Saturday, March 16, 2013

[BOOK REVIEW] Batman: Hush Volume 1 by Jeph Loeb




Title: Batman:  Hush Volume 1

Author: Jeph Loeb

Artist: Jim Lee


Genre: Superheroes / Action / Adventure


Year Published: 2003


Year Read: 2013


Series: Batman


Publisher: DC Comics

Source:  Purchased

Content Rating: Ages 14+ (Some Language and Violence)

Buy or Add on:  Amazon  //  Goodreads




Introduction:

I have been reading many “Batman” comics for awhile now and after searching for some really good “Batman” stories that were recommended to me by other fellow comic book readers, I keep hearing good things about “Batman: Hush” and I finally picked it up!  “Batman: Hush Volume One” is apart of an alternative universe in DC Comics called “Elsewhere,” like where “Batman: The Dark Knight Returns” also came from and I have to admit, I really enjoyed this volume!

What is this story about?

The story starts off with Batman trying to rescue a young heir to the Lamont chemical fortune named Edward Lamont IV from Killer Croc and after Batman rescues the young heir, he discovers that Killer Croc was trying to steal a case of money, which was stolen in the middle of the fight.  Batman then realizes that Catwoman stole the money, but is not sure why she stole the money and it is revealed that Poison Ivy might be the ringleader in this entire scheme.

Or is she?

Also, Batman makes a trip to Metropolis to learn more about Poison Ivy’s whereabouts and guess who he runs into?

What I loved about this story:

Jeph Loeb’s writing: Wow! Jeph Loeb’s writing for the “Batman” series just continues to amaze me as the stories are fantastic and the characters are extremely well-written!  This volume definitely does not disappoint me as the story and the characters were extremely interesting to me.  I especially loved the way that Jeph Loeb portrayed Catwoman and Batman’s relationship with each other as their relationship felt a bit awkward, but in a good way as the sexual tension between Batman and Catwoman was interesting and clever at the same time. It was interesting seeing Batman having trouble with sorting out his feelings for Catwoman since we normally do not see Batman react so strongly to a situation he does not understand.  I also loved the way that Jeph Loeb builds up the plot surrounding the mystery of the stolen money and how Poison Ivy is tied into this whole situation.  I was practically trying to figure out the mystery of this criminal plan throughout the entire volume as it was cleverly woven into the lives all of the characters involved especially Batman, Catwoman and Poison Ivy.  The storyline was clearly intense and dramatic and I was practically sitting in the edge of my seat trying to see the true motive of Poison Ivy’s plans and how it would affect Batman.

Jim Lee’s artwork:  After seeing Jim Lee’s artwork in the “X-Men” comics, I was interested in seeing more of his work!  Well, Jim Lee’s artwork in this volume was absolutely brilliant as the characters look truly realistic and the colorings really brought out the surroundings.  I loved the dark colorings done on Gotham City as it really sets the dark mood for the story.  I also loved the image of Killer Croc himself as he truly looked monstrous and I loved his green scaly skin as looks truly frightening.

What made me feel uncomfortable about this story:

The only problem with this volume is that there is some language and violence that might make readers who are not used to violence and language in books uncomfortable.  The language is not as strong here as it would be in other comic books and the violence is probably more problematic as there are scenes of characters being punched and having blood spilling from them.

Final Thoughts:

Overall, “Batman: Hush Volume One” is a truly fantastic series so far and I cannot wait to see how Batman will uncover this huge mystery in the next volume!  “Batman” fans will definitely be impressed with series for many years to come!




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