Red Hood and the Outlaws #17

Writer: Scott Lobdell
Artists: Ardian Syaf, Robson Rocha & Ken Lashley

Overall I've been really enjoying this series. Since Jason Todd came back from the dead way back in Under the Hood I've became a big fan of the character, and think that he's being used a lot better now as Red Hood than he was when he was Robin, so I was ecstatic when this series came out. Okay it's not been perfect, but apart from last issue most of the series has been very good.

Plot

In the aftermath of Death of the Family Red Hood is at Wayne Manor with his fellow Outlaws, Arsenal (Roy Harper), and Starfire coming to pick him up whilst he says his goodbye's to the Bat-Family.

Review

This issue was brilliant and one of the best in the series so far. To be honest after the disastrous last issue this is exactly what this series needed, as I along with many other Red Hood fans would be very upset if it got into a similar type of phase to Scott Lobdell's other series Teen Titans. Luckily it's not and Lobdell has produced something fabulous. For an aftermath issue this was very well written, and had lots of emotions in it. It also had some humor, and reminiscing which was nice, and it sets the next RHATO story up nicely. I really hope that Lobdell can continue in this manor, and that he involves other members of the Bat-Family more often in the series, but without ruining the Outlaws as team.

The art in this issue was fantastic, but first of all I have to talk about the cover. There have been a few covers inspired by the famous page from A Death in the Family, but this has to be my favourite. Mico Suayan has done an amazing job with the cover, and despite all the wonderful details I love that the actual image has Batman holding a dead Red Hood in his arms the same way as he held Jason when he died in A Death in the Family, with the reflection shown a more modern take on the image from that actual even, with Jason as Robin. The interior art was from three different people, former Batgirl artist Ardian Syaf, Robson Rocha, and Ken Lashley. As I've said in the past I'm usually not happy when multiple artists work on the same issue, but this time I wasn't too bothered. The only artist that I've seen work from in the past is Syaf, so I was able to recognize his art, but having not seen either of the other two artists work before I wasn't sure which lot of art was which. It didn't really matter as I preferred Syaf, who gave the same style he used in Batgirl, which actually really suited this series. Overall most of the art was very detailed, with the odd imperfection, but I still liked it all the same. I would however like to see Syaf as a regular artist on this series, as since Kenneth Rocafort left the series Syaf's art has been the best.

I loved the way this issue opened with the surprise discovery from Roy, and Starfire that Jason is still alive. I also liked this as it shows that despite being a Death of the Family aftermath issue it's still an Outlaws issue, and that despite the issue being focused on Jason, and his interaction with the remaining members of the Bat-Family they will still be involved.

The thing I liked the most about this series was Jason's interaction with the Bat-Family. Being the main part of the issue it was bound to be one of my favourite parts, and if I didn't like it the issue would have been very dull. I've been wanting to see Jason interact with the Bat-Family ever since the series started, and although I've loved seeing him, Roy, and Starfire working as a team, and don't want that to stop anytime soon, I was still wanting to see some Bat-Family involvement. From his interaction with current Robin Damian Wayne to first Robin and current Nightwing Dick Grayson, butler Alfred, and final all dark an brooding Batman himself, Bruce Wayne, all being very interesting. The most interesting of all these however was obviously Batman. Although his conversation with Dick was also interesting (will talk a little more on that later) his conversation with Bruce was was the one I'd wanted to see. The thing I think that made the conversation between these two so good was the briefness of it. Jason has been very stubborn since coming back from the dead, hating Bruce for not killing Joker, and has been trying to avoid him since (at least as far as the New 52 has shown), so it was natural that the two wouldn't speak much. The conversation they had was however very interesting, and without spoiling it, it was something that Jason had to get of his chest.

Jason's conversation with Dick was also very interesting. This conversation was something else that I'd seen coming for a while. Although I've not read anything that shows this myself, through reading background history, and flashbacks in the New 52 I know that Dick used to be in a relationship with Starfire, so it was a matter of time before this was focused on a bit more. Although it doesn't delve much into the matter it does show that it's there, and shows potential for further development of this in the future.

The only thing that I was a bit confused with in this issue was the absence of Red Robin (Tim Drake), the only member of the Bat-Family that Jason is able to talk to on a more regular basis (although not regular, a lot more regular that the remaining members of the Bat-Family). After the two having a crossover during Death of the Family it's natural that they won't have an encounter any time soon, but with this type of story I'd have thought that it would. The reasoning for this will probably be shown in the new issue of Teen Titans next week, and it will most likely be that he's not returned to Wayne Manor since.

