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Batwoman Reading Order (Kate Kane)

Arboring a red bat insignia and wearing a red wing with long hair to stand among the many vigilantes protecting Gotham City is Batwoman.

Hidden beneath the domino mask is Katherine ‘Kate’ Kane, a wealthy socialite heiress who was inspired by Batman to use her resources to fight crime. She actually began her career as a vigilante during Batman’s absence in the aftermath of Infinite Crisis. Created by writers Greg Rucka, Geoff Johns, Grant Morrison, and Mark Waid, and artist Alex Ross, Batwoman first appeared in the limited series 52, revealing herself to be a lesbian Jew and Bruce Wayne’s cousin!

Like her cousin, Kate Kane’s childhood was defined by tragedy after her twin sister Beth and mother Gabi were kidnapped and killed by terrorists. She followed her father into the military and excelled at West Point, but was expelled under Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell after being exposed as a lesbian. After struggling for a time, she eventually became Batwoman, building a reputation among Gotham’s vigilantes and even headlining her own television series on The CW for a short time.

Since her debut, Kate Kane has grown into the role of Batwoman, both as a member of the Batfamily and in her own solo series, in which her past has been explored and her values and differences with Batman have been tested. Discover all those stories and more with our complete collection guide to the Batwoman comic series!

Where to Start Reading Batwoman Comics?

Even though Kate Kane is a modern character, it can still be difficult to know where to start. To help you discover her comics without too much fuss or filler, explore these recommended entry points — also serving as the essential and best stories in the Batwoman mythos:

  • The Essential Run: Batwoman by Greg Rucka and J.H. Williams III – Batwoman is flying solo for the first time in her most defining run, which began with her most iconic story to date: ‘Elegy’.
  • The New 52 Start: J.H. Williams III and W. Haden Blackman – While the DC Universe was rebooted, Batwoman was a title almost unaffected by the changes and considered one of the most solid titles of this era, as J.H. Williams simply continued the work started in the previous run, this time also as co-writer with W. Haden Blackman.
  • The Team-Up Book: Detective Comics by James Tynion IV – In the Rebirth era, Kate Kane became the co-leader of a team of Bat-heroes assembled by Batman. This run clearly exposes the differences in ideology and style between Batwoman and Batman, and features some great exchanges within the Batfamily.
  • The Next Level: By Greg Rucka and Dani – After a few years directionless, Kate Kane found herself once again under the spotlight and reunited with one of her creators, as Greg Rucka is right now writing a new chapter of Batwoman’s life in the All In era.

Batwoman Reading Order– The Batwoman Omni Collection –

If you are an Omnibus collector, you can find the Greg Rucka and J.H. Williams III era, as well as Tynion’s run on Detective Comics in that format, collecting some of the most important stories featuring Kate Kane:

Batwoman Reading Order: The Complete Kate Kane Guide

Batwoman Begins with Renée Montoya (2006-2008)

Kate Kane/Batwoman starts her journey in the DC Universe as more of a supporting player in Renée Montoya’s story. The following stories are optional, although I will never stop recommending 52.

Batwoman Reading Order

Kate Kane made her first appearance in 52 #7 (and Batwoman in #11), where she is introduced as a rich member of the Kane family and the ex-partner of Renée Montoya. From there, she has a recurring role in the series. While this is optional reading for the character who appears in a limited number of issues, it establishes her relationship with Renée, as well as her position in the Bat-family at the beginning. Remember that, at this time, Batman is absent.

  • The 52 Omnibus
    Collects the 52 issues. While we don’t recommend skipping issues, Renée Montoya’s story takes mostly places in #1-2, #4-5, #7, #9, #11-12, #16, #18, #23, #26-28, #30, 33-34, 36, 52 (Kate Kane doesn’t appear in everything here, but it’s better for context).
  • The Question: Five Books of Blood
    Collects Crime Bible: The Five Lessons Of Blood #1-5. Spinning out from the events of 52 is this limited series featuring Renée Montoya as the Question. While Kate Kane only appears in #3, the story focused on The Religion of Crime, an important secret organization in Kate Kane’s story.

Then, the Final Crisis event by Grant Morrison happened. Greg Rucka wrote the tie-in miniseries Final Crisis: Revelations, in which Renee Montoya reconnects with deceased Crispus Allen, who had recently become the Spectre. Kate Kane is also present in those tie-ins, where she is corrupted by the Anti-Life Equation during the second issue. She continues to appear after that as a mindless henchwoman in the series as well as in the second part of Final Crisis (#3-7).

  • Final Crisis: Revelations
    Collects Final Crisis: Revelations #1-5.
  • Final Crisis
    Collects DC Universe #0, Final Crisis #1-7, Final Crisis: Superman Beyond #1-2, Final Crisis: Submit #1, Batman #682-683.

Batwoman Unleashed: Greg Rucka and J.H. Williams III’s essential Detective Comics run (2009-2010)

A new era starts for Batwoman, who finally takes center stage after a few years in Renée Montoya’s shadow. Kate Kane’s solo adventures in Detective Comics by Greg Rucka and J.H. Williams III have since become an essential run for the character, with ‘Elegy’ (covering Detective Comics #854-860) one of her most defining stories – and one that has been reprinted in multiple formats. It also doubles as her origin story that is explored in #858-860 (titled ‘Go’) and is part of every Elegy collection.

This is a short run, as the creative team stopped after another 3-part story, ‘Cutter’, published originally in Detective Comics #861-863.

