Tuesday, July 25, 2017

Wanted TPB: The End of Batwoman

Writer: Various
Artist: Various
Publisher: DC Comics (1976-79)
Includes: The Batman Family #3, 8,10,11,13,14,17, Freedom Fighters #14-15, Detective Comics #485

Clipped from Wikipedia: Although Batwoman made a number of appearances during the late 1950s and early 1960s, declining sales of both Batman and Detective Comics led to the editorial retirement of the character. When Julius Schwartz became editor of the Batman related comic books in 1964, he removed non-essential characters including Batwoman, Bat-Girl, Bat-Mite, and Bat-Hound. Later, the 1985 limited series Crisis on Infinite Earths retroactively established that Batwoman has never existed, though her alter ego Kathy Kane has continued to make appearances.  However, with the launch of the Batman Family comic book series in 1975, readers continued to request for Batwoman to appear in new stories. One reader states:
It is totally beyond me why you ignored Batwoman in your first two issues... I can understand your reluctance to go back to the days where everybody in Gotham had a Bat-identity, but you can't wipe out Batwoman that easily... I was counting on her making the scene in a new story, perhaps coming out of retirement to offer assistance to your Dynamite Duo.
Batwoman was brought back in Batman Family #10 as "Batgirl's guest heroine" when she comes out of retirement to assist Batgirl in defeating Killer Moth and Cavalier. However, in Detective Comics #485 Batwoman is killed by the League of Assassins.  Editor Dennis O'Neil later stated in an interview, "we already had Batgirl, we didn't need Batwoman." The issue marked the final appearance of the Earth-1 Kathy Kane.

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