Rating: 
Summary: BEAUTIFUL ART BUT STORY LACKS A BIT
Review: Hush vol. 2 collects the second half of Jeph Loeb and Jim Lee's 12 issue Hush storyline which features basically every major Batman villian...ever...a mysterious new villian named Hush is manipulating all of Batman's old villians. Batman is nearly killed in the first part and is nursed back to health by a doctor who was a childhood friend, Dr. Thomas Elliot.
There are plenty of plot-twists as Batman tries to unravel the mysteries of Hush. In fact there are a bit too many plot twists which seem to be thrown out to beef up what could have been a rather simple plot. If Hush really wanted Batman dead there certainly was ample opportunity. If the villain wants simply to inflict a grievous defeat on Batman, and he knows that Bruce Wayne is Batman, why not destroy him simply by revealing this to the world?
The revealing of Hush was anti-climactic to say the list. Guessing the identity would not take a master detective. If I could figure it out then certaintly Batman should have a LONG time before that. We know that Jim Lee always wanted to work on Batman. It would seem that he also always wanted to draw every notable Batman villian...whether they were central to the plot or just brought in for a cameo as many of them were. So what we get is some beautifully rendered fight scenes as Batman battles the various villians, held together by an angel hair plot. Unfortunately this is what happens when a popular artist is given too much power. It's the mistake Marvel made in the 90's when they turned over their major characters to the hot artists of the day like Lee, Liefeld, McFarlane, and others. Hush vol. 2 has a bit more substance, but not by much.
Rating: 
Summary: Great Art, Decent Story
Review: I actually started collecting the storyline in the single-issue comics from the Batman vs. Superman and since nearly all the backissues for this storyline is near-impossible to get, I bought the TPB for the earlier stories. The art of Jim Lee is stunning, it is easy to see why he ranks as one of the best comic artists of all time. And add Jim's talents with Jeph Loeb's storytelling, you've got a winner. While I really admire Jeph Loeb's works (The Long Halloween, Dark Victory, Superman for all Seasons), the story for Hush falls a tad below my expectations. Sure there is a great plot, a new villain, new developments, but in my opinion the stories seem to drag on a little. The main point being that I guess he was tryiong to provide elbow room for Jim Lee to showcase his take on the world of the Dark Knight. I mean some of the plots that encompass an entire issue could have been done in half the time and space. I guess those who buy the TPB will not feel it as much as those who still have to wait each month for the new upcoming issues, like me, but I guess I am just venting. But other than that complaint the storyline is flawless and a great read. And trust me, get volume two of Hush as well, there are a lot of developments (identities are revealed) :), a lot of old characters come into play and you finally meet the man behind the enitre Hush storyline. The debate on his identity is a heated one, just check the DC messageboards.
Rating: 
Summary: Killer Art by Jim Lee continues...
Review: I used to assume that given his flair and elegant drawing style, there's no way Jim Lee could tackle the dark, grim and gritty portrayal of Batman's world. Yet Hush shatters all my doubts. This guy rocks man! I could spend hours savoring the illustration alone and not caring about the story but the story is also top notch.
Rating:
Summary: Half of ONE OF THE MOST DEFINITE BATMAN STORYS EVER!
Review: If you are a Batman fan, big OR small, buy this book! 'Nuff said.
