BATMAN: HUSH is a thrilling mystery of action, intrigue, and deception penned by Jeph Loeb (BATMAN: THE LONG HALLOWEEN) and illustrated by comics superstar Jim Lee (ALL STAR BATMAN & ROBIN, THE BOY WONDER) in which Batman sets out to discover the identity of a mysterious mastermind using the Joker, Riddler, Ra's al Ghul and the Dark Knight's other enemies - and allies - as pawns in a plan to wreak havoc. Volume 2 is collecting Batman #613 - #619.
Joseph "Jeph" Loeb III is an Emmy and WGA nominated American film and television writer, producer and award-winning comic book writer. Loeb was a Co-Executive Producer on the NBC hit show Heroes, and formerly a producer/writer on the TV series Smallville and Lost.
A four-time Eisner Award winner and five-time Wizard Fan Awards winner (see below), Loeb's comic book career includes work on many major characters, including Spider-Man, Batman, Superman, Hulk, Captain America, Cable, Iron Man, Daredevil, Supergirl, the Avengers, and Buffy the Vampire Slayer, much of which he has produced in collaboration with artist Tim Sale, who provides the comic art seen on Heroes.
The Hush saga continues. After the death in the last issue Batman has finally been pushed too far and make a decision to end one of his long time villains, for all the pain he has caused the bat family.
This volume guest stars most of Bat's greatest villains, and every time I thought the mystery was solved it just keeps adding layer after layer. I thought ha it was him, no it was not, ah it was them no it was not.
Great art work, good story with lots of twist and turns and lots of Batman history. I do like the flash backs of key moments of Batman/Bruce's past. If I had one complaint it would be I would have liked a more decisive fight at the end but I did like how everything was explained at the end.
The lingering questions really drove this forward. Who is this mysterious man from batman’s past? Why is he stirring up so much trouble? And, more importantly, how has he manged to manipulate some of Batman’s most iconic opponents? The answers really had to be worthy of the questions, and I can safely say that by the end they were. This had the resolution it needed.
I’m not giving anything away. I’m not going to attempt to be cryptic or discuss whether or not the identity of the villain was obvious or hidden. I’m not going to say anything in that regard because I may just spoil it. But, I will say that I wasn’t disappointed. It was some rather clever writing.
So let’s talk about the plot. I found the first part of Hush to be, well, quite random. It seemed to me that the writer was just trying to shove in all the famous faces from Batman’s past. It seemed like that when reading the first part, but now it all makes sense. I was wrong. This all fits together very neatly even if it seemed like an explosion at the start. The story has been balanced very cleverly; it provides enough conflict and violence to make the action exciting yet it retains the mystery right till the end. Batman’s investigative skills were really put to the test. It’s a solid bit of comic book storytelling, the monologue is perfect. The artwork was rather good too, very sharp and dynamic.
The crossovers with other parts of the DC Universe just made me want to go and read more DC comics. As if I don’t have enough to read, but that’s always a good thing! I’m going to be trying some of The Justice League comics next. I just like seeing Superman and Batman together. They make a good team, but the friendship and mutual respect is what makes them so great together. One thing I didn’t like was the references to Batman: Killing Joke. This story happened after that. I didn’t like that. The ending of Batman: Killing Joke felt like it should stand by itself.
Overall, this was really decent. The mystery and the drama took this to the next level; it was much better than the first six issues. More DC comic book reviews from me in the future!
This was so good again and I love how the story gets more epic here!
We see Bruce and Selina attending the opera and then attacked by Harley Quinn and then the Joker and well what happens to his friend Tommy and one of the greatest battles between Batman and Joker and what he does next and how Gordon stops him and its one of the most defining Batman moments and its so well done here!
And then him continuing to face the gauntlet of his villains in Riddler, Scarecrow and something with Huntress and I love that fight between Selina and Tim and well does show some questionable things but I like the way the reveal happens and the drama and all and well sort of involving Ra's which is minorly done and then finally seeing who Hush is and Batman fighting him and the hunt for him and the battle there is just epic and I freaking love it, its a detective story for sure but its a personal story, a tale of twisted friendship and I freaking love the conclusion and with how Riddler is involved.. its just epic!
One of the best stories of Batman and shows both side of him and his crazed world and gives him a great new villain in Hush and also early foreshadowing of "Under the red hood" which was so well done omg, I love it and Jim Lee's artwork here makes the story all the more epic!
After finishing this story, I realized I need to dive deeper into Batman graphic novels. There are so many characters I'm unfamiliar with, like Robin, who goes by three different names.
Overall, this story is engaging and worth following. This was my first time reading a Batman graphic novel, and the experience is definitely different from reading manga.
