REVIEW: BATMAN: HUSH
Author: Marcus A. Buckley
Tuesday, January 3, 2006

"HUSH” like so many storylines before, held much promise. Promise of exactly what remained to be seen until the issues actually started arriving, of course. We’ve all seen it before: “dream team” writer-and-artist combos that fanboys everywhere have clamored for years to see, then they fall on their face (All-Star Batman, anyone?) People would buy the series simply because we all knew the Jim Lee artwork would nothing short of phenomenal (All-Star Batman, anyone?), and we certainly had good reason for confidence in Jeph Loeb’s handling of the Batman. But would it really fly, or would it be another flash-in-the-pan stunt to drum up sales?

Well, we all know the facts now, but in case you’ve been living under a rock for the last couple of years or so I’ll get you up to speed: “Hush” was a huge success, both commercially and critically. So many things could have gone wrong in a series of this type, but almost none of them did. How did Loeb and Lee manage to pull virtually every villain in the Batman’s rogues gallery—and most of his allies—into one storyline without it being a jumbled mess? True, Loeb had treaded these waters before in The Long Halloween and Dark Victory, but could he do it again, this time introducing some new villain who, aside from being the title character of the series, would turn the Batman’s world upside down? The reason for their success was simple: they understood who their characters were.

Think about it. All of the characters in the book were somewhat “iconized” versions of themselves. Gordon could still have been Police Commissioner for all intents and purposes, and was the rock-solid cop he’s always been. Alfred was ever loyal, and had keen insights into his master and those around him. And Catwoman seems to be handled better by Jeph Loeb (and Jim Lee, for that matter) than anyone else in comicdom, period.

Loeb takes us on an emotional ride with the Batman that kicks into overdrive with the chapter featuring The Joker. The Joker, who generally steals most of the stories in which he is involved, is only used in cursory function here, albeit to highly dramatic effect. In fact, the Joker chapter is one of the most emotional in the whole series. The dialogue between Gordon and the Batman is worth the price of the whole series.

That last statement can actually be said about many dialogue exchanges, actually, which says a lot about how well written the characters are. When The Batman and Catwoman are on the run from a Poison-Ivy controlled Superman, Batman makes a comment about how Superman is the best there is as what he does. Catwoman begs to differ, The Batman corrects her: “I said he’s the best there is at what he does. Not what I do,” he says as he slides a Kryptonite ring onto his finger and makes a fist. Gotta love it.

Such dialogue, particularly on The Batman’s part says it all: in my opinion, he doesn’t get any better than he does here. He displays the usual grimness we expect from the Dark Knight, of course, but he also displays wit, and, dare I say it, humanity. The Batman, and Bruce Wayne, are both at their best when they are allowed to show moments of the emotions that every human being has to some degree. Loeb has managed this in all of his works involving The Batman, but The Batman of “Hush” seemed to exemplify this most of all. The goings-on between Batman and virtually everyone else in the books is first-rate compelling, especially Catwoman/Selina Kyle. I’ve never been in the camp that wanted to see Bruce hook up with Talia, so I particularly liked how all of that played out in this one.

I’m not sure I can speak strongly enough about Jim Lee’s artwork without gushing. If there can be a modern “definitive” Batman, his is it. The Dark Knight has never looked as good as he does in the hands of Jim Lee and Scott Peterson. In fact, DC seems to agree as they are marketing the fire out of Lee’s interpretations of the Bat-cast (my wife even has a Lee-drawn Catwoman Christmas stocking). I would read any Bat-book as long as Jim Lee’s artwork was between the covers, regardless of how atrocious the writing might be (All-Star Batman, anyone?). With Loeb, however, this is never an issue.

“Hush”, like Long Halloween and Dark Victory before it, features a huge cast of characters, all connected in a way that never feels contrived. Quite the contrary, it makes perfect sense, and the reader never has to think: “Oh, the editors must have told Loeb to include So-and-So. That’s stupid.” Every villain, and even the heroes, fit in such a way as to make for a very nice picture when all of the pieces of the puzzle are assembled.

I’m a big happy ending kind of person. I know, I know, call me what you will, but I like for the hero to be the hero at the end, if you know what I mean. The ending of “Hush” was, to me at least, every bit as gripping as the beginning. Things come to a close, but not really. It’s actually quite beautifully set up in case Loeb and Lee ever decide to put a bookend to it with “Hush 2”. And I can only hope they do, because I’m getting really tired of Hush in the other ongoing Batbooks.

The long and short of it is this: if you haven’t read “Hush” yet, stop what you are doing right now and go buy it. It is truly one of the greatest Batman stories ever told.