Rating:
Summary: Delicious
Review: Jim Lee.He's the reason I am giving this book five stars. Over the past year this story has kept comic books readers fascinated. It has almost held the #1 spot for the 11 months that it has been on sale. And this is due to Jim Lee's spectacular art work. In this book Lee pays a true homage, to my favorite comic book character. He is the reason I bought four copies of the book at a time. And he is the reason I bought this trade. The story on the other hand is something else. Jeph Loeb's sense of storytelling is more of a "tell" than a "show". Most of the story is driven forward by the narration in Batman's head. The premise of Hush is supposed to be someone manipulating Batman's foes to get at him. But the truth of the matter is, with the exception of Killer Croc' (who is supposed to be too stupid to stage a kidnapping) it really isn't shown. And of course there is Batman's "romance" with Catwoman. Words can not express how put off with this part of the story. It's purely contrived and annoying. Catwoman comes on to Batman in one of the most sexually agressive moves I have seen in a mainstream comic book. And by the next issue he is in love? Please In other Batman books (including Dark Victory and The Long Halloween-also written by Loeb) he would have spurned her advances. To tell you the truth it is the portrayal of Catwoman that has ruined the book for me. The portrayal of Catwoman has to be the most annoying portrayal I have ever seen of the character. For the entire arc Catwoman behaviour alternates from bimbo to vixen. When she's a bimbo she comes across as comic relief in a tv sitcom. When she's a vixen, she comes across like the Baroness in the Sound of Music. I don't know what Jeph Loeb was doing as he's portrayed her excellently twice before. Her dialogue just grates on my nerves. Still I must praise Loeb for giving such a great profile to Huntress. Another vigilante who gets along with Batman, like oil gets along with water. He portrayed her excellently , the fighter she is and how she will still do the right thing, no matter how badly she is treated by others. Still I would recommend this book to Batman fans and collectors. Jim Lee's art work is worth every penny.
Rating:
Summary: Almost unbearably fantastic!
Review: Loeb has proved himself to be one of the best Batman writers around, and Lee was already a comic book legend after his run on X-Men. Together, they have created one of the most intriquing Batman stories in recent memory, at least one that takes place in the actual continuity of the Bat-books. Vol. 1 collects the first five issues in the 12-part "Hush" storyline. This first installment sets up much of what is to come in this storyline, introducing Bruce Wayne's boyhood friend Tommy, and the mysterious bandaged stranger unofficially dubbed Hush, who really, really has it out for Bats and can get at him (I spoil nothing for anyone by stating that my prediction is that Tommy and bandage-face will turn out to be the same person). Lee's take on the world of Batman is simply stunning; he is producing the art of his career on this run. I love his take on Killer Croc, who finally actually looks like a monstrous human crocodile the way Lee draws him. Superman pops up, and while it's cool to see Lee draw him as well (before he takes over the artistic reins on a Superman comic after this Batman run), I'm sick of Batman and Supes getting pared up, it's been done TO DEATH! ENOUGH ALREADY, THEIR CONTRASTS AS CHARACTERS AREN'T ENOUGH TO WARRANT THESE ENDLESS TEAM UPS!!! Ahem. Anyway, I can't wait to read the end of this storyline in a few days and find out who this 'Hush' guy is...
Rating: 
Summary: For the love of God, don't read this book!
Review: Looking for a good Batman story? Well, keep looking, because "Hush" isn't it. No, this is by far one of the worst Batman stories I've ever read. The likely fact that it was produced purely to make money and quite obviously devoid of any actual desire on the part of DC or Loeb to create a good comic is made obvious by the fact that a 12-issue story was published in two money-making volumes rather than one. "Hush" has more holes in its plot than a piece of swiss cheese. The main villain remains a complete enigma even after the story is over. All the other villains that show up have an extremely strong feeling of "I'm just here so Jim Lee can draw me" behind them (I mean, did we REALLY need that sudden, unexplained, and way-too-short Scarecrow cameo?) Same for the needless appearance of Superman and the countless other guest stars. Events happen with no explanation, and by the end the "story" (such as it is) has become so muddled and, quite frankly, stupid that the ending doesn't even matter. The last page could have been a two-year-old's drawing of Batman taking a poop and it wouldn't have made the story any worse. You want the truth about "Hush"? (Or at least what seems the likeliest explanation for this abomination?) DC wanted a way to boost sales of "Batman." They decided to team up two fan-favorite stellar creators: Jeph Loeb and Jim Lee. All fine and good...or so one would think. What seems most likely is that either DC or Lee chose what characters would appear in the story so that Jim Lee could draw as many people as possible. Loeb was then left to create a story that would fit the umpteen-million characters in for Lee to draw. I guess he didn't try too hard, because this is all he came up with. So, if you like stories that don't make sense, stories where Batman doesn't act like Batman, or stories that feature so many guest stars it feels more like a gallery than a story, then this just might be for you. If you like real, character-based, plot-driven stories, pass this by. PLEASE. Or you can just be fooled by the pretty artwork (overrated, in my opinion) like everyone else.
