DC; $3.99

Kate Kane is in a bad place in the new Batwoman series. The first issue is set in an upscale health facility where she is being treated for both mental and physical wounds. Much of the issue is dedicated to a therapy session in which she expresses hopelessness and despair. Interspersed between those moments are scenes from her last, terrible fight with the chaotic villain Alice, who also happens to be Kate’s long-thought-dead twin sister Beth.

In the first issue of the new series, writer Greg Rucka uses the time to refresh readers’ memories on Kate/Batwoman’s complicated relationship with Beth/Alice. She is working through the grief of what happened to her sister when they were kids and the pain of what Kate had to do when Beth became Alice.

The art and colors team of Dani and Matt Hollingsworth, respectively, illustrate the two aspects of the story by juxtaposing them in light and dark. On one side, you see Kate in a brightly lit office where her sadness and injuries are plainly visible. On the other, the masked Batwoman confronts Alice in a dark, harsh landscape that fits the mood of their encounter.

It’s a good start for the new series that sets up Batwoman’s next battle and drops a hint about a big villain she/fellow superheroes may soon face.

-Amanda Sheriff