Batman: Hush, Vol. 1 (A Madman Re-read)

After reading almost the entire gambit of Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale's The Long Halloween storyline, I decided to give Batman: Hush another go. I had heard that a lot of the storyline from The Long Halloween made it into canon within the pages of Hush and I wanted to see for myself.

The story begins with Killer Croc kidnapping the son of a wealthy businessman and holding the lad for ransom. It's definitely not the villain's normal MO. Even worse, Croc has mutated into something more reptilian. Catwoman ends up stealing the ransom and then Batman's heart and this is where everything goes to hell.

As Batman is trans-versing the Gotham skyline, someone cuts the rope he uses to swing from building to building with. The Dark Knight crashes onto the streets below and nearly dies from a severe skull fracture. When a blast from Bruce Wayne's past returns and performs the live saving surgery, it looks like the billionaire has an old friend back in his life. However, as more villain's start acting in ways that is completely unusual for them, Batman is faced with a villain unlike one he's ever encountered before- the bandaged faced mystery man known as Hush!

I've experienced the artwork of Jim Lee many times before. I've never fully appreciated it until now. As much as Tim Sale is Jeph Loeb's quintessential partner, Jim Lee does a darn fine job. Batman never looks more stern. Catwoman is a vision in her black catsuit. Gotham never looked more frightening with it's dingy back alleys and vertigo inducing heights.

The story is excellent. I've said many times, I prefer Batman when he's playing the Detective. He's got a great Rogue's Gallery. But I like it when the Caped Crusader has to match wits with them as opposed as duking it out in fisticuffs as a standard superhero crime fighter. There's a ton of Batman baddies in this story. But the Dark Knight has to figure who is behind his foes recent quantum leaps in prowess, cunning and deceit instead of just beat them all up and that's the way I prefer it.

Sure, I know who Hush really is. Like I said, I've read the entire storyline before. Only this time, I'm re-reading the book while on a mission. I'm searching for the nods to The Long Halloween and I'm paying attention to every panel searching for hints and clues I might have overlooked the first time I read this modern Batman classic! A classic I might add, that would be perfect if not for how close Batman comes to death and yet not 10 minutes into his recovery, the fool is risking his life again to find out who was behind the Killer Croc kidnapping scheme. I find that completely implausible and worthy of a loss of a couple of stars.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

Batman/ The Spirit One-Shot (2023 Comic Book & Graphic Novel Reading Challenge)

The Batman/The Spirit one-shot team-up titled 'Crime Convention' won the 2007 Eisner Award for the 'Best Single Issue/One-Shot'. Written by Jeph Loeb, this madcap adventure is the first ever pairing of the Dark Knight and 'the real only middle-class crimefighter.'

The story has Gotham City's Commissioner Gordon and Central City's Commissioner Dolan heading to Hawaii for a convention of police and law enforcement officers. On his way to the airport, Dolan is swooned by a fiery redhead named Ivy while Jim Gordon is being accompanied by his new girlfriend; a sultry brunette by the name of P'Gell!

The villains of the Batman and the Spirit have joined forces to make the convention an explosive event that nobody will ever forget! Everyone from the Cossack to Killer Croc have converged on America's 50th state to have some fun, get some sun and hit at the heart of their arch-enemies. Thankfully, Batman and the Spirit are en route to Hawaii. But are they too late?

The star of this book is artist Darwyn Cooke. Introducing the Spirit to the DC Universe, Cooke would later go on to be written and illustrator for the first 14 issues of DC's Spirit ongoing. A student of the golden and silver ages of comics, Cooke combined classic artwork with modernized poses and Kirby-esque framing. As a result of his efforts on both this one-shot and the Spirit monthly, Cook earned the 2007 Joe Shuster Award for Outstanding artist.

Dave Stewart won the 2007 Eisner as best colorist for this special. 

A Late Freeze, The Preposterous Adventures of IronHide Tom, Skyscrapers of the Midwest #3 and They Found The Car were the other nominees for this category. 

Batman and the Spirit would team again, along with Doc Savage: The Man of Bronze in the 2010 miniseries First Wave.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 10 out of 10 stars.

Completing this review completes Task #9 (Best Single Issue or Serialized Story to Win Eisner Award) of the 2023 Comic Book and Graphic Novel Reading Challenge.

Batman: Arkham- Killer Croc

I'll admit- when I first encountered Killer Croc on an episode of Batman: The Animated Series, I really thought that the villain was created strictly for the cartoon. I learned later that I was wrong. But my error was due to the limited number appearances of the character during his first decade of creation.

I've read 3 or 4 volumes in the Batman: Arkham series thus far. And of those, Killer Croc has got to be the most unknown entity of those I've encountered. But of all of these books, Killer Croc's collection is the only one that reads like an Arkham Asylum case file. 