After reading the first volume of the well-acclaimed “Batman” story, “Batman: Hush,” I just had to check out the second volume that would conclude this fantastic storyline! Now, that I had just finished reading “Batman: Hush Volume Two,” I can clearly say that this storyline definitely rates along my most favorite “Batman” storylines next to “Batman: The Killing Joke” and “Batman: The Long Halloween!”
What is this story about?
Continuing from the last volume, the story begins when Bruce Wayne and Selina Kyle are attacked by Harley Quinn at the opera! Harley Quinn’s attack was not just coincidence as she is then connected to the Joker, who happens to have shot a close friend of Batman’s, who then leads to the Riddler planning a bank robbery and the story goes on until it reaches its shocking conclusion!
What I loved about this story:
Jeph Loeb’s writing: Oh my goodness! Can I just say that this volume had really put me at the edge of my seat? Yes I can, as Jeph Loeb has once again written a truly amazing mystery story that not only introduced Batman’s greatest foes (Killer Croc, the Riddler, the Joker, Harley Quinn, the Scarecrow, Ra’s al Ghul and Two-Face) all into one story, but managed to get all of the characters wrapped up into one shocking and twisted scheme that was cleverly thought up by a truly evil mastermind! I really enjoyed the way that Jeph Loeb weaved all the characters’ storylines into one story and it was exciting seeing how Batman would solve the case about who is behind his foes’ activities and who caused the death of one of his most beloved friends. I also loved seeing the developing relationship between Catwoman and Batman as Jeph Loeb truly showed Batman struggling with trying to trust Catwoman and how Batman has to learn to start trusting people despite what happened to his parents when he was a child. I especially loved seeing the appearances of Nightwing (Dick Grayson) and Tim Drake (the new Robin) as they were truly fantastic characters and this was basically the first “Batman” comic I had read that featured both Dick Grayson as Nightwing and Tim Drake as the new Robin! I loved Nightwing the best as he has a bright and hilarious personality and is usually there to comfort Batman whenever he was at his most vulnerable.
Jim Lee’s artwork: Jim Lee’s artwork once again was just as beautiful as it was in the first volume! I just loved the way that Jim Lee illustrated the lightning sequences in this volume as the lightning looks truly realistic and it really captured the intense mood of the scenes where Batman is fighting during the nighttime. Probably my most favorite images in this volume was of the fight scenes between the Joker and Batman as the panels suddenly go red as we see Batman beating up the Joker brutally and it really shows how intense this scene really was.
What made me feel uncomfortable about this story:
For anyone who does not like hearing language in comic books, this volume does have a bit of language, even though it is not as strong as something you would read out of a Vertigo comic. Also, there is some violence in this volume, especially with characters getting shot and blood spurting out of the wounds.
Final Thoughts:
Overall, “Batman: Hush Volume Two” was just as good as the first volume and this storyline definitely deserved to be regarded as one of the best “Batman” stories ever as the mystery and the drama was so well built up! This volume has also gotten me interested in Dick Grayson as Nightwing and I am open to any recommendations about some good titles starring Dick Grayson as Nightwing!
This review is for volumes one and two of Hush. I read this not long after it first came out, and liked it well enough, but I think I liked it even better with this read. Hush is a sprawling, villain-packed mystery that introduced one of the best Batman villains of recent years, Hush. The mystery is compelling, but so much attention is paid to all the various villains of the month distract from what should be the driving force. But I can't complain too much, because I like how Loeb handled all of the characters, especially Harley. The accelerating romance between Bruce and Selina is believable, even though I admit to being surprised that things were finally made concrete between them. Jim Lee's art is quite fabulous here.
Two small nits to pick: the resolution is so fast, after such a detailed build up, that it feels unsatisfactory. Another issue might have been nice, maybe, to give the climax a little more body. And I enjoy a bit of camp as much as the next person, but I don't think anybody comes out a winner when Krypto the Superdog shows up in a serious Batman comic. Way out of left field, and totally off-tone for the rest of the book.
Well after finishing the first instalment I could not really leave it there - especially when I the second part sitting there challenging me.
So what did I think - did the second part of the story match the first - well for me it certainly did, and yes the question I posed at the send of the previous parts review is as hoped.
Basically when you set a level in one book you can only try and beat it in subsequent instalments - if you do not the danger is your reader thinks you have backed out or worse betrayed their attention to detail. The counter side to that is - if you spend it all what else have you got in the bank for the story.
Well in the case of this book it seems still pretty more to spend - the story does up the stakes and action I might add. Now I do not often say this but I know that this was made in to an animated cartoon - I would certainly like to see it after reading these books and that is a rare thing for me to say.
