By Judd Winick (writer), Greg Tocchini (art), Artur Fujita (colors), Patrick Brosseau (letters)
The Story: Jason Todd is sprung from prison by the Menagerie, but finds himself fighting alongside Batman and Robin when he realizes that the price for his freedom might be more than he’s willing to pay.
What’s Good: I’ve been a fan of Jason Todd since watching the Under the Red Hood movie. He’s a tragic and fascinating character, and its always fun to watch him play off of the rest of the Bat-family. Although the fact that Todd has less of an emotional connection with Dick Grayson does make his interactions less personal than it would be with Bruce’s Batman, the fact that we have three Robins together in one place almost makes up for it. (I do hope, incidentally, that this conventions of Robins becomes at least a small plot point in the arc’s final issue. Add in a Tim Drake guest spot or cameo, and you’ve got a nice way to send all of the characters off before the big reboot.)
The interplay between Dick and Damian continues to be excellent, and is still the reason I keep reading the title month in and month out. Their argument over how to take on the Hood, as well as Damian’s one-off comments about Todd himself, really help to make this an entertaining read. It’s been a great deal of fun to watch these characters grow and mature both in themselves and in their partnership; it’s a real shame to be losing that.
What’s Not So Good: While the writing is strong for the most part, the artwork just feels off. With the exception of the half-animal Menagerie characters (most of whom look quite good), the characters are very weirdly proportioned (especially, for some strange reason, Batman’s neck–it looks like Dick has a Gumby thing going on in some panels.) The color choice is odd as well, with very muddied reds and yellows being the order of the day (except for the final reveal of the Hood in all his glory, which looks excellent.)
Conclusion: Another strongly written issue from Winick that is once again held back by visual issues. I’m glad we at least have a consistent penciler and inker for an entire issue, but the look of this book does nothing for me–muddy and uninspiring.
Grade: C+
-SoldierHawk
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Conclusion