Red Hood #1 – Gretchen Felker-Martin, Writer; Jeff Spokes, Artist
Ray – 8.5/10
Ray: There have been a few tries to give Gotham’s bad boy his own title, most of them a bit mixed. Famously, Scott Lobdell’s Outlaws met with a very mixed reception, while more recently Shawn Martinborough had an under-the-radar hit with a grittier take on the character of Red Hood. That’s nothing compared to what this creative team has planned for him, though. In the aftermath of the events of H2SH, where Bruce and Jason’s relationship unraveled again after Bruce saved the Joker’s life, he’s headed down south to the city of New Angelique. This is very obviously New Orleans, right down to the detailed descriptions of just how humid it is. I’m always interested when the map of the DCU expands, though, and this is a city we’ve never seen before – right down to a new hero named Royale, who seems to have the city’s crime well under control and might be an uneasy ally to Jason.
There’s a dark and terrifying mystery haunting these streets – a series of cops from the New Angelique police department, all seemingly killing themselves after repeating the same mysterious words about “the tower”. Jason thinks it’s mind control, and the streak of deaths also brings Huntress to the city. These two vigilantes are the only Bat-family members who are generally okay with killing, so it makes sense to team them, but their interaction here feels a little generic. Then there’s the end of the issue, where we have a sudden explosion of violence that leaves one surprise character dead after a betrayal. Jason almost seems a bystander in this chaotic city in this issue, with a lot of stuff happening around him, and the end of the issue introduces a new agent involved in the case who actually seems to have more initiative than he does at this point. It’s a promising start, and Spokes’ art is excellent, but this first issue sets up more than it delivers right out of the gate.
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GeekDad received this comic for review purposes
