Throughout 2020, renowned artist and DC Comics Publisher Jim Lee -- in cooperation with the Book Industry Charitable Foundation -- has created and auctioned off various pieces of artwork in order to benefit comic shops that have been impacted by the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. Lee's final sketch of the calendar year stars none other than Ryan Wilder, a brand-new character who will take up the cowl when The CW's Batwoman television series returns for Season 2 next month.
Lee's new Batwoman piece is the 56th of his 60 planned charity sketches. Created using pen, ink and white out on 9x12 inch illo board, the sketch is currently being auctioned on Ebay. At the time of writing, the leading bid is $6,400 USD, with the auction set to conclude on Sunday, Jan. 3. On Twitter, Lee explains that who ever wins the auction will get to chose the character for his 59th sketch, which will be the last one he draws, as the character for sketch number 60 has already been decided.
Created by Geoff Johns, Grant Morrison, Greg Rucka, Mark Waid and Keith Giffen, Kate Kane (the maternal first cousin of Bruce Wayne/Batman) first appeared in 2006's 52 #7, with the character taking up the Batwoman mantle a few months later in 52 #11. Played by Ruby Rose, Kate Kane made her live-action debut during the Arrowverse's "Elseworlds" crossover event in 2018.
Rose's Batwoman went on to star in a solo series on The CW, the first season of which premiered in 2019 and concluded earlier this year. Shortly after Batwoman aired its Season 1 finale in May, Rose departed the show, and it was announced that a new character would be introduced to take up the mantle of Batwoman for Season 2. In July, Javicia Leslie was officially enlisted to play the role of Gotham City's new protector, Ryan Wilder.
Lee has depicted Leslie's new Batwoman before, specifically as part of a piece featuring numerous DC characters he created for the DC FanDome virtual convention. The character of Ryan Wilder also made a cameo appearance (though not as Batwoman) in Batgirl #50, which was published by DC Comics back in October.
Per the full synopsis for Batwoman Season 2,
In season two of BATWOMAN, when Ryan Wilder (Javicia Leslie) first discovers Kate Kane's Batsuit, she has no idea how drastically her life is about to change. A sassy, smart lesbian with a difficult past, Ryan sees the suit as her chance to finally be powerful and no longer a victim as she survives in the tough streets of the city.
While Ryan goes rogue in the shadows, Gotham grapples with their missing hero, believing Batwoman has fled the city after a public stand-off with Commander Jacob Kane (Dougray Scott) and the Crows. But Kate Kane's disappearance hits hardest at home where Jacob, Sophie (Meagan Tandy), Luke (Camrus Johnson), Mary (Nicole Kang) and even Alice (Rachel Skarsten) each struggle with the devastating news in their own way. Meanwhile, the False Face Society tightens its grip on Gotham, distributing a perilous new drug known as Snakebite, "Bruce Wayne" (Warren Christie) finds his way home to wreak havoc, Safiyah (Shivaani Ghai) surfaces with plans for revenge, and a new set of villains descends on the city.
It's not long before Ryan realizes how much the symbol on the suit means to Gotham, launching her on a personal journey that takes her from fledgling substitute to confident caped crusader, from living in her van with her plant to chasing villains in the Batmobile. Ryan Wilder becomes a very different Batwoman than Kate Kane - her own Batwoman - but with the same understanding of what it means to be a hero.
Batwoman stars Javicia Leslie, Rachel Skarsten, Meagan Tandy, Camrus Johnson, Dougray Scott and Nicole Kang. Season 2 premieres on Sunday, Jan. 17 at 8 p.m. ET/PT on The CW.
Source: Twitter\@JimLee