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.

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 Long Halloween Deluxe Edition- Catwoman: When in Rome

I wondered for the longest time after buying this deluxe edition, brand spanking new in 2022, what the book had to do with The Longest Halloween. I figured that since it was by Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale, this Catwoman solo venture was just being branded as part of the whole franchise. But that assumption couldn't be further from the case. 

In Dark Victory, Catwoman goes to Italy. It's assumed until the very last 2-pages, that Selina Kyle was attempting to get information over whom might have stolen the body of Carmine Falcone. Well, what happened to Selina in in Europe is explored here in When In Rome. Since it occurs during the events of Dark Victory, this is a midquel, I guess you could say. (Is midquel even a word?)

Needing help with the language and the customs of Italy, Selina has reluctantly hired Edward Nigma, the Riddler, as her traveling companion. Also helping with Selina's mission is a top Falcone family hit man known as The Blonde. It's pretty clear from almost the moment Selena and Eddie step off their plane that someone is trying to kill them. As the hired natives begin using weaponry commonly associated with Batman's Rogue's Gallery, it's becoming clear that somebody from Gotham is behind the plot to kill Catwoman. Could it be Sofia Falcone, who's got a vendetta against the cat thief for putting her in a wheelchair? Or, as Selena's dreams are haunted by visions of Batman could it be the Dark Knight himself trying to kill her?

I feel like I have read this story before. Some scenes seemed familiar. However, I couldn't find evidence in my reading journal that I have read When In Rome previously. I was devouring issues of Wizard and Toyfare when this book originally dropped. Maybe I'm remembering those scenes from an interview with Loeb and Sale. If I had read it before, I had forgotten enough to feel like this was almost an all-new story. 

When In Rome is a very solid mystery. It's psychological as well as a con job yarn. The Riddler was great comic relief. Sale's artwork is amazing as as usual. It's a bit cheeky. If you've ever wanted to see Catwoman's naked backside, you're almost in for a treat. Not full cheesecake, but definitely a sampling.

I've got 1 more story left in The Long Halloween storyline to read. 2021's Batman: The Long Halloween Special. Wait, that's not right. I just learned that a final chapter is coming out. A 13-chapter promised finale, The Last Halloween will start later this month. As Tim Sale had passed away about a year ago, I'm interested in knowing how much he contributed to the closer and if some sort of tribute will be forthcoming with the first issue.

It appears that The Long Halloween just might never end.

Worth Consuming!

Rating 9 out of 10 stars.

Batman: The Long Halloween Deluxe Edition, Dark Victory- The Sequel

The Long Halloween continues. Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale expound on the story of the Holiday killer with Dark Victory, given the deluxe treatment with this 2022 re-release.

A couple of years have passed. Jim Gordon has been made Commissioner of a police force that still has its fair share of dirty cops. On the home front, wife Barbara took their son James and are now living separated in Chicago.

The Falcone crime family is now headed by daughter Sofia, who languishes as a cripple in a wheelchair while trying to reunite the truce with the Maronis. Harvey Dent/Two-Face is an inmate at Arkham, as is Alberto Falcone; the troubled young man who confessed to being Holiday despite looming evidence to the contrary. Dent's wife Gilda went into hiding and hasn't been seen or heard from since. 

Despite accidentally putting Sofia Falcone in her wheelchair, for which the new mob boss has vowed vengeance, Catwoman has agreed to a $1 million bounty to locate the stolen body of Don Falcone and to enact revenge against the perpetrator of the crime. Hopefully, this will eliminate the large bounty that still rests over the jewel thief's head.

There's a new District Attorney; the fiery blonde Janice Porter. She reopened the case against Alberto and is pushing for his release, citing police brutality at the hands of Batman. 

As for Batman, along with Gordon, he's trying to solve a new series of holiday themed deaths. This time, the targets are current and former Gotham City Police with ties to Harvey Dent. Each victim is hanged with a Hangman's puzzle affixed to them. The will they/won't they romance of Batman and Catwoman gets even more complicated when she leaves suddenly for Italy after always seemingly having his back during Falcone involved altercations. As for Bruce Wayne, he's a date with destiny at the next performance of Haly's Circus.

I don't know about you, but my favorite Batman stories are when he's playing detective. There are numerous stories where the Dark Knight has to defuse gang wars or fight through a gauntlet of villains. They're good stories, mostly. But I prefer a more toned down noir story where Batman has to solve the unsolvable. Don't get me wrong. There's a slew of villains from Batman's Rogue's Gallery in this book and they play pivotal roles. Only, at the heart of this story is a mystery and I love it!