Rating:
Summary: Batman - Hush Volume 2
Review: Part II of Hush finds Batman dealing with the Joker, Harley Quinn, Riddler, Scarecrow, R'as Al Ghul, Clayface (appearing as Jason Todd), and Hush. Nightwing, Robin, Huntress, Catwoman, Lady Shiva, Talia, Harold, a "cured" Two-Face and Jim Gordon are added to the fray. Thomas Elliot is also "killed" by the Joker. The adversaries perform their usual traits and then are generally discarded. (Scarecrow makes a cameo essentially to recite a nursery rhyme, which appears to be the characters' singular aptness in Loeb's view.) While the rogues are socio-paths - delusional, profane, obsessive, immoral, violent. Those trademark functionings are absent here. All have a fatuous reasoning to be pawns in Hush's machinations. Rather than a dark kaleidoscope of maniacal obsession they're cartoonish caricatures of their past selves and used as plot devices.
Riddler is basically a deux es machina, in a rambling epilogue with Batman he tries to fill the inconsistencies. Riddler appears to be the mastermind: dying of cancer he is aware of Lazarus Pits' healing potency and ascertains one's location, in his treatment, he becomes momentarily psychic, (all others are driven to uncontrollable insanity,) and somehow implausibly establishes in his brief time period of heightened perception that Bruce Wayne is Batman.
It leaves plot holes, but that should apparently be disregarded; its a medium that allows writers like Loeb to get away with questionable material, while ostensibly keeping the integrity of the mythos intact, predominantly on account of the high sales figure. The story isn't an outgrowth of the writer's previous attempts Long Halloween/Dark Victory - where the plots share similarities - instead Loeb revels in a type of restrained discernment of overly simplistic perceptions, it's more a stylish and darker update of the '60s show - even Batman and Robin had more of a thematic undercurrent - than an epochal Batman.
`Hush' is primarily a convoluted, unconnected storyline with extraneous inundation that prevents any real development. A series of uncorroborated action sequences without any authentic connection. Rather than delving deeper into the plot, each chapter's culmination brings back the basic premise of this effort - discovering who Hush is. The reader may be genuinely fooled by the many components with little relevance - events that don't build structure but basically are there to orbit around and obscure Hush's true identity. Batman would've seen through this charade. But Loeb's Batman is not a detective of any kind, he's a completely reactionary figure that is full of belated and redundant expository thought, not intuition or cunning intellect. One must grant Loeb far too many liberties for his writing to be sensible.
In most stories the protagonist is evaluated by the adversity and burden they contend with, which is the intrinsic failing of `Hush'. The Elliot/Hush character is too artificial to be considered a legitimate threat against a weathered Dark Knight. A number of the events are designed to extract an emotional reaction, while conjuring up nothing, Thomas Elliot is an astonishingly vapid creation, incapable of supporting the foundation of the story. Hush doesn't earn his place in the Bat mythos, but is forced unreasonably into it. He's a disparate, imbalanced addition to a stellar collection of deplorable hoods that inhabit and demoralize the sprawling urban jungle of Gotham. Bane, whose nascent rise from the Vengeance issues (and from the Legends' story arc `Venom' - his source of strength) brought more credibility and established him as a veritable foe, in which `Hush' reads like an abridged version of the classic Knightfall. That story displayed in a believable and suitable manner the psychological and physical defeat of Batman. `Hush' simply emulates that for the story's impact - an annihilated Batman, here in an improbable method. Take any broad arc from the past decade - Prodigal, Contagion, Legacy - stories with a more adventurous and straight forward drive, not with any notion of pretense that `Hush' insinuated to imply. Those added to the mythology by strengthening the characters involved with the events, where as `Hush' fails in most regards, a story so chockfull of fallacies that it is at once both irrelevant and disposable.