Elegy was also reprinted in the two following books (they don’t contain the Cutter story):

Grant Morrison loved the Detective Stories and “wanted to get the two new characters together as soon as possible.” And so, Kate Kane meets Bat!Dick and Robin during the ‘Blackest Knight’ story (#7-9), a loose tie-in to DC’s Blackest Night event – that you don’t need to read here.

Batwoman would actually meet the original Batman in Batman Incorporated (#4-5), as she was investigating the murder of three marines in Gotham City. This affair led her on a chase to Kane’s Kolossal Karnival and to the reintroduction of the original Batwoman into Batman’s history.

New 52: Batwoman Solo (2012-2015)

New 52 Part I: J. H. Williams III and W. Haden Blackman’s run. After taking the lead of Detective Comics, Batwoman starred in her own comic as part of the New 52 era. Although the DC Universe was relaunched, this didn’t affect Kate’s story, with J. H. Williams III continuing to develop the character as artist and co-writer alongside W. Haden Blackman. Artist Amy Reeder Hadley also joined them to contribute artwork to the series.

Batwoman’s supporting cast expanded during this time with the introduction of her cousin Bette (also known as Flamebird), as well as other relatives, her relationship with Maggie Sawyer and stronger connections with the Batman Family. Although the series was generally well-received, it was cut short when the creative team left the title due to creative differences.

Batwoman Reading Order

New 52 Part II. Marc Andreyko and Jeremy Haun took over for a new (way less) popular chapter in Kate Kane’s life. After wrapping the previous story in Annual #1, Batwoman faced the Wolf Spider before her life took a turn with the return of an ex and some vampire complications.

  • Batwoman Vol. 5: Webs
    Collects: Batwoman Annual #1 And Batwoman #25-34
  • Batwoman Vol. 6: The Unknowns
    Collects #35-40, Batwoman Annual #2, Batwoman: Futures End #1 and Secret Origins (2014) #3
  • Truth & Justice #5
    An uncollected issue collecting a 3-part digital story set after the New 52 run, written by Grace Ellis and illustrated by Maria Laura Sanapo.

Batwoman Rebirth: The Rise and Fall of Kate Kane (2016-2021)

Following the conclusion of Flashpoint, the DC Universe was rebooted once more, leading to a new era called Rebirth. Batwoman became a big part of James Tynion’s Detective Comics, as a co-leader of a team Batman has assembled to form the next generation of Gotham heroes! This is a team-up book, one that is actually pretty good in terms of providing everyone with material and development throughout the run. Naturally, some stories are more focused on Batwoman than others, and she plays a major role in the following arcs: Rise of the Batmen, The Night of the Monster Men, Batwoman Begins (a retelling of her origin for the Rebirth era), and the last arc, Batmen Eternal.

At the same time, Kate Kane is also the star of a new ongoing series, with writer Marguerite Bennett telling a self-contained story exploring Batwoman’s past.

Batwoman Reading OrderAfter the end of the Batwoman comics and her time in Detective Comics, Kate Kane made guest-starring appearances in multiple titles for the rest of this era, showing up in tie-in events, teaming up for an investigation, etc.

Shadows of the Bat: Batwoman in Infinite Frontier/Dawn of DC (2021-2024)

James Tynion IV’s run on Batman continues and concludes here with the Fear State event, in which Batwoman plays a small part, before stepping up as the leader of the Batfamily while Batman is out of town during The Tower story, written by Mariko Tamaki and illustrated by Amancay Nahuelpan. This is mostly the most important story for the character, the rest is optional.

Batwoman Reading Order

Batman and Catwoman clashed in the bad event Batman/Catwoman: The Gotham War, which involved most of the Bat-Family, including Batwoman.

The story isn’t worth checking out —especially since Kate Kane is mostly a background character. In the aftermath, Batwoman and Luke Fox start their next adventure, taking charge of a new version of the Outsiders.

In this new series, they embark on an archaeological mission, ‘digging into all the forgotten corners of DC’s history to preserve, record, and better understand the true nature of the DC Multiverse.’ Written by Jackson Lanzing and Collin Kelly, the title is described as ‘Planetary in the DC Universe’.

Batwoman Next Level: A new solo series by Greg Rucka and Dani (2024-Present)

Batwoman is All In! After Amanda Waller’s failed coup in Absolute Power, a new Justice League is formed with Batwoman among the biggest roster ever. As such, she reconnects and helps Renée Montoya in her investigation on the Watchtower.

A new era starts here for Batwoman as Greg Rucka returns to the story of Kate Kane alongside artist DaNi to redefine the character and write a new chapter of her story:

Batwoman Reading Order

Discover more Batfamily Comics!

Note: An earlier version of this guide appeared on our site in 2021. It has been completely refreshed and updated with the latest releases, and new pictures.

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2 thoughts on “Batwoman Reading Order (Kate Kane)”

  1. Alex
    Reply

    I wonder where the new batwoman run fits exactly? Is there any other appearence missing/ not updated? I’m following this guide to go through the batwoman story so it would be nice to know. Great work, I only use your site’s guides. 😀

    1. Carole
      Reply

      Hey Alex,

      First, thanks! Glad our guides have been helpful!

      As for Kate Kane, we’re missing a year and a half of comics right now, mostly from the DC All In era period, but nothing major. Batwoman was really on the sidelines the past few years. She made a few cameo and appearances here and there, but most importantly, she was a supporting player in The Question: Along the Watchtower, then DC KO happened and the new run right now.

      I’ll try to update the guide soon!

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