The Huntress

The Huntress #1

(February, 1989)

"Code of Silence"

Artwork by Joe Staton, Bruce Patterson

1st Appearance of Helena Bertinelli as Huntress

Huntress 1-4

(April-July, 1994)

Connecting Covers by Michael Netzer

"The toughest person in Gotham may not be Batman!"

She's back, stalking her prey through the Gotham City underworld without mercy... or remorse! This time, the Huntress is cracking down on a powerful crime family by working her way up a chain of corruption to its sinister boss. But along the way, she confronts the horrors of her own past while on a collision course with a mysterious assassin.

Batman and Huntress: Cry For Blood #6

Conclusion

(September, 2000)

Cover by Rick Burchett

Birds of Prey #84

(July, 2005)

"Knock-Out"

Cover by Adriana Melo, Will Conrad, Brian Miller

Huntress: Year One #1-2

(May, 2008)

"Gilrs Can't Be Pope" & "La Donna e Mobile"

Artwork by Matthew Clark, Jason Wright

Huntress #2

(November, 2011)

"Crossbow At The Crossroads" Part II

Cover by Guillem March, Tomeu Morey

The Return of Helena Wayne

Worlds' Finest #3

(July, 2012)

"Rebirth" Part III

Artwork by George Pérez, Hi-Fi

The Huntress: Origins

Cover by Brian Bolland

These are the 1970s stories that first introduced the Huntress: Daughter of Batman and Catwoman of Earth-2! But after her mother is murdered, Helena Wayne dons a costume of her own. With her crossbow as her weapon, the Huntress vows to avenge her mother's death.

Birds Of Prey :: Of Like Minds

Pencils: Ed Benes

Inks: Alex Lei

Colors: Hi-Fi

Writer: Gail Simone

Letters: John Workman

Birds Of Prey #56

(June, 2003)

The Black Canary

Scribe Gail Simone gears to take the adventures of the Birds of Prey to startling new heights with a terrible new adversary that claims he can outthink Oracle, and outfight Black Canary. Get in on the ground floor as Simone, along with artists Ed Benes and Alex Lai blend action, humor, and espionage to give you the Birds as you’ve never seen them before.

Birds Of Prey #57

(July, 2003)

The Huntress

Black Canary is used as leverage in a contest of wills between Oracle and the brilliant extortionist, Savant. Backed into a corner and faced with the demand to turn over her secret files on everyone -including Bruce Wayne- Oracle reluctantly calls for help from a person she barely trusts: the Huntress!

Birds Of Prey #58

(August, 2003)

Oracle

Savant's true demands for Oracle are revealed, as she's given 24 hours to "discover" Batman's true identity! But Savant doesn't realize that the Huntress is on the case and that Black Canary plans to be a less-than-cooperative hostage!

Birds Of Prey #59

(September, 2003)

Helena Bertinelli, Barbara Gordon, Dinah Lance

Master extortionist Savant has pushed Oracle's courage and Canary's will to their very limits! Oracle must reluctantly recruit the Huntress while Black Canary must make a sacrifice that leaves her more vulnerable than ever in this finale to the first arc by Gail Simone and Ed Benes!

Earth-2: Society Annual #1

Writer: Dan Abnett

Artists: Bruno Redondo and Diogenes Neves

   

Earth-2: Society Annual #1

"Legacy"

Cover and Interiors by Bruno Redondo, Juan Albarran, and Alejandro Sanchez

The Huntress by Diogenes Neves, Ruy Jose, and Rex Lokus

Worlds' Finest #14

Worlds' Finest #14

"Losses"

Cover by Ryan Sook

Huntress and Power Girl are being hunted down by DeSaad and his forces.

     

Written by Paul Levitz

Art by Robson Rocha

Inks by Wayne Facuher - Colors by Jason Wright

Worlds' Finest #5

Writer: Paul Levitz

Artists: George Pérez, Jerry Ordway, Wes Craig

Presented with a format similar to that of an anthology book, and anchored by an overarching story where Huntress and Power Girl test the kryptonian's invulnerability, Three Midnights tells a solo adventure for each of the Earth-2 refugees. Kara is obsessed with finding a way back home, and has spared no expense to achieve that purpose; this time, her search takes her to the Large Hadron Collider. Somehow, this ends up with Power Girl wearing no clothes -for the second time in the same issue- which is already a tired theme in the still-young series. Meanwhile, Helena has a more grounded and interesting tale as she stops a shooter who threatens to unleash chaos during a peaceful protest. The surprise comes from Huntress' ballsy dialog -literally. I had no idea that was allowed in mainstream comics. With three artists and three inkers, the responsibility of delivering a cohesive experience falls on Hi-Fi's colors. In general, a solid issue.

