Guess what time it is? Zero Year time! Here’s another tie-in coming right at you from Red Hood and the Outlaws. Is it good?
Red Hood and the Outlaws #25 (DC Comics)
While the storm is hitting Gotham (or at least is making landfall), Jason Todd is roped into attending a meeting by his friend. The meeting is where the remaining Red Hood Gang members that avoided going to jail are getting together to figure out what they’ll do next. Meanwhile, a mysterious man in bandages is wandering the straights and a woman in green is also seeking the location of the Red Hood Gang meeting.
Well, I’m pretty sure you could probably guess who she is.
This is issue was perfectly fine. That’s pretty much the extent of it: Just fine. Nothing particularly amazing, but good nonetheless. The writing and dialogue was decent enough (though Todd talking to his sleeping mom did come off a bit cheesy), the story moves fine, and the ending was decent overall. I haven’t been reading Red Hood and the Outlaws, though from my understanding of where it is currently, this ending works at setting things up for the present storyline.
One thing that stood out to me this issue was the mysterious man in bandages we saw. I think we can all agree that is the Joker after his acid bath. It was interesting to see him here and find out what he was up to after the incident. His actions in the book are perfectly in line with character and brings back some memories of the prose story, “The Clown at Midnight,” from a while back (for better and for worse, since I can’t stand that story).
This issue was crammed with plot lines for a simple one-shot. Jason’s trying to provide support for he and his mom, dealing with his apparent personality issues (stemming from being mindwiped back in Red Hood and the Outlaws #19) or desire to be something else (implied by his friend), the goal of the mysterious woman, the whole getting the Red Hood Gang back together, and the man in bandages story. There is so much going on in this issue that the book that everything feels very crammed in or not given enough time or focus.
Dammit, my glowing hand punches aren’t making this thing explode!
The artwork is by Jeremy Haun, who did the Batman #23.2, Riddler issue. Just as we saw there — his work here is perfectly acceptable. His characters and action bits look good, his creepy and unnerving imagery looks great, his panels flow well from one panel to the next, and his characters can show a decent range of emotions. The only thing that looked odd or off this entire issue was the fact that the Red Hood Gang was wearing green jackets instead of their usual black ones. Not a problem, but odd.
Is It Good?
7.0
- The writing and artwork is perfectly fine.
- Works well enough as a tie-in to Zero Year.
- Fun little ride
- Not as memorable as it could be.
Red Hood and the Outlaws #25 is a perfectly acceptable tie-in and works well enough on following up on a hanging plot thread from the main book. It’s not all that great or memorable, but if you read it, you certainly won’t regret it. The best bet might be just waiting until it shows up a trade somewhere to read it though.
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