, character development, and of course, the finish to the showdown between Batman and Batwoman. He summarizes these plans in his recent blog entry:
“Our issue 26 two months from now would have ended in a place that would serve as an adequate end cap to our run in a lot of ways. We knew how we were going to wrap things by issue 26, and felt we would have done so in a satisfying manner, or so we hoped. There was SO much stuff going to happen, some crazy reveals, the reveal of Bones’ past, just how he connects to Kate and Beth Kane, and a confrontation with Jacob Kane and his Murder Of Crows. Batwoman having the final throw-down with Batman. We were going to give large plot points on how Beth became Alice. Bette Kane a.k.a. Hawkfire shocked and horrified by something Alice/Beth does during the rescue mission. Ultimately bring the entire family to some form of a beginning to heal, and how Maggie would fit into all of this. Chase, seeing the horrors of what Director Bones is doing, was going to cause her to make a radical decision that would forever change her life.”
And even these plans were much different from what they were before the may aforementioned editorial changes made by DC. Williams writes, “This was all set up after altering a major plot point to suit DC’s needs. We would’ve been able to end our run at good spot for the next creative team. But that must only be happening in some parallel world. So the first 7 issues of this fourth arc will leave the story in a sort of limbo and not fully resolved, at least by us.”
It is sad to see these writers go, especially towards the end of a big arc such as this one, but the new writer is excited and understands the strong character that Haden and Blackman created. Mark Andreyko, the new writer, said in an interview with Newsarama that “J. H. and Haden have done such a great job establishing such a distinct personality for Kate Kane, that picking up the reins from where they left off is not only going to be a lot of fun, but it’s a great responsibility, because they created such a rich character.”
Williams finished his blog entry on a melancholy note by saying “So I guess we have to say goodbye to Batwoman for real now. We love you Kate.” As for us fans, we can only wait until next month to find out how Andreyko plans to wrap Williams and Blackman’s last arc on Batwoman.
Source 1: J. H. Williams’ Blog
Source 2: Newsarama
