Batwoman: Elegy.(Brief article)(Book review)

* Batwoman: Elegy

Greg Rucka and J.H. Williams III. DC, $24.99 (192p) ISBN 978-1-4012-2692-3

On the surface, this is a fairly straightforward superhero thriller, in which the new (lesbian, tattooed, Jewish) Batwoman tussles with a crime-worshipping cult that's trying to poison Gotham City, and discovers how her personal history is entwined with that of their leader, a pale, murderous Lewis Carroll-quoting porcelain goth. In practice, it's spectacular--the kind of adventure story that you race through the first time and return to, to pore over slowly. The obvious attraction is Williams and colorist Dave Stewart's artwork, whose mutable style and wildly inventive …