The only thing I felt negative about the issue was the ending. Don't get me wrong there isn't actually anything wrong with the ending, and in fact it was very well written, but the problem I have is that it's already been stated what might have happened to Jason, and I think it would have been more of a surprise if it wasn't mentioned in interviews, or solicits. I however won't mention what happens so I don't spoil it for anyone that knows nothing about the future of the series, but will repeat that it would have been better if nobody knew prior to this.

Final Verdict

One of the best issues in the series so far this is a phenomenal issue. I'd highly recommend both this issue, and most of the series (although if you're getting most you might as well get them all, as there are only a couple of poor issues).

Rating: 4.5/5

Red Hood and the Outlaws #16 Review

Writer: Scott Lobdell
Artist: Timothy Green II

This has been a very good series, and I have really enjoyed it, but this issue is disappointing. Scott Lobdell has done a brilliant job making this series very fun, but there have been a few imperfections along the way, and a few disappointments.

Plot

This issue sees Arsenal (Roy Harper) lead the Teen Titans, along with his fellow Outlaw, Starfire in rescuing all the people infected with Joker Venom. The only problem is that certain members of the Teen Titans aren't overly fond of having Arsenal bossing them around.

Review

This was a very disappointing issue. I was expecting a lot, especially following a very decent start in the last issue, but unfortunately it didn't continue that way. I have always tried to give Lobdell the benefit of the doubt in the past, as although not all his writing has been brilliant, most of the time it's fun. He's really disappointed me, as I was hoping for an epic crossover between this series, and Teen Titians, but unfortunately it's been a bit of a mess. Although I liked seeing the Outlaws and the Teen Titans meet, it could have been much better, and could have had a lot more thought put into it. I do however hope that Lobdell puts this series back on track following this issue, as it's been a very good series so far, and I would hate to see it continue being this poor.

I wasn't too sure if I liked the art in this issue or not. Timothy Green II did do a great job, and I loved his art in the last issue, but I didn't as much this time. The way he draws both the Outlaws, and the Teen Titans is brilliant, and although it could have been better, it was still good. It was his art on the people infected with Joker Venom that I didn't like, as it looks too cartoonish, which doesn't suit the story, and very unrealistic. Although some people may like this style of art, I personally don't think it suits this issue, and would have preferred the Joker Venom infected left out, or a different artist. Green II did however do a decent job of putting detail in his artwork, and although it had it's few imperfections it was still very well done.

Although the story could have been better, I actually enjoyed seeing Arsenal take charge, and in a big way. I always expected to see him lead the Outlaws at one point or another, but I never expected him to lead the Teen Titans, let alone at the same time. I especially liked the way Arsenal reacted with the Teen Titans, and more so how they reacted back. It was interesting the clash in personalities between him, and Wonder Girl, as he was the person taking charge, whereas she was the person most of the Teen Titans looked at for leadership. The interaction I liked the most however was Arsenal, and Bunker, which was slightly amusing.

Starfire also had a decent presence in this issue, and I especially liked her interaction with Solstice. I would however have liked to have seen a bit more of her in this issue, as besides this most of the story focuses on Arsenal, and the Teen Titans.

There was also a couple of unexpected appearances in this issue from Deathstroke, and Hugo Strange. Although it was nice seeing them, it was a bit random, and could have waited till Death of the Family was over. I am however looking forward to seeing a further appearance of them in this series, and a little more explanation as to why they're making an appearance. I will also be disappointed if I have to wait a long time to see them in this series again, as it would make their appearance in this issue even more redundant.

I saved my biggest complaint till last, which is the fact that Red Hood (Jason Todd) doesn't make an appearance. Although I liked seeing a issue that had more spotlight on Roy, it didn't half come at a bad time. With a storyline like Death of the Family, which features Joker, it's the perfect opportunity to have Red Hood face Joker. With all the past they had, mainly Joker killing him, I was expecting a brilliant story, and the fact he's barely made an appearance, and no effort in the story so far upsets me. All I can hope for is that both Red Hood, and Red Robin (Tim Drake) have a huge part in Teen Titans #16 which is out next week, and that this disappointing crossover ends with an epic bang.