Igual de entretenido que Batman: Silencio, Parte 1, pero más confuso en algunos aspectos si no tienes conocimientos amplios sobre la historia de Batman. Al no conocer el trasfondo de ciertos personajes, no comprendía bien lo que les había ocurrido ni la importancia que tenían para Batman. Aún así, pude entender lo básico y eso me permitió seguir más o menos bien el hilo argumental de este cómic.
Retomamos la trama justo donde nos dejó el volumen anterior: en la muerte de alguien muy importante para Batman. Ese hecho produce un cataclismo emocional en él y lo lleva a desconfiar de todos los que le rodean. Sin embargo, solo nos centramos en su faceta de justiciero, y yo por lo menos añoré ver cómo Bruce y no Batman sobrellevaba lo ocurrido. Que sí, que Batman y Bruce son el mismo hombre, pero todo se enfoca en él como Batman y no en él como persona normal.
Mientras Batman trata de descubrir quién está detrás de la conspiración que hay en su contra, también vemos la evolución de su relación con Catwoman y si está dispuesto a tener una fe ciega en ella. Yo quiero leer algo centrado en Batman y Catwoman, así de claro, que se quiten de en medio todos los demás y ver a estos dos decidir qué pasos dan en su relación. Me encanta cuando están juntos porque, incluso cuando tienen altibajos, saben conservar el magnetismo entre ellos. El problema es que siempre les interrumpen o que ellos mismos buscan excusas para no tener una conversación medianamente larga.
Hay acción a raudales y no se puede confiar en nadie, pero admito que no me sorprendió del todo el giro final. Los motivos que hay detrás de las acciones de determinados personajes son difusos, aunque no niego que puede que yo lo vea así porque no los conozco realmente y no sé todo lo que ocurrió anteriormente. En todo caso, no pude evitar sentirme ligeramente confusa ante algunas confesiones o descubrimientos.
El desenlace deja cabos sueltos, pero me da que, al haber incontables cómics de Batman, siempre habrá aspectos sin resolver en su historia.
A nivel artístico, se sigue la estela del volumen anterior: imágenes definidas y con efectos para dar sensación de movimiento, correcto uso de colores, y viñetas que en ocasiones consiguen sorprender por su forma de transmitir los sentimientos que están viviendo los personajes ante los acontecimientos más impactantes.
Como entretenimiento, el cómic vale la pena, aunque me gustó más la 1º parte.
A riesgo de sonar repetitiva, cómo me gusta el dibujo de Jim Lee. Es que disfruto como una niña con cada escena, dedicando unos segundos a observar los detalles. Y menudos giros, uno tras otro.
Una vez más, ha sido de lo más divertido volver a embarcarme en un cómic de Batman. Espero seguir pronto con más.
Despite the fact that the fight scenes aren't so well drawn (at least it is to me), the story is okay, the romance between Catwoman and Batman is doing great, and many dead characters are coming back to life hahaha! Joker, Harley Quinn, Scarecrow and the Mad Hatter also shows up, what more can I ask for?
PS: there is something about Batman being his brooding miserable self and Nightwing has to comfort him amuses me!
This was okay. It was entertaining. Throwing all of batman's enemies into a conspiracy against him is not novel, but this is pulled together well enough. The dialogue between batman and the super villains was good. The end seemed a bit of a stretch. Oh and does anyone else ever identify with the supervillains? I mean the killer croc probably needed that money more than the rich family. It's not like he can get a job or anything, and he was devolving genetically. If someone couldn't get their genetic disease treated, I have a hard time judging them for stealing to have that done.
*4.5 stars* This was great! Even better than the first one, and so close to getting a full five stars. So many Batman characters in this volume, I loved seeing them all! This was definitely an awesome story arc, and I can see why it has all the praise it does. I highly recommend this to any Batman fan if you haven't read it already!! Also I did get my batboys featured, so my request from the last volume was fulfilled (-;
Hoooooo boy, reading that was EXHAUSTING is the best ever way possible. God, I love comics. And everything and anything to do with Batman in general. And let me just add this in before I get too far that I was SO SO SO happy to see Dick and Tim again. I cried a little bit. I love those kids :')
OKAY, now straight into the thick of it. Am I pleased? Hell yeah. I'm wasn't quite sure why I didn't like this pairing, and I was still looking for a decent reason when she went at Tim. At this point I jumped out of my very comfortable papasan chair, terrifying my poor dog who was at my feet screaming "OH HELL NO; YOU DID NOT JUST GO AT HIM!" After a few muttered (and in my opinion, very creative) oaths under my breath, I settled back, bristling, to read on. For anyone who was wondering, my dog eventually did come out from hiding under my bed after about 5 minutes. I love Tim & Dick. You might have gotten that. I've been told I can be a tad overprotective. However, I digress. This gave me a valid reason to hate the Catwoman/Batman and I was satisfied.