The art, while still kinda primitive, has improved dramatically. The Joker seems to have a lot of teeth. Just not as many. Probably because Batman's knocked a few out over the years. Plus, Tim Sale manages to draw several characters similarly in a way to make you think that perhaps one or more players aren't who they really are. I really fell for several red herrings in this book and was nowhere close to solving the mystery! Make that mysteries.

Everybody talks about how great the first Long Halloween miniseries is I think Dark Victory is a forgotten classic and a must read!

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 10 out of 10 stars.

Batman: The Long Halloween

Last year, I managed to snag new deluxe editions of Dark Victory and When In Rome; the sequel and threequel to Batman: The Long Halloween. Having already owned an original copy of the first edition hardback, I just didn't see a point in purchasing a newer yet more expensive copy for a few extra pages of material. It just didn't make sense to me. My goal was once the Halloween season came around, I'd read the Long Halloween trilogy from beginning to end. However, as I started seeing the amazing glut of Halloween specials and horror titles being offered for the 2024 season, I had serious doubts that I could read the Jeph Loeb/Tim Sale masterpiece and it's follow ups during the month of October.

I like to be seasonal in my readings. If I read a Christmas themed comic, I better be reading it in December. It's only the first of September! 

Well, folks have started to call September Halloween Eve on social media. 

A serial killer has begun to terrorize Gotham City by murdering citizens on holidays. At first, it looks like only the Falcone crime family is being targeted. However, when other seemingly random Gothamites wind up dead, it's up to a trio of law enforcers, Batman, Captain Jim Gordon and District Attorney Harvey Dent to identify the killer. However with assistance from the Arkham inmate, the Calendar Man,and warped view of support to stop the killings by the Joker, this trinity of law keepers will be challenged unlike ever before.

I had read The Long Halloween a long time ago. Long enough for me to not remember everything. So I really got to enjoy it almost as an entirely new story. The copy I read was different from this book as I don't remember all of the extra material in the back nor do I recall the foreword by Jeph Loeb. That's because honestly I didn't realize that this book and the trilogy as a whole was a sequel to Frank Miller's Batman: Year One. 

Wait... What?

According to Loeb, the great Archie Goodwin challenged Loeb and Sale to take the work they had done on their Batman Halloween specials and frame a larger story set after the events of Batman: Year One. With Miller's blessing, The Long Halloween was born. Yet, how can this be a sequel. Year One was groundbreaking for introducing a black Selina Kyle to readers. Here, Kyle is white. Plus, didn't Jim Gordon's wife leave him for his affair with a fellow cop? Well, Barbara Gordon is back and so is infant son James Jr. 

The Long Halloween was published in 1996, finishing in 1997. Maybe the editors felt that having a white Bruce Wayne romance a black Selina Kyle would be too shocking for readers. If that's the case, how do you explain Captain Kirk's interracial slobber knocker with Lt. Uhura in the 1960s?! At least I can say that I don't think you can blame the whitewashing on Archie Goodwin as he passed away before issue #1 debuted in stores.

The Long Halloween is an essential Batman read. It might even be required reading for all fans of comics and graphic novels. The art is very Impressionistic. How else can you explain the Joker's gaping maw full of no less than 96 teeth? Such a great read. If you love holiday comic books like I do, you will be thrilled with this story full of a dozen special days of the year; some of which had never had a holiday themed issue until now!

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

Daredevil: Yellow

There was once a time when the Man Without Fear wore yellow. That original look is often ridiculed by fans and mocked by Marvel artists. But I liked the style. It's way better than the time the hero went with full body armor…

   The creative duo of Jeph Loeb explore that fashion faux pas period of Daredevil's career in this offering in their Marvel Color series. When young Matt Murdock is blinded saving a jaywalking elderly man, the kid is doused with chemicals. The radioactive soup gives Matt heightened senses and a powerful radar- like ability to stay out of harm's way.

  It looks like Matt will become a run of the mill defense attorney. That is until mobsters murder Matt's father for refusing to take a dive during a boxing match. Seeking justice when the crooks get off on a technicality, Matt crafts a suit and becomes Daredevil.

  Daredevil is one of those heroes that has grown on me over the years. As a kid, it was unbelievable that a blind person could make their own suit and weapons. But as I got older, I have witnessed the amazing things not just the blind can accomplish but anyone with a disability. In other words, Daredevil is one of the few superheroes that becomes more realistic the older the reader gets…

  Loeb pens yet another awesome script and the deft pencils of Tim Sale ( with beautiful watercolors by Tim Hollingsworth.) I really liked the job that they did on Hulk: Gray and The Long Halloween so much that I am now always on the lookout for anything by Loeb and Sale.

