Batman #361 (2026 Comic Book & Graphic Novel Reading Challenge)

Dr. Kirk Langstrom's tenure as a superhero was a brief one. By the early 80s, Langstrom's feral side won over, with the bat expert succumbing to the addictive properties of his bat-gland serum.

In this 1983 issue, Langstrom is suffering a psychotic break. An encounter as the Man-Bat against the Batman in the previous issue, led Langstrom to hallucinate that the Dark Knight killed his daughter Rebecca. In revenge, Man-Bat infiltrates the Batcave and kidnaps young Jason Todd, still sporting a full head of blonde hair. In a demented episode of eye-for-an-eye, thinking he has kidnapped Batman's progeny, Man-Bat plans on transforming Jason into a hybrid bat and raising Todd as his son!

Written by Doug Moench, this issue is notable for the first modern appearance of Detective Harvey Bullock. Introduced as a bit player in Detective Comics #441 (July, 1974), Bullock languished in comic book purgatory for almost another 9 years before reappearing here in his traditional slovenly appearance; bedecked in a loud painted tie and obviously buying off the rack.

The Jekyll and Hyde dichotomy of Dr. Kirk Langstrom and the Man-Bat would see the character switching sides a number of times over the course of the next 5 decades. The more Langstrom's savage persona takes control, the more of a villain Man-Bat becomes. In the past decade, the character has been portrayed more as a tragic anti-hero, that keeps becoming Man-Bat out of addiction to the rush of the transformation Langstrom feels when in bat form. Some recent appearances in the new millennium have involved Man-Bat as an unwilling member of the Suicide Squad, leading the Man-Bat Commandos, a branch of the League of Assassins that used a stolen version of the Lanstrom Serum, and assisting the Bat Family during the Dark Nights: Metal storyline.

Issue was illustrated by Don Newton.

Completing this review completes Task #13 (Batman Comic from the 1980s) of the 2026 Comic Book and Graphic Novel Reading Challenge.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

Batman: Hush, Vol. 2 (A Madman Re-Read)

Volume 2 opens with a night at the opera. Only this isn't the stuff of the Marx Brothers or Queen. What starts as a refined charity event for a community hospital ends in bloodshed when Harley Quinn and the Joker robs the event and murder Bruce Wayne's best friend from his childhood. Only the Clown Prince of Crime claims that he didn't pull the trigger. That doesn't stop Batman from almost killing his most hated foe!

As the story progresses, Loeb's storytelling gets much more complex. So much, that I'm still not 100% sure what one of Batman's allies did wrong. Did they do wrong at all? I've researched for an answer and I am still not all that sure. 

Jim Lee's artwork continues to evolve. Batman looks resplendent by the end of Hush. So do Catwoman and Robin. 

The biggest disappointment is how it feels that by the end of this book, every criminal in Gotham City should know that Bruce Wayne is Batman. They really can't all be that ignorant. Or does the criminal element in Gotham just choose to ignore the truth. New villain Hush, enlists several baddies to make Batman believe that Jason Todd is actually Hush. I find it unbelievable that none of these hired goons went snooping and put two and two together that Bruce Wayne's deceased ward, Jason Todd was the second Robin who died at the hands of the Joker! I don't buy it!

A good story with great art, that just finishes in a way I find implausible. Batman's Rogue's Gallery cannot be that blind!

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 7 out of 10 stars.

Red Hood and the Outlaws Annual #2

An encounter with an impostor St. Nick at Wayne Manor sends 10-year old Jason Todd and his friends Starfire and Roy Harper on a trek to the North Pole to find out why the real Santa Claus didn't come to visit Red Hood and the Outlaws. 

The New 52 had a lot of memorable moments. However, the fun moments were few and far between as this incarnation of the DC Universe was much more dark and gritty. This holiday annual was lots of fun as it seems that fans of the Red Hood, Starfire and Arsenal got to explore an untold tale from their early days as youths. Only something just doesn't add up and it's not Dan DiDio and Jim Lee playing fast and loose with continuity. 

Scott Lobdell gifted fans with a festive story that was gritty, violent and absolutely bonkers. Yet, it was a wild ride that I will definitely visit again in future Christmas comics reading seasons. Jonboy Meyers' art was great and while the cover by RB Silva and Walden Wong is deceptively cute, it made for a great wrappage for this package full of New 52 twists and turns!

I've never read any of the Red Hood and the Outlaws books previously. Thanks to this 2015 annual, I may just start. I didn't really understand the concept of the series. I'm still not 100% understanding of why Starfire is with Jason Todd and not the Teen Titans; but I now have a better grasp of this series' concept enough to give it a go.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 10 out of 10 stars.

Batman: Second Chances

Jason Todd. 

The second sidekick of the Dark Knight. One of the most controversial characters in comic book history. He's like the celery of DC Comics as you either love him or hate him... and most despise him!

I decided to give Jason Todd another look with the purchase of this collection of stories from the late 80s. Featuring writing by Max Allan Collins, Jim Starlin and Jo Duffy, Batman: Second Chances covers the retooled origin of the character that was sorely missing from his 1983 debut. And this is where I think a lot of readers hated Jason Todd. 

See, Jason just kinda got thrust on readers as being the new Robin in Batman #368 after having basically appeared in a couple of cameos nearly a year prior. Jason Todd was replacing Dick Grayson, whose role on the 1960s Batman TV series made the young ward a household name. Never mind the fact that Dick Grayson had moved on from being Batman's partner years before. Here's a kid replacing a legend. A youth who is a little cocky, a bit brash, and kinda rude taking over the role of America's favorite teen sidekick without so much as a thank you and it ticked fans off. 

I think DC Comics kinda realized that fans were unhappy with Jason Todd. So after Frank Miller's Batman: Year One storyline retooled the origins of Bruce Wayne for a more modern audience, Max Allan Collins sets his sights on giving Jason Todd a formal introduction into the Batman Family while giving readers the must desired reason for the fallout between the Caped Crusader and Dick Grayson. 

Though the title was never officialled renamed, editors rebranded the Caped Crusader's solo title as Batman: The New Adventures. Here we learn that during one of Batman's annual visits to Crime Alley, the area of Gotham in which Thomas and Martha Wayne were murdered, someone had the brass balls to steal the tires off of the Batmobile. The thief is none other than the orphan street rat, Jason Todd. 

Not even old enough to drive and this kid steals from the Batman! This kind of bravado impresses Batman. Working out a deal, Batman gets Jason set up with a halfway house. However, the program ends up being a front for organized crime a la Fagin and his pickpockets in Oliver Twist. Only much more violent. When that placement falls through, Bruce Wayne takes in Jason Todd and a new Boy Wonder is shortly christened. 

Despite a new origin and a blessing from Dick Grayson to Jason as being his heir appearant, time was short for the new Robin. By mid-1988, Jason's fate was left up to readers to call a 1-900 number to decide if the Joker would kill the new Boy Wonder in an explosion or merely mangle him a little. More readers called in to kill Jason Todd, beating out those who wanted to save him by less than 100 votes. I remember my house voted. But I don't remember if my dad was one of Jason's executioners or saviors. I know I wanted Robin to die. But my father often would do the opposite of what I wanted in his own Joker-like sadistic way...

Did Jason Todd really deserve all that hatred? Based on the stories in this book: no. Max Allan Collins and Jim Starlin do a decent job making him an agreeable sort of fellow. I'm guessing it's the Jason Todd from 1983-86 that got on reader's nerves and sent the lad into an early grave.

And sure- Jason Todd is back alive. It wouldn't be comic books if the characters didn't return from the beyond once and a while. This Jason who goes around as the ultra-violent Red Hood, is a fan favorite among many. Readers love how as the Red Hood, Jason Todd will cross lines that the rest of the Batman Family refuse to even toe. But me, I am a purist. I prefer Jason as a carefree kid, trying to make the best of a new life, even though on the other side of the comic book page, unknown readers were making plans to kill him. 

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

Batman #413 (2023 Comic Book & Graphic Novel Reading Challenge)

Batman has a new ward- the street smart orphan, Jason Todd. Slowly learning the ropes as the newest Robin, Jason is headstrong, impulsive and full of rage. However, in the early episode from Jason Todd's oh-so short stint as the Boy Wonder, it's the observational skills of the lad who helps Batman crack this bizarre case. 

A new exhibit is opening at the Gotham Metropolitan Museum. Focusing on artifacts from feudal Japan, a number of pieces including kimonos, swords and a suit of samurai armor have been donated from one of the last surviving members of the Tahara Clan. The Dark Knight suspects that members of Gotham's criminal elements will rob the exhibit and so Batman keeps vigilance over the museum. 

To everyone's surprise, the exhibition isn't robbed. Instead, it's haunted by the ghost of fallen Japanese warrior, Masahiko Tahara! Now it's up to Batman and his brand-new Robin to get to the bottom of a mystery on par with something you'd expect from Scooby-Doo and the teen detectives of Mystery Inc.

'The Ghost of Masahiko Tahara' was written by Jo Duffy. Duffy has first appeared in the pages of Marvel comics in the early 70s as a frequent contributor to the letter cols of various publications. She then appeared as a cameo character in the pages of Iron Man #103 (Oct. 1977), before eventually earning her first credit as an editor for Defenders #61 (July 1978). 

Duffy's first writing credits including Daredevil, Defenders and Marvel-Two-In-One before taking on her longest and perhaps most well known stint as the writer of Power Man and Iron Fist. During this time, Duffy also penned a number of issues of Star Wars and Conan the Barbarian thanks in part to her duties as Archie Goodwin's assistant. 

During a time when Marvel was experimenting with a darker tone, Jo Duffy was a refreshing blast of light-hearted stories that harkened back to the days of Stan and Jack. She was also known to pepper her stories with doses of sarcastic humor that often hid a back-handed compliment or two. Maybe that's one reason why she paired brilliantly with Steve Ditko on some of the last issues of the short-lived Speedball series about a teen boy who turns hyper-kinetic whenever he experiences too much force.

Batman #413 was written during Jo Duffy's brief first stint with DC. In the early 90s, Duffy penned stories for Dark Horse and Image before returning to DC where she penned the first 14 issue's of Catwoman. In the mid-90s, Duffy was the screenwriter for the 4th and 5th movie in the Puppet Master horror franchise before returning to the House of Ideas in 2000. 

Jo Duffy's last writing credits are from 2003-2006, writing English script adaptations for Viz Media's Naruto. In 2007, Duffy took a job as a receptionist for the U.S. Immigration Office in New York. The writer had for some time made announcements to create her own self-published comics under the banner of Armin Armadillo Publishers. While Duffy did incorporate a company under that name in 2008, as of press time of this review, that is as far as that vision has preceded.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 7 out of 10 stars.

Completing this review completes Task #15 (Comic Book Written by a Female) of the 2023 Comic Book and Graphic Novel Reading Challenge.