Batwoman #7: A Dark Mission

Poison Ivy’s pre-historic plant machinations take a backseat to Vandal Savage’s authoritarian, anti-Bat reign as the head of Gotham City’s police in Batwoman #7. Rucka crafts a largely stand-alone issue here, beginning appropriately with Kate landing in Gotham as Bad Seeds’ story begins. The major continuing plot thread here is Batwoman allegedly gunning down a criminal. Rucka doesn’t linger on this past event long, bringing it up mainly as extra motivation for Savage’s forces to pursue Batwoman throughout the issue.

Savage’s paramilitary troopers are heavily featured in Batwoman #7 but on a smaller scale. This isn’t like Batman #13 where Batman fought his way through several floors’ worth of enemies. Rucka focuses on a detachment that is moving through the city. They harass ordinary citizens, actually refer to themselves as an “occupying army”, and drop everything at the possibility of capturing Batwoman. Readers that aren’t familiar with recent events in Batman will learn everything they need to know about Savage’s forces from this issue.

Batwoman’s side of the story is very mission oriented. Batman sends her to retrieve a cache of backup equipment to replace what Ivy’s plants are destroying. As far as Bad Seeds stories go, Batwoman #7 is easily the most simple and least concerned with the larger circumstances of any tie-in issue to this point.

The art style in Batwoman #7 makes for a dark comic. DaNi’s linework isn’t especially heavy, but it is somewhat thick in application when it comes to outlines. Shading is generous and heavy handed, primarily with liberal use of straight black. DaNi uses a combination of bigger fields of black and what look like thick scribbles–the latter of which is most often used on background settings and objects. This art style plays well with the general dark mood that runs through the story, especially the sequences that involve Savage’s paramilitary troops.

Kate’s introduction as she arrives in Gotham does a lot to introduce the reader to who Batwoman is before an issue that really has no character focused story beats. DaNi brings a nice level of detail to Kate ahead of her time spent under the mask for most of the issue. There is little detail once Kate is in Batwoman mode, but the issue’s opening pages help readers get to know the character.

Hollingsworth leans heavily into the dark and moody sensibilities created by DaNi’s art. Most of Batwoman #7 takes place at night, so it’s only logical for Hollingsworth to lean heavily on dark shades of most colors. The daytime sequences aren’t dark, but they are subdued. Bright colors are really nowhere to be found here. Between DaNi’s art and Hollingsworth’s coloring, much of the comic feels oppressive but in a way that fits with Rucka’s narrative.

Otsmane-Elhaou adds a chaotic element with some of his lettering choices. Emphasized dialogue is often inside jagged edged, asymmetric dialogue bubbles. A similar jagged edged style is used for sound effect text. These qualities add a literal sharp edged element to a story that heavily features Savage’s forces.