Final Verdict

This was a very disappointing issue, and will defiantly disappoint Red Hood fans. I would only recommend this issue to anyone who's been following this series, or Death of the Family, but it would be pointless to get it otherwise, and isn't a good jumping on point. I would however also recommend it to anyone who's read Teen Titans #15, as although I personally disliked it they may like it, although I still caution them against it.

Rating: 2.5/5

Red Hood and the Outlaws #15 Review

Writer: Scott Lobdell

Artist: Timothy Green II

I have really been enjoying this series, and have loved seeing Red Hood (Jason Todd) having to work as part of a team, something he's not been very good at following his death, in A Death in the Family. This is a very fun series, and I love seeing not just Red Hood, but Arsenal (Roy Harper), and Starfire also, and think that Scott Lobdell has done an amazing job of writing them.

Plot

This issue sees a continuation from the last with Jason going after Joker for potentially killing Isabel Ardila. Unfortunately Joker is one step ahead and catches Jason whilst stealing a cop car. Also in this issue Roy, and Starfire intercept a call, realising Jason is in trouble, and another call later realising Joker is involved, so go and deal with that meeting the Teen Titans.

Review

I thought this was a fabulous issue, and loved that it continued straight from the end of the previous. This has been one of the better series Lobdell has written since working on New 52 titles, with Superman being the only series that is better. I was however really looking forward to this story for a couple of reasons, but the main reason was for the Joker/Jason showdown. I was really looking forward to this as since Under the Hood, Jason hasn't had a chance to get his hands on Joker. Although this issue didn't quite fulfil my expectations, it was an excellent start, and I have high hopes that it will fulfil my expectations, or at least some of them. I was also looking forward to this crossover due to it tying in with Teen Titans, which Lobdell also writes. There wasn't much of the tie-in in this issue, but it was set up very well, and I hope Teen Titans #15 delivers.

The art in this issue was brilliant, and Timothy Green II did a fantastic job. Although I still think that Kenneth Rocafort did the best job on this series, Green II has proven to be a terrific replacement, and at the end of the day I never expected anyone to do a better job that Rocafort. Green II has done a brilliant job of bringing all these different styles of characters together, and although it's not perfect it's still good. I wasn't however keen on the way he drew Joker, and although he made him look sadistic, at the same time he looked very unrealistic, and his mask looked like he had a dodgy plastic back over his head, opposed to a face. There was however brilliant detail in other parts of this issue, and he showed the character's emotions very well.

You and Me, Kid!

Although I didn't like the art on Joker in this issue, I did like Joker himself. Lobdell wrote him brilliantly, and the way he utilised Joker, and Jason's history was fantastic, without being over the top. The comments Joker made about Jason during this issue was also brilliant, and you could really feel the tension between the two characters. This issue also furthered the question that has been asked throughout the Death of the Family crossover, and that's what exactly Joker knows, and whether he knows the Bat-Families secret identities. It's looking more and more like Joker might actually know their identities, as he showed something to Jason that triggered a memory that happened before Jason became Robin, meaning that Joker could very well know who he is. This could also just be a gigantic red herring that the writer's of the series are using to make you think this. There's also the possibility that someone that knows the Bat-Families secret identities could be helping Joker by feeding him information.

What Happened to Red Robin

The mystery of Tim Drake's location is revealed in this issue, as at the end of Teen Titans #14 Tim gets kidnapped by Joker. Although I was happy to see Tim in this issue, as he's my favourite Robin, I was a little disappointed that he did nothing. I was also looking forward to seeing how Jason and Tim got along together, as it was shown earlier in this series that they can both get along with each other, and that they both respect one another, so I was slightly disappointed that nothing happened in this issue. There is however plenty of time for the two in this story, and I hope that it's worth the wait. It's also interesting to see that Joker might have something planed that involves both Jason and Tim, as up until now he's been taking on the members of the Bat-Family individually.

Arsenal and Starfire Meet the Teen Titans

I was happy to see that Roy, and Starfire weren't left out of this issue, and although they didn't really do a lot they set-up the next part of the story, whilst nicely introducing the remaining Teen Titans at the end of the issue. The relationship between the two over the series has been very interesting, and I love that Starfire has began to see Roy as a love interest, and not just a mating partner. It is also revealed that Roy uses technology from the Starfire (Starfire's battleship) to intercept calls to Jason. The thing I liked most about this was that Starfire questioned whether it's morally right to nose into others personal calls, and whether Roy monitors her movements. I also enjoyed the small sequence at the end where Roy, and Starfire meet the Teen Titans, and am looking forward to seeing how this continues in Teen Titans #15.

