“The Bullet’s Kiss, Part 2” The acclaimed crime series continues with another dose of deadly noir by two masters of the genre. When you steal from the underworld, the underworld will come looking for you—even if you’re a cop. Greg Hettinger has unwittingly crossed the city’s most fearsome drug lord—a man only known as “The Connection,” who sends two of his most fearsome lieutenants after Greg. It’s one thing to have trouble come knocking on your front door. But it’s another when it’s already inside your house…
Much like theAfterlife With Archie series that changed the landscape before it,The Black Hood is treading its own path and changing the landscape. The entire creative team is doing something different; something that is not what you expect, but something that more than demands your attention. Anybody that might write this off because of the attachment to Archie Comics has another thing coming. This is another giant in the making and if you missed the bus onAfterlife, make sure you're on it forThe Black Hood. Read Full Review
The Black Hood takes you to the dark side of comics and you won't ever want to step back into the light. If you haven't already, you should take the plunge into Philadelphia with Greg Hettinger as he dives deeper into darkness with each issue. Swierczynski provides excellent storytelling and gripping characterization, making you feel pity and remorse for a man murdering people in cold blood. Michael Gaydos' artwork perfectly captures the hopeless state of mind Hettinger finds himself in. In my short experience reading comics, this may be one of those revolutionary comics that will influence future creators to come; it's that good. Read Full Review
This book is something different in all the best ways. It's following its own path and telling the story of a man who essentially fell from grace. It's dark and gritty, and gorgeous. Swierczynski and Gaydos deliver an engaging story from start to finish and leave readers off at a very interesting place that completely changes where we thought the book was going. It's only the second issue as well, so I highly recommend checking this series out from Dark Circle Comics. Read Full Review
This is a must add to your pull list. Dark Circle Comics are creating an identity with quality, sophisticated and grown up books. Black Hood is a definite read if you love stuff like Criminal, Kill or Be Killed, Stray Bullets, or Garth Ennis' classic Punisher runs. Read Full Review
The Black Hood is storytelling from street level. It shows that gripping tales of heroism or anti-heroism doesn't need powers or capes or morally straight characters. It's a primordial instinct to find justice in a way that the means justify the ends. Grab a copy and enjoy crime noir at its best. Read Full Review
The Black Hood is building and expanding from what it introduced in the first installment while very much maintaining its quality. The exploration of what Greg is falling to here is intriguing as there's so many ways down he can go and so many things he can be caught up in as he does so. With him withdrawing more and more from his life, but still finding touches of his past only to find those tainted as well, his isolation is going to push him deeper into what he's becoming. The narration side of it is once again very heavy, but this is one of those times where we're getting deep into the mind of a man in freefall, and understanding it from so many angles is critically important. The book continues to offer a very distinct view of the world through the writing and artwork that it's both captivating and repellent at the same time, making it a fascinating experience as we see this become what it is. I want more, but am also afraid to see where the more will go. Read Full Review
The Black Hood takes place in the dark alleys that gritty heroes like Batman or the Punisher forgot. It's filled with some evil human beings capable of ruining a man's life and yet, Hettinger's scarred face has become the least scary thing about this comic. Fans can quickly get over the novelty of seeing the F-word in an Archie comic and enjoy this riveting story