Worlds' Finest #0

Writer: Paul Levitz

Artists: Kevin Maguire and Wes Craig

Zero month takes readers back to Earth-2 when Helena Wayne first became Robin, and the tragic events that shaped her friendship with Supergirl. Paul Levitz surely had the best time writing this story, because the plot and the dialog in it show it. Helena's relationship with her parents, and what she learned and inherited from each makes of her current self as Huntress a true half-Catwoman, half-Batman, whereas in the past she had been mostly connected to the latter. With Supergirl, things are almost bittersweet. The Kara of Earth-2 was exactly what the current Supergirl from the main Earth should be, but sadly isn't. She is very reminiscent of the Silver Age Kara -Linda Lee Danvers- down to the Secret Weapon angle. Kevin Maguire and Wes Craig shine with fantastic artwork for the entire issue -keeping the theme of the book as the whole thing is a flashback. We need to see more of Robin and Supergirl's feats in Earth-2.

Worlds' Finest #4

Writer: Paul Levitz

Artists: George Perez, Scott Koblish & Kevin Maguire

Huntress and Power Girl deal with the menace of Hakkou and the threat of nuclear fallout. The final chapter of Rebirth falls short compared to its previous installments; no answers are provided regarding Hakkou's origin, nature or agenda; there was no payout for following the story for four months; even the yesterday sequence failed to add a significant contribution to the backstory. The dialog, meanwhile, felt forced and almost trying too hard to sound current. On the plus side, there is non-stop action, giving both heroines the opportunity to showcase their respective skills, and the art continues thriving with clean finishes and vibrant colors. Despite its flaws, the story is still entertaining, and the arc overall is a good introduction for the characters. Next month comes issue number zero featuring Robin and Supergirl from Earth-2, and that one for sure will be a gem.

Worlds' Finest #3

Writer: Paul Levitz

Artists: George Perez & Kevin Maguire

Yesterday: Helena and Kara continue reacting to their new homeworld, and the existence of alternate versions of the wonders (as heroes were called on Earth-2). An interesting aspect revealed in this sequence is the fact that Helena trained all her life to become Robin, which effectively would make her more experienced than any of the Robins in the main Earth. The early role Terry Sloane may have played in Earth-2 is hinted at, and Power Girl's old continuity costume is reminisced. Today: After their first round against Hakkou -a villain that looks like the offspring of the Anti-Monitor and a Parademon- Huntress makes a strange remark regarding "we" being immune to poisons; let's hope there is more to that and not just some goofy explanation to their current conundrum. While the flashbacks are strong on character development, the present-day scenes are action oriented, bringing a balanced combination to the story.

Worlds' Finest #2

Writer: Paul Levitz

Artists: George Perez & Kevin Maguire

Huntress and Power Girl take on a radioactive enemy in the second issue of their title. The non-linear narrative is a fun way to put together the pieces of their journey -for anyone who likes puzzles anyway. In addition to the "present" sequences, this issue, just like the previous one, goes back to the night Robin and Supergirl arrived from Earth-2; then, what seems to be a month-to-month countdown that started 59 months ago; and then events that took place just prior to the Huntress mini-series. This chapter shows how much Kara has changed in five years; she was indeed a girl back then; now she is a confident and assertive woman. The mysteries build up quickly, which is the way to capture one's interest; from the identity of the figure the heroines followed to the boom tube, to developments in Gotham, to the familiar appearance of villain Hakkou, the adventures of this pair look promising and exciting.

Worlds' Finest #1

Writer: Paul Levitz

Artist: George Perez & Kevin Maguire

Today: Picking up right after the conclusion of the "Huntress" mini-series, Huntress and Power Girl find themselves in Tokyo starting a new chapter in their lives. The former more cynical and at peace with her fate; the latter, aggressively searching for a way to get back home. Yesterday: Picking up right after the events in "Earth-Two" #1, Supergirl and Robin are lost to their home world as they get thrown into ours while pursuing a mysterious character. Not much is revealed of what happened afterwards, but it will be great finding out month after month what they did during the five years that followed their arrival. My only objection was the quick and almost dismissive manner in which Levitz got rid of the Helena Bertinelli persona. Just because the same thing was done to Helena Wayne after "Crisis," there was no reason to go all "eye for an eye" on Ms. Bertinelli. A fantastic and much deserved start for these two great characters.

Huntress #6

This is the end. Capri serves as the stage for Helena's final hunt, and even with a huge price on her head, the masked heroine neither falters nor disappoints. Her treatment of Ibn Hassan forces one to question whether by the end of last issue she really did what she is being accused of; whatever the answer is, there will be consequences beyond the end of this mini. The art team of Marcus To, John Dell, and Andrew Dalhouse shined throughout the entire run; issue after issue they delivered a top notch product with nice visuals, clean lines, and bright colors.  Paul Levitz also did a great job building a Huntress that will keep new and long time readers happy.  The story ends on a high note with some humor, and of course, the much awaited connection to the world of Earth-2, which becomes the "Yeah!" moment of this month. This is only the beginning.

