[Comics Review] Batman: The Complete Hush (CONTAINS SPOILERS)
I first heard about this comic via a Batman: Arkham City (B:AC) side mission. The side mission involves a series of murders in Arkham City but parts of their faces are being removed. (Note: there's a similar side mission in Batman: Arkham Knight (B:AK).) So upon finishing the first side quest (the one in B:AC), I took it upon myself to grab my Kindle and head straight into Comixology to buy the comic.
Going into the comic, I had a good idea of what to expect, well, at least at the end. The beginning and the middle were not what I expected but the story was a good one anyway.
Someone is taking Batman's enemies and teaching them new tricks.
Killer Croc kidnaps a child for ransom.
Poison Ivy exerts her hold over Catwoman and has her steal Croc's ransom, giving it to her.
Harley Quinn interrupts an opera to rob the patrons and Joker is arrested for killing Doctor Thomas Elliott, one of Bruce's childhood friends.
Huntress thinks that Catwoman is a younger version of herself.
Who's doing it and, most importantly, what do they want?
The comic starts with Killer Croc having received a ransom of $10 million dollars in exchange for the kid he kidnaps. Batman swings into action, stopping Croc -- Croc's bigger and meaner than ever and all Batman can get out of him is that someone was going to give him an antidote.
When the police arrive, Batman discovers that Catwoman has taken off with the ransom and he proceeds to follow her with the intentions of returning the money to its rightful owner. His grapnel line is cut and he falls. He falls HARD. Smack dab into Crime Alley (where his parents were murdered when he was eight). Catwoman gives the money to Ivy and we see that she's under Ivy's spell.
It's announced that Bruce Wayne has been in a terrible accident and has called in a neurosurgeon named Thomas Elliott in for a surgical procedure. We learn that "Tommy" was once Bruce's best friend when they were growing up. While they were young, Elliott's father and mother are in a car wreck, Bruce's father (a surgeon) trying deperately to save them both. He is able to save the mother but not the father. Bruce promised Tommy that things would be okay and Tommy breaks down because he thinks Bruce has lied to him. They grow apart as a lot of kids' early friendships do.
Ivy runs off to Metropolis and Batman and Catwoman team up to catch her. But first... a kiss. A kiss that appears to have been the first between the two and one that Batman has a hard time forgetting. During the comic, this relationship between Batman and Catwoman is forged extremely carefully, Batman even deciding to reveal to Catwoman (Selina Kyle) his true identity as Bruce Wayne and even invites her to the Bat Cave.
Batman as Bruce Wayne goes to visit the Daily Planet and return Ivy to Gotham City. But Ivy takes control of Superman with her powers and we have a massive fight on our hands. Superman vs. Batman and Catwoman. Fortunately, Batman has a ring with a green Kryptonite K in his belt and, with it and some other tricks, they're able to get Superman, the eternal Boy Scout, out from underneath Ivy's spell.
Harley Quinn, Riddler, Huntress... everyone's behaving so oddly...
Batman pieces together what has happened and who was responsible for kicking these criminals into high gear.
And the ending -- even if you've gone through the Batman: Arkham City videogame -- will still surprise you.
I actually read this comic twice to get a good feel for the story. Batman is often sad, but thoughtful and moody as he is wont to be. His decisions aren't made lightly and, even though Alfred lets Selina know this, his thoughts, the narration of the story is so well written that we, the audience, already know the painstaking care he has put into deciding whether to continue a relationship with Selina.
One of my favorite parts was amusing because of a quip that Batman says in Heroes in Crisis #2 that he doesn't have Kryptonite in his belt, and come to find out, in both stories, he definitely had Kryptonite in his belt.
Batman may call Superman the Boy Scout but he's definitely prepared for everything.
From Heroes in Crisis #2
From Batman: The Complete Hush
I really enjoyed that the writers took the time to plant the clues that Batman needed to discover who it is that's giving more power to his enemies.
It's hard to describe a comic book for a review. It always feels that there's so much going on and I just want to tell you who did it and why and why it's not going to be who you think it is. BUT you should go out and read it and enjoy it for yourself.
And my favorite photo...
These comic writers are genius’s #steemitbloggers
Absolutely! I have a couple of friends who are collaborating with me on a comic and we're just getting started. It's amazing how much work it takes!
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It's been a long time since I actually read a comic. Think the last was Asterix.
Not sure if anyone still remember it 😄
I love Asterix!!! Still one of my favorites :)
I remember Asterix! When I took French in elementary school, we were introduced to it :)
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I've always had a hard time reading comic books or graphic novels. I'm a word-oriented type of person, so I find that I often skip the pictures. I end up missing half the story!
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I was like that until I found ComiXology on the Amazon Kindle. They have a setting where you can see one frame at a time which helps immensely. When I first tried to read them, I got caught only reading and not really noticing the images too, but once I slowed down, man, all of a sudden, they came alive! :) Maybe that would work for you as well! :)
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Thanks for the tip! I'll have to try that next time. :-)
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Howdy there kipswolfe! Hey this is a brilliant review of the book and you really know your stuff. Have you been a fan for a long time? I haven't actually had a comic book for years but they do bring back memories from ancient times and they are indeed timeless. Anyway this is a wonderful review!
Honestly, I’ve only been reading comics for a few months now but I’ve developed quite the collection.
ComiXology has a great selection if you’re interested in comics — and you can read them on your phone or your iPad!
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howdy this find Wednesday kipswolfe! Oh interesting, you are new to comics but are a natural! hey you must be following blewitt then? he owns a comic book store and blows my mind about the business, comics, and everything that the genre includes!
I'm following him now -- thank you :)
howdy kipswolfe! you're welcome. you won't be sorry, he's got tons of knowledge and experience in the field.
I think I'd feel quite lost if I were to pick up a comic and just start reading. I really dislike not knowing backstories, how we got to the present situation, etc.
I wonder how long it would take someone to read all of the Batman comics end to end? Probably a few years. Has anyone actually read all of them? (I'm just musing here - no need to actually answer my question!)
I don’t think you’d feel as lost as you think. It depends on where you start from. The comic I reviewed pretty much explained everything, even if you didn’t get the tiniest detail. Reason I say this is that I thought I’d feel the same way :)
There are a lot of different Batman comics, different stories, different universes. So it’s really not all one story but many stories about Batman.
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I think that's the part that confuses me - all the different stories and universes. Perhaps I need to stop micro-analysing it and just start reading!
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