The Red Hood is Jason Todd.  He was the 2nd Robin, but he wasn’t popular.  In fact he was pretty hated by fans back then.  DC had a vote to see if he lived or died, thinking that fans would rally around Jason and he would then gain support.  Never believing that fans would kill a hero.  Well fans voted and they had to kill Jason.  The Joker beat him to death with a crowbar.

But I guess he got better.  He lived secretly and planned some twisted plots against Batman and other Gotham dwellers.

I didn’t really like the character. I liked the concept of hero turned villain, but I never warmed to the ‘troubled sidekick’ that was after redemption.  I like this take on the character much more.  In fact I liked a lot about this book.There were a few laugh out loud movements, and I even laughed at the ‘Tanks’ line I was having so much fun, even though that line has been done before.

I love the new Roy Harper.  He’s a bit disreputable, and a bit of a dope, but still believable.  Some might not like this version, but I think we will grow on them. And the new Starfire is hilarious.  It rewrites a lot of her past, but it sure ads to her Alien nature.

The art is fantastic. There wasn’t a page that went by that didn’t thrill me. I went back just to re-watch the art. The end scene in the temple had an insane amount of detail.  The artist must have spent a week drawing that two page spread.  So much cool stuff hidden all over the place.  You might not notice every item, but all together makes it quite a feat that adds to the story.

A  —-  Don

This issue opens with Roy Harper (Arsenal/Speedy/Red Arrow) in prison, but at least he has both arms intact again. Superboy punched “reality” to bring back Jason Todd, and I guess the Flash sprinted over reality to bring Roy’s arm back. And give Starfire the memory of the main character from “Memento.” Overall, considering the massive backlash over this comic online (everything online is a massive backlash, mind you), this book was fairly routine and inoffensive. Sure, the characters aren’t like I remember, and barely show or even hint at the depth that they developed over the decades in past continuities, but it’s only a first issue, and at the very least we get some personality for each character that makes me curious to see how the will interact with each other and with other DCU denizens.

The art is really neat – it looks both “sketchy” (but not in a bad way) and polished at the same time, somehow. The coloring is really well done, too, which always helps. Maybe I should read more complaints about books online before I read them, because so far I’ve been pleasantly surprised. Plus, the bat-symbol on Red Hood’s chest is a nice touch.

B  — Ed