Welcome to Earth-Two

The second wave of "DC Comics - The New 52" titles is coming in May, and the most expected of them are undoubtedly "Earth 2" and "Worlds' Finest," featuring the heroes from a parallel universe where things took a completely different turn.  This week, DC Comics released the first set of character sketches designed by Jim Lee and Kevin Maguire:

    

Superman "Has endured the loss of his home world, and now the Last Son of Krypton must weather the death of his soul mate Lois Lane. Just how far can you bend the Man of Steel before he breaks?" - Editor Pat McCallum

Supergirl "Loves her adopted world with a passion, seeing how the people of Earth have adopted her and taken her to their hearts.  She is definitely the brightest light among this first group of Earth 2 heroes." - Writer James Robinson

    

The Batman of Earth 2 is "More ruthless, dangerous... the costume is familiar and yeah, there is a Wayne under the mask, but we’re looking at a man desperate to save the only family he has left. Earth 2 is about to become a very bad place to be a bad guy." - Editor Pat McCallum

Robin is “Assured as a detective, fighter, scientist, pilot and all around crime-fighter; she’s been groomed by Batman to be the perfect caped manhunter (or should we say manHuntress) when she grows up." - Writer James Robinson

Wonder Woman is "Already the last Amazon of this world and she is determined to avenge her sisters... at whatever cost." - Writer James Robinson

Welcome to Earth-Two

DC Comics announced a few weeks ago a second wave of titles that will be incorporated into the New 52 starting in May.  Among those titles there are two that expand the possibilities for stories beyond the confines of "our" universe: Earth Two and Worlds' Finest.

Art by Ivan Reis and Joe Prado

Art by Brian Hitch (Variant Cover)

EARTH TWO – Writer: James Robinson. Artist: Nicola Scott. Cover: Ivan Reis & Joe Prado.  The greatest heroes on a parallel Earth, the Justice Society combats threats that will set them on a collision course with other worlds.

“I’m excited and eager to let people know all the facts about the new EARTH TWO comic, but for now I have to remain vague.  Earth 2 is a world that’s very like our own, but at the same time vastly different. It has known great conflict and danger... a dark menace defeated but at a great cost both to the Earth and to its superheroes of that time.  Now, in the present as new menaces emerge to attack the Earth, new heroes must emerge too, learning to work as a team (or perhaps Society is a better word) while facing these new threats head-on. Who are these heroes?  Will their powers include speed, bestial fury, and maybe even green light? Wait and see.”

- James Robinson

Art by George Perez

WORLDS’ FINEST – Writer: Paul Levitz. Artists: George Perez and Kevin Maguire.  Cover: George Perez.  Stranded on our world from a parallel reality, Huntress and Power Girl struggle to find their way back to Earth Two. Perez and Maguire will be the artists on alternating story arcs.

“Nothing’s quite the same... the world they’re in, the rules of the game, the stakes... so Helena and Kara are facing dilemmas in WORLDS’ FINEST that are nothing like any version of either of their previous lives... learn the identities they used on Earth 2... watch why those change when they get here... and see the choices they face.  It’s a layered puzzle, pulling on the rich history of the DC Universe... but even more on the potential for explosively different lives in the New 52 universe... and over time, it’ll all pull together to affect the lives of so many.”

- Paul Levitz

Huntress #5

Huntress makes her move against the big bad guy in the penultimate chapter of her mini-series.  With disguises, explosions, gas bombs, masks, and stealth, this was the "Mission Impossible" issue of the run, and it was a task she was happy to accept.  Strategically removing one by one all those in service of the "Chairman," Huntress finally reached her target to exact justice, but just exactly what kind of justice, remains to be seen.  Now the larger picture.  This title has become much bigger than itself, and like mist that clears to reveal the road, some of the internal dialogue in the issue confirms it.  It is expected that the finale of this mini will open the gates to the fantastic world of Earth Two and its rich history, and whether it was originally planned that way by DC or not, the execution has been flawless.  Huntress is the harbinger of a new era in the DCnU and beyond.

Huntress #4

Paul Levitz and Marcus To continue chronicling Huntress' adventures in Italy as she makes her move to take Moretti down.  To is on his way to become one of comics' biggest stars; his pencils are breathtaking, and he has done a fantastic job showing us Italy's landscapes; this issue's turn is for the Amalfi Coast.  His interpretation of Helena/Huntress is beautiful, and his action panels are superbly executed.  About the story, it brings so much pleasure to see her finally deliver justice after the build up of previous issues.  Levitz has done a great job following the trend of several DC books of taking elements from real life to make the series compelling; in this case two despicable practices are explored: human trafficking and government corruption.  But this is not over yet, and next issue Huntress goes after a big quarry, and I can't wait for what she is going to do next.