As far as the ending goes, I did NOT see that one coming. I'm still trying to wrap my head around it all, and it was all such a kick in the gut! There was so much death stuffed into these 2 Volumes (as fantastic as they were) and the loss of literally hurt. No wonder there's approximately 5 people he trusts in the world... In case anyone was wondering, I was counting Alfred, Dick, Tim, Clark, and Barbara. I still dispute Selina. It's odd, I've never hated Selina before! Actually, when I was reading Batman: War Games I really, really liked her. And when I finished the first Volume I still had an open mind. However, by the middle of the second Volume something was just not right; they didn't click, it was too easy, too fast, just not...Bruce. Iunno. Maybe I'm weird. But I'm perfectly comfortable with that position!!! ^.^
Ooookay, it's 2:30 AM where I am, so I'm going to get some sleep before I just start babbling (if I haven't been already) and just say: this was great. If you like Batman; READ. THIS.
I had to pick this up as soon as I could after finishing volume one. This volume was just as good. I loved the relationships between characters, I loved the fake reveals that kept you guessing, I loved the final reveal, I loved the art. Overall I loved this whole story and I know I'll be coming back at some point in the future to re read both volumes.
The whole things gets a little melodramatic and barmy but it also functions as a Batman’s greatest hits. I like the portrayal of Huntress and Tim Drake and even The Riddler but Harold’s story is pretty awful and Ras and Talia suffer from not being as exotic as they once were. Still, good stuff.
شروعی قوی و با شخصیت پردازی عالی و صحنه هایی به یاد ماندنی به خصوص جایی که جوکر رو تا سر حد مرگ میزنه که با افت داستان در قسمت های اخر و یک پایان تو خالی ناامیدتون میکنه
Conclusión de una muy entretenida historia. -A lo largo de este comic nos encontramos con una amplia galería de villanos, lo que ayuda a que todo sea muy frenético y adictivo. -Se profundiza mucho en la relación de Batman con Catwoman. -Se nos muestra a un Batman atormentado por sus errores del pasado, sobre todo la muerte de Jason Todd, el segundo Robin. -El dibujo de Jim Lee es impresionante. -Es una historia muy buena que puede funcionar de introducción a la lectura de los comics del caballero oscuro, pero algo malo es que tantos personajes me hicieron confusa la lectura en ciertos puntos, porque este es tan solo mi tercer comic de Batman. Aún así no es para nada complicado seguirle el hilo. Recomendado.
I really love how the art would change for flashbacks to a more watercolor based art that felt like a blurry memory in comparison to the rest of the art with its sharp look and heavy pen work.
Como decía, la segunda parte es, para mi gusto, claramente superior a la primera. Desde el primer momento, el equipo (que es el mismo que en el primer volumen) se luce al intercalar la pelea entre Batman y Joker que quedó en un cliffhanger en el otro tomo con escenas del pasado del superhéroe y su archienemigo, y lo que personajes como Barbara Gordon o Jason Todd sufrieron a manos de este, permitiéndose más lucimiento artístico en ellas (estilo más difuminado, colores rojos, blancos y negros sombreados...). La historia aquí es menos detectivesca y más de resolución paulatina de todo lo planteado, con un par de giros y apariciones inesperadas de personajes míticos (ay, señor, esas escenas sobrecogedoras con Robin). No tengo claro del todo que todos los giros logren convencerme, y no sé si el final me cautiva, pero quizá sea porque no sé cómo podría haberse cerrado todo de manera completamente satisfactoria con la expectativa que crea... cualquier respuesta, al final, sabe a poco. Con todo, cierra sin fisuras un gran cómic de Batman, recomendado a cualquier fan del personaje.
La historia del tomo nos retrotrae a la primera trama en la que se narra el origen del personaje, con la mítica muerte de sus padres. Más allá de esto, la historia es anecdótica, aunque no deja de resultar sorprendente ver al superhéroe usar pistolas y matar/dejar morir a villanos sin el menor titubeo (sobre todo teniendo en cuenta lo que acabamos de leer).
Lo dicho: si eres fan de Batman, lectura recomendada.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
This was supercool. I absolutely loved it, and while I managed to restrict myself to small portions in the beginning, in the end I gave up and devoured the books in one go.