Final Verdict

A very good issue, and a good start to this part of the Death of the Family crossover, which itself crosses over with Teen Titans. I would highly recommend this issue, and the rest of the series, and am looking forward to what happens to Jason, Roy, Starfire, Tim, and the rest of the Teen Titans in Teen Titans #15.

Rating: 4/5

Red Hood and the Outlaws #14

Writer: Scott Lobdell
Artist: Pascal Alixe

I have been really enjoying this series for some time now and I am extremely looking forward to it's role in the Death of the Family crossover. Although it's not been the overall best series DC has going the now and that some issues have been a little poor it has without a doubt been a very fun series.

Plot

This issues sees the Outlaws getting stopped by Superman on their way back to Earth. They manage to avoid him by teleporting away from their ship but Superman isn't that easy to avoid and soon the trio have to deal with Superman who's only wanting a friendly discussion, although the Outlaws don't see it that way.

Review

This was an amazing issue and I was happy that the Superman cameo wasn't bad. I was expecting this to bee a bellow average filler to tie in the time between now and the Death of the Family crossover and after the slightly disappointing end to the previous story my hopes were even lower. I am however happy to say that I was very happy with this issue and it was better than a good few of the previous issues. Scott Lobdell's writing has baffled me as his writing on most series have been good but he's mostly had a patch where the quality has slipped and the The Culling crossover involving his Teen Titans series was very disappointing. He has however done an amazing job on Superman so far and his work on this series has mostly been good. I love how he handles the character interaction in this series as you don't just see all their separate personalities shown but you see how they see something similar in each other and how they work as a brilliant team.

The art in this issue from Pascal Alixe was overall very good. I still preferred Kenneth Rocafort's art but since Rocafort's move to Lobdell's Superman series Alixe has been the best artist to work on this series. I'm not overly familiar with his work, but the second I opened the issue I noticed that it was the same artist that did the Superman Annual #1 which considering the storyline of this issue (which I'll talk about a little later) made him a fitting choice as artist. I enjoy his art and can't really fault much about it. He draws most of the character beautiful but the only character I'm not as keen on is Red Hood (Jason Todd). I know that his helmet in this series has meant to resemble a face showing a nose and a mouth but where I preferred Rocafort's style was how he made this feature much more subtle, whereas in this issue it's obviously noticeable that their is a nose and more so a mouth on this helmet. I know this may be nitpicking but I feel it makes the helmet look too similar to a mask and takes away the sleekness style the helmet should give. I can easily forgive this as I love all his artwork throughout the rest of the issue and like how he draws the other characters.

Superman's role in this issue was brilliant and I loved how Lobdell made it a continuation to Superman Annual #1, won't spoil how and sorry to any one who's read the Annual and guessed. The fight that embroiled between the Outlaws and Superman was quite fun and I enjoyed how they decided to team up once realising that their individual efforts weren't working. I especially liked how Starfire even got a wee dig in about Jason not liking working as a team. I also liked how although Superman was at ease during this fight he didn't mind trying to put an explanation mark over the fight by trying to make a statement to end the fight sooner.

I was very happy to see that this issue acknowledged the previous storyline by starting on the Starfire. I like it when series acknowledge their previous stories as it makes the timeline look less random. It also brings a good starting off point for the story as you have the other members of the Starfire Crew on-board who have no knowledge of who Superman is seeing him as something they can incinerate and move on from.

The way this issue ended was brilliant and one of the best set ups for a Death of the Family story so far. I won't go into too much detail as to avoid spoiling it but Joker makes a clear statement towards Jason near the end of the issue which doesn't only infuriate Jason but also reminds him of how Joker operates. Jason's involvement in Death of the Family is probably the thing I've most been looking forward to seeing besides the main story in Batman. Like any huge Batman fan will know Joker killed Jason in A Death in the Family which eventually lead to Jason becoming Red Hood and having no regard towards Batman's principles. I'm also looking forward to this crossover as it itself crosses over with Teen Titans. This also means that Tim Drake will also be involved and I enjoyed the hint earlier in this series toward Jason's relationship with Tim and look forward to seeing how it develops in this sort of storyline.

Final Verdict

This was a brilliant issue and one of the best stand alone issues I have read in some time, especially from DC. I would highly recommend it and the next issue can't come along any sooner.

Rating: 4/5