There a narrative trope many writers of serialized fiction (comics and TV) use these days. They bring the audience into the story in the middle, and then share the backstory, usually with a subtitle of “24 Hours ago,” or however long it may be to the beginning of events. It’s over-used and tiresome.

So imagine my disappointment when Batwoman #7 opens with a single page of her staggering through the Sahara, followed by “18 hours ago.” Her aircraft crashed, and Batwoman recaps how Batman had sent her on a dark ops mission, with incidents happening over the past few weeks. Confusing? I should thinks so? Perhaps it’s supposed to reflect the delirium from which Batwoman is suffering during her hike through the blistering desert – IN FULL COSTUME, mind you. I hope for her sake it has built-in air conditioning.

Like previous issues, there is much of a story here. Just allusions to past events, relationships, and other hallucinations. It all culminates in the reveal of the big bad guy she’s about to face – the Scarecrow. It’s no spoiler; the cover spoiled it already.

Frenando Blanco’s artwork has a wonderful retro-feel, akin to that of Darwyn Cook or Mike Allred. But John Rauch’s colors and effects help distance it from them, and provides the artwork its own identity. DC could do a lot worse by keeping these two guys on the book – or any book for that matter.