  While this story recalls the origin of Daredevil, this is more of a chronicle of the doomed love affair between Matt and his secretary, Karen Page. Karen was a blonde beauty and her striking gold hair plays on the color motif of the book. Hence, the name of the book, if you didn't get that already...

 Daredevil: Yellow was a delightful read and I highly recommend it. It was published under the more mature Marvel Knights imprint from 1998-2013. But with the exception of the questionable liberties that the Purple Man implies that he took with Mrs. Page in the final chapter, this book was very tame. So I don't think that parents of kids aged 13 would have anything to be upset with. Except maybe for the gaudy yellow costume...

  Worth Consuming.

  Rating: 10 out of 10 stars.

Challengers of the Unknown #8

When reviewing the last issue, I said that the plot was “wrapped up into a very neat and tiny little package.” Gee- I couldn’t have been more wrong. In this final issue of the mini-series by Loeb & Sale, the remaining Challengers officially reunite while clearing their name while making Moffett an ‘unofficial’ Challenger. They also all seem to finally make peace with getting older and with the strange choices they’ve all made since the trail of the Challenger Mountain explosion.

I was very satisfied with the conclusion until I read a letter from scribe Jeph Loeb in the letters page. In that message, Loeb revealed that there was to be another mini-series in hopes of bringing the Challengers back into a monthly series. Well, for some reason that fell apart. While I am disappointed that this didn’t transpire, I realize that had if happened then we’d never have the fantastic Loeb/ Sale works such as ‘The Long Halloween’ and the Marvel ‘colors’ series. I guess the saying is true “when one door closes, another opens.” But just think what would’ve happened if DC had picked up Challengers as a monthly. Would we even have ‘The Long Halloween?’

I shudder at the thought…

Worth Consuming.

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

 

 

Challengers of the Unknown #7

The Challengers and Moffett have finally learned the final fate of their deceased comrades as well as the identity of who blew up Challenger Mountain. But what they didn’t count on was who was behind all of this, as well as an epidemic of insanity that’s been turning normal people into cold-blooded killers. It all gets wrapped up into a very neat and tiny little package- Uh wait a minute!

This is an 8 issue mini-series and this is issue #7! What the heck is going on here? There’s no way that the Challengers are going to have time for another adventure in just 1 measly 32-page comic. I’m anxious to see what Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale have in store.

Worth Consuming.

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

Challengers of the Unknown #6

Tabloid reporter Moffett once used to cover the exploits of the Challengers of the Unknown. Nowadays, he’s unemployed and can’t get any work- no matter how sleazy. His reputation has exceeded him and made him journalistic poison. So while Ace is trying to get the remnants of the team back together, Moffett has been receiving a number of bizarre messages compelling him to investigate the reason behind the Challenger Mountain explosion.

In this exciting chapter, some questions are answered- FINALLY! Who destroyed the Challenger’s base and killed two of them? Who has been sending Moffett these ethereal messages? And will the Challengers ever get back together! A fantastic issue with a cliff hanger I really didn’t see coming.

Worth Consuming.

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

 

Challengers of the Unknown #5 (1991)

Things look bleak for the Challenger former known as Red and now going by “just Ryan, bub!” After being not so subtly told to get out of Gotham by a dark knight, Ryan went do to South America to offer his services as a soldier of fortune. Too bad he chooses the wrong side. Now undergoing months of torture, he’s finally ready to make his escape.

Or maybe things look even bleaker for the Challenger formerly known as Rocky and now going by his Christian name, Les. Fame as an action movie super star has taken its toll on Les. Fast cars, even faster women, and a raging addiction to alcohol have put this former adventurer in a sanitarium.

Then we’ve got Moffett, the reporter who lost his job covering the Challenger’s exploits. With no job, no prospects, and no way of ever bedding the hot new reporter who replaced him, things must be terrible, right? That would be if only a giant pile of gold doubloons didn’t just fall on his do step along with a mystical message to solve who or what did actually blow up Challenger mountain.

This issue was full of drama, mystery, and excitement. Oddly, Ryan’s tale seems to be a strange merger of the origins of the Punisher, Iron Man, and Wolverine. I know it’s a bit of a rip-off, but I really like the treatment Loeb and Sale have given the character. Plus I can’t wait to find out what happens to him and Les- how is he going to get out of that institution?

Hey, wasn’t there a third challenger? I wonder where he’ll figure into all of this. This series is awesome!

Worth Consuming.

Rating: 10 out of 10 stars.

Challengers of the Unknown #4 (1991)

The honeymoon is over. The Challengers have found that their new found independence isn’t quite as it was cracked up to be. Alcoholism, devastation, and betrayal are ruining the ‘sweet life’ for our aging heroes.

