Batwoman #8: Feels Like a Haunted House

It’s Batwoman versus TUCOs again in Batwoman #8. Like the previous issue, Bad Seeds’ principle threat is nowhere to be found. Rucka instead tells a more personal story featuring Batwoman, Huntress, and a bunch of greedy wannabe soldiers.

Huntress finds her way into Batwoman #8 via Poison Ivy #48. Between the two issues, a TUCO took a shot at her, and the result is her leaving a blood trail through the church and catacombs Batwoman is already in. Batwoman catches up to her, and this is where the character oriented meat of the issue happens. The two women have a conversation about philosophies–Huntress’s willingness to do whatever it takes when necessary and Batwoman’s refusal to go that far. Rucka does a good job dovetailing this into the one story element that has carried over from previous Batwoman issues into Bad Seeds: the video of Batwoman shooting someone. Despite Batwoman’s protestation to the contrary, Huntress points out that maybe she isn’t so different when the chips are down–an argument made easier by Batwoman carrying a gun. It’s a very insightful bit of dialogue and a potential setup for more character exploration along these lines in future Batwoman issues.

Character development is entirely limited to Batwoman and Huntress in Batwoman #8. Rucka again takes a look at the TUCOs. This examination is much broader and is fairly one-sided. Rucka does not attempt any kind of balancing perspective when it comes to the TUCOs. These are not nice people. They’re not interested in going outside and helping anyone in Gotham City, and they further cloak what sounds like cowardice with the greed for the reward if they capture or kill Batwoman and Huntress.

This conflict between the TUCOs and Batwoman and Huntress takes on a haunted house vibe as the issue goes on. It’s a clever approach, much more so than simply turning the whole thing into a fight of brute force. This haunted house quality is helped along considerably by Batwoman #8’s overall visual mood. DaNi’s art uses thicker black lines overall along with heavy black shading rather than more gradual transitions. Hollinsworth’s coloring pairs well with that, especially where Batwoman and Huntress are concerned. Hollingsworth picks shades of red and purple that aren’t necessarily bright but contrast heavily with the mostly black surroundings.

DaNi uses a slightly lighter touch when it comes to characters’ features. Lines are still thick but very, very short in most cases. It is enough to help define faces, providing minimal expression. Huntress and a couple TUCOs with broken masks are the only characters with exposed features in Batwoman #8. With Huntress there is enough nuance to help carry emotion, especially in her deeper dialogue with Batwoman. There is less nuance when it comes to the TUCOs, but they don’t really have any emotional subtext to convey.

Otsmane-Elhaou uses bubble shape to add emphasis to dialogue. In an issue that is purposefully dark, having an added visual element such as a squiggly bubble to convey Huntress’s weakness following her injury or significantly smaller font within regular sized bubbles communicating the TUCOs fear are very good additional visual cues.