First of all, the artwork is so fucking pretty. It was one of those cases where sometimes I'd turn a page and be breathless for a moment, because wow. So gorgeous. So even if the story was, I dunno, boring or not to my liking, I would have had a great time just because of the whole look of it.
But the story wasn't boring, and it was exactly to my liking. I was even right about who the villain was! At least sort of. It was a wonderful read - trying to figure out who the bad guy was while at the same time experiencing some sort of emotional rollercoaster ride (Superman! Catwoman! Nightwing! Robin! Jim Gordon! Alfred!).
And with every Batman comic I read I want to read more. It's a good thing there are so many out there *g*
Look, I appreciate what they're trying to do, but I have comics (both pre- and post-Crisis) from decades ago in which Batman and Catwoman are already an item. This is what happens when authors don't know anything about the history of the characters they're writing. Batman doesn't feel like Batman, though I liked the reflections on his relationships with Nightwing/Robin I, Jason Todd/Robin II, and Tim Drake/Robin III. What is more, I suspect that this story inspired the craptacular resurrection of Jason Todd.
Also, fewer Jim Lee cheesecake shots, please. I found myself wondering how Catwoman, Huntress & Talia could possibly have time to fight/orchestrate criminal activity, given all the time they spent stretching and posing provocatively.
I'm not really sure why this story arc was so popular - I think it was mostly due to Jim Lee being the artist. It's an okay Batman story and does further the larger arcs in his life a bit, but it's not exactly worth the hype in my opinion. The major plot points turn on several unrealistic "surprise!" gimmicks; in that respect it's more of a somewhat lame attempt at a big shake-up in the batverse thriller than a solid or intriguing detective story.
The fantastic conclusion to Part 1. Jeph Loeb and co. outdo themselves here, creating a full out mystery for Batman/Bruce to solve. All his foes are involved, and many are acting out of character...why, and who's behind it? Also, Catwoman/Selina and Bruce get closer. Red Herrings, false finales, and a great conclusion make for a superb book. Just like the 1st part, ESSENTIAL. Bravo.
5/5 Unbelievable. The way everything is pulled together and Harvey dent saves the day is absolute poetic perfection. Scarecrow, jason Todd, lex Luther and many more, they were all perfect additions. The riddler was incredible, they actually made him seem like a genius who out did batman here and not some ginger knock off. This was so much better than the animated movie I cannot put it into words. Easily now one of my favourite batman comics/ stories. Harvey dent / teo face was perfect and he might have one of thr best redemption arcs I've ever seen. Thomas elliot was cunningly evil and vindictive, sinister and silent, a perfect portrayal of hush. I qlso loved the way we got to see the detective side of batman and the way his relationship with Selena played out and ultimately ended. Brilliant.
The story was great with the ongoing mystery of who the new bad guy is (Had a theory, thought theory died but it was my theory. :)) and everything going on with Catwoman.
I loved that Nightwing and Robin (Tim) showed up. *__*
The thing with Jason? For a bit I thought I accidently picked up the issues in which he comes back (keep in mind - I barely know anything about Batman since I'm only tipping my toes into it and that was actually only the second Batman comic I've read so far but I know a bit from the internet.) and squeed but, well, it wasn't so.
The artwork? Wow. There are some incredible pieces of art in this one. Wow!
I really enjoyed reading this one. :)
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
"What has four wheels, costs eleven million dollars, and flies... " Having inherited the complete collection I will be making my way through the DC Collection. I have only read a handful of DC comics, as I have been more of an 'independent' comic reader (and Marvel), but having these land in my lap is an opportunity I can’t pass up. Hush, not from an era I enjoy, comic-wise, but I do like Jeph Loeb, but still, for me this seemed a bit more still over substance, lots of villains an pieces, but the payoff was a bit weak, and obvious. However, I will continue my journey into the deep DC.....
So. I read volume 1 and wasn't all that impressed except for the art. Except for the last page or 2. But this book was different. Better. I wanted the last page or two to be different. But otherwise this book was a wow book. Clearly showed that the creators of this book knew their subject. Understood who the Batman was when he wasn't also a crazy person. Used the team. Recognized that there was a team. Not sure I bought the actual mastermind behind all of the manipulation. But the journey was about as good as any Batman book I've seen. 4.5 of 5.
Una segunda (y final parte) aun mejor que la primera, excelente cierre. Más acción, más drama, más misterio, más muertes, más villanos sueltos y por supuesto más amigos/aliados de Batman que hacen de Silencio una de las mejores historias del murciélago que he leído a nivel argumental y gráfico. Amor eterno a Catwoman, Huntress, Oráculo, Nightwing, Robin y Superman.