It’s not my favorite chapter in the series but it still continues to interest me. I’m not sure why I’m not so enthralled by this issue. Maybe it’s because things are looking bleak.

But you know what that means: things can only get better! Right?

Worth Consuming.

Rating: 7 out of 10 stars.

Challengers of the Unknown #3 (1991)

The surviving Challengers have split up and gone their own ways. Rocky is now an action star. Ace has decided to further his spiritual journey by learning the arcane arts. Red has gone a little loco and moved to Gotham in order to become the Punisher! Not only that, these heroes have dropped their youthful monikers and taken back up their real names as a sign of growing up and moving on.

I enjoyed this twist in having the remaining Challengers try to make it on their own. But what I enjoyed more were the Easter eggs. For example, ‘Ace’ is renting an apartment in Greenwich Village from a very strange doctor. If you haven’t figured out who I am talking about, maybe the sorcerer’s Asian man-servant will ring a few bells.

This series is excellent. It wasn’t a big hit when it came out in 1991 and to be honest, I think these 8 issues have been designated to bargain bins nationwide. However, the little touches that Loeb and Sale put into this book with the Easter eggs, homages to Kirby, and inside jokes is what made this series superb and a hidden gem worth discovering.

Worth Consuming.

Rating: 10 out of 10 stars.

Challengers of the Unknown #2 (1991)

The surviving Challengers find themselves of trail for gross negligence in the wake of the explosion of Challenger mountain. There’s not a lot of action in the sense of fighting but there’s quite a bit of fighting- of the legal system that is.

This issue features several awesome cameos- one of which you might say is super! Plus in a nod to Challengers creator, Jack Kirby, there are also a few easter eggs featuring some, should I say, marvelous Kirby creations from the 60s.

The art is still fantastic and for a courtroom drama, the story itself isn’t bad. The ending left me scratching my head. But not because I was confused but because I don’t have a clue what’s going to happen next to the Challengers when the verdict is handed down with a shocking provisional attached.

Worth Consuming

Challengers of the Unknown #1 (1991)

Where to start with this reboot of the Jack Kirby classic Challengers of the Unknown. Well, for one thing, it’s not really a reboot. Usually when a series from the 50s or 60s gets another chance in the 90s or 2000s, I describe it as not being “your dad’s” superheroes or even “your granddad’s.” But when this mini-series starts, the Challengers are very much the super hero team that your parents or grandparents grew up with. Only, they got older.

 Now approaching 50, the Challengers are still searching out the unknown, they’re still super heroes and they are most definitely on borrowed time. Time, which is running out for our superhero team of non-super powered explorers, is now coming to a close as someone has planted a bomb in their not-so-secret base during a tour group meeting. The explosive cliffhanger promises to tear the team apart in ways unimaginable as some of the team will not make it out alive- well at least for a few issues. It is a comic book- you know that death isn’t always final in those.

   This opening chapter was fantastic. The writing was by the now legendary Jeph Loeb of HEROES and LOST fame, as well as countless comics from the big two publishers. I don’t think it’s his first work, but it’s pretty early. What is a first for Loeb is that this mini-series is the first ever teaming of the writer and artist Tim Sale. Sale, whose classic inking and water color style is a favorite of mine, is fantastic. With works like The Long Halloween and the color series of Marvel tales in their future, I’m excited to see what this duo comes up with next in issue 2.

Worth Consuming.

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

Batman: Hush - Volume One

WORTH CONSUMING!

A much better tale than the Superman: For Tomorrow Series. Loeb is a master at retelling the Batman. And Lee’s art is more suited for Batman. Plus, the array of villains that conspire against Bats is freakin’ cool. However, I have major problems with the Fact that Batman/ Bruce Wayne takes a major fall, gets a bone fragment stuck in his brain, has brain surgery, is photographed with his head all bandaged up and (according to dialogue) is seen in Metropolis with a full head of hair and no scars. Much less the fact, Batman manages to kick major butt without fail. There’s some serious suspension of disbelief here. Still, with great art, and well-structured characters, one can overlook this and enjoy one of the best Batman stories of All Time.

"Batman: Haunted Knight"

WORTH CONSUMING!

Interesting concept of a series of Halloween annual specials. Now if only we could get Poison Ivy’s Arbor Day Special, Captain America’s Fourth of July Extravaganza and The Thing’s Bar-Mitzvah-Mazel Tof Hanukkah Annual. Haunted Knight’s artwork was beautiful. The dream scene in which Batman is getting married and Scarecrow is performing the ceremony is a stunning picture.

And Lost fans this was written by Jeph Loeb who is a producer and writer on Lost so check this out. 4 out of 5 stars