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.
Rating: 
Summary: A great story!
Review: This book is the first in a series that teams up Jeph Loeb and Jim Lee in a new DC adventure. In this story, when Batman discovers Killer Croc involved in a kidnapping, he realizes that there is more here than meets the eye. When Catwoman enters the fray, he realizes that something very strange is going on. And, when the trail leads to Poison Ivy and Metropolis, things begin to get downright weird! Old enemies put in an appearance in this story, as do old friends, and sometimes it's hard to tell who are the friends and who are the enemies! This is a great story! I loved the storyline, with all its twists and turns, and found the illustrations to be absolutely excellent! My son and I both loved this story, and highly recommend it. We're also breathlessly waiting until we can see the sequel!
Rating:
Summary: CLASSIC!
Review: This book starts out simple enough, Killer Croc (A long-time foe of the Dark Knight) has kidnapped the son of some rich capitan of industry type, and Batman can't have that. Not in his city. But after saving the child, and defeating Croc, Batman realizes that Killer Croc was not the mastermind, and the kidnapping of the young man was only the tip of the iceberg in a plot to test the mental and physical limits of Gotham City's Dark Knight! This title (which is only the first of two volumes) is an excellent mystery which keeps you guesing as to who the real mastermind is. Writer Jeph Loeb, and artist Jim Lee have created the best saga in the mythology of Batman since Frank Miller's '80s classic "The Dark Knight Returns". The "HUSH" storyline features appearences by all of the best Bat-Villains, and is DEFINATELY a must have for any Batman fan, or any comic book fan at all for that matter. In one word........ CLASSIC!
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