In this book, you see Croc's earliest appearances as just a man with an unfortunate skin condition and massive strength, attempting to squeeze into the ranks of Gotham's underground in the middle of a power vacuum. Sadly, over time, Croc's physical abnormalities also affect his mind as constant mutations, both natural and man-made, causes the Batman enemy to devolve into a human crocodile!

While Croc is a sympathetic character, he also gets repetitive quickly. In almost every story of this collection Killer Croc reminds us that he used to wrestle crocs for a living down in Florida. Maybe that's part of his loss of intelligence as he regresses. But it got old fast.

I also had a problem with the selection of stories. We seem to get a pretty good run of Croc's chronological life. And maybe being an underused character helps for this to occur compared to someone like The Riddler; who has probably been in a couple hundred Batman comics. However, there's a big cliffhanger that appears to involve Killer Croc that resolution is not included. Maybe Croc didn't play as big of a role in that follow-up story. But his presence definitely has to do with the tragic outcome we later find out about. 

I enjoyed reading this. But I feel like Killer Croc is an uneven character. Sure, he's a heavy. But he's got a depth thanks to his tragic origin story. I just don't think all of the writers who tackle the character properly acknowledges that Waylon Jones is more than just muscle. At least Batman: Arkham- Killer Croc succeeds in painting a progressive, yet incomplete history of the evolution of a cold blooded killer.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 7 out of 10 stars.

DC Dog Days of Sumer Special #1

8 action packed adventures for all you DC Comics fans. 

A $9.99 price tag might be pretty steep for most of you. But I am a holiday themed comic addict and since I was going on vacation this week, I could not pass it up. 

There's quite a few of DC's best working on this book including Dan DiDio, G. Willow Wilson, Stjepan Sejic and a cool-looking cover by Francis Manpul. While there's an impressive list of talent on this book, the quality of the stories do vary. 

The best stories were:

• A Killer Croc tale of the crime lord's Miami origins, set in the Everglades.
• Beast Boy's feats of strength during his much needed summer vacay.
• Red Lantern Dex-starr teaches a milquetoast the benefits of rage when some Khund vacationers go on the war path.
• On a jungle safari, Animal Man must protect his family when an ancient menace targets them as his next meal. 

The worst:

• A Superman and Krypto team-up. The story of the duo facing an alien menace was good. But the art was really poor. 

In the middle was:

• A Justice League story involving a Minotaur named Ferdinand. His quest to find a suitable main course for the League's BBQ was admirable, especially since I am a professional chef. But I don't know this character and that made it hard to make a connection with the story.  
• Captain Carrot's cartoon world is undergoing a CRISIS. With Earth-23's Superman out of commission, the bunny must rely on the grim and gritty Atomic Batman of Earth-17 whose all about logic Yet, with the sun feeling unappreciated, the only way to save the day means relying on some hilarious cartoon physics! Again, the art wasn't all that great. But it seemed to match this Looney Tunes inspired tale.

If you are keeping count, I just mentioned 7 stories. That's because #8 is one that I couldn't decide whether I loved it or hated it. It involved a pair of drunks deciding to ride an untamed bull (wearing a pained on smiley face) at a county fair. To the rescue is Batcow! This was an absurd story that had some hi-highs and some groan-worthy lows. I'm sure that I don't feel okay with this story. I just don't know whether to hate it or love it. 

Overall, I enjoyed this special very much. For the most part, the stories were great. It was the artwork that wasn't, in my opinion, DC Comics quality. If you are going on a vacation anytime this summer, pick up the DC Dog Days of Summer Special. Almost perfect for reading on a breezy evening after a long day of fun in the sun.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

Joker's Asylum II: Killer Croc

   The beastly Killer Croc has escaped Arkham in a typical bloody fashion. Injured, Croc finds himself nursed to health by a seemingly kind couple. However, in a twist straight out of film noir, Killer Croc has now become the hired muscle to a pair of up and coming criminals. But all is not cheery in this new set-up for the escaped prisoner when the femme fatale of the group plays with Croc's heartstrings in an homage to the classic film 'Double Indemnity.'
   
    This volume of Joker's Asylum was one of my favorites in the entire series (though I still have a few left to collect and read.) The storytelling of Mike Raicht was on the level of a Dashiell Hammett. This guy should write gritty crime novels! The art of David Yardin was quite good as well but if you do not like the sight of blood, then I suggest you read one of Killer Croc's other capers found in the pages of the Batman Animated Adventures series.

   A superior comic that is worth consuming and will leave you asking "who's the real monster in this story?"

  Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.