The comic industry is one that is still searching for recognition and valid acknowledgment. `Hush' in its small but significant way deteriorates that status by indulging in its limits. Comic books could be a more relevant form of art and literature if other authors could advance existing creations into hitherto unexplored areas to further a character's potential and develop an expansive agenda. As an artistic failure, but commercial success a story like `Hush' only becomes a limitation.
Rating: 
Summary: Just a good comic book
Review: The art of Lee is nice like all his work men strong, women hot. I can't deny that, however, his Joker is the worst I've ever seen. But the story, well... maybe it would be great in 1 or 2 issues, but not twelve!!!! I think is sucessfull because Loeb know how to write the last page of each issue to keep you waiting for the next, but in two or three years when people can get the book all together, it would be forgotten. Batman look sometimes like a cyborg, sometimes like a fool, sometimes like the bad guy, but never like the DETECTIVE that he is. If you want a really great Batman's story read anything that Frank Miller had wrote.
Rating:
Summary: Candy For The Comic Fan
Review: The average comic fan struggles between trying to "look" mature and giving in to their childhood fantasies. Having said all that, the average comic fan is actually far more intelligent than most people think. I mean, the world is only now discovering things like the "Matrix" films and these are things that comic readers have taken for granted for years. I, and many like me, have been "seduced" by the intellectually satisfying and literary rich writings of post-modern comic scribes like Alan Moore, Neil Gaiman, Grant Morrison and Warren Ellis. These masters of deconstructionist, post-modern writing always seem to come up with new ways of reinventing the entire comic genre. However, all that said, there is still that part of me that is a lot less cerebral and a lot more visceral... or more romantic. It's that part of me that gasp with bated breath when Green Lantern takes his oath or when the Batman swoops down unto the roof of the GCPD in answer to Commissioner Gordon's call. And for that, I turn to Jeph Loeb and Jim Lee's "Batman : Hush". Jeph Loeb doesn't pretend to be what he's not. He's not from the fraternity of "2000 A.D." British writers who deconstructs superheroes to show them for the fascists they really are. Jeph Loeb is a romantic - of the "Casablanca" sort. He loves superheroes and it shows in his works (check out "Superman For All Seasons" and his Marvel "color" books for further evidence). And here in "Hush", we have Loeb writing a story that I believe he himself wanted to read. All the best writers write for themselves... for their own pleasure rather than for the approval of a board of critics. In short, Loeb writes as a fellow fan to fellow fans who want to see a great Batman-Superman bout, a Batman-Catwoman romance, a Batman-Joker fight-to-the-death, etc. - you get the point! More than that, he writes for the artist. In this case, Jim Lee. Jeph Loeb is as much a fan of Lee as many of us. So he writes the scenes that he himself (and most of us) wants to see Jim bring to glorious life with his pencils. For example, who doesn't want to see Poison Ivy drawn by Jim Lee? That brings us to the artist. Need I tell you that Jim Lee is the creator of the highest-selling comicbook of all time (X-Men #1)? Need I tell you that Jim Lee is the founder of Wildstorm? But more important than that, we respect the man for his art - which can be summed up as merely a strong sense of the human figure and tight, super-detailed backgrounds. Having grown up with his work on X-Men and Punisher, I must say that he has improved greatly here on Batman, giving us (dare I say it) the most definitive Batman since Neal Adams in the 1970s. All that is brought to glorious life by the tight inking work of frequent collaborator Scott Williams and colorist Alex Sinclair. This first of two volumes collects the first five parts of the Hush storyline along with an introductory "origin" of Batman told from Alfred's perspective. Jeph Loeb provides the foreword himself and the book includes biographies of the creators. I gave it four stars instead of five because the paper is awfully thin. Seeing that this is a hardcover collection of the highest-selling comic of 2003, D.C. should have used a heavier paper-stock - like they did on the wonderful Green Arrow hardcovers. All in all, I recommend this book for those who grew up with Batman and those who would like a taste of the "real" Batman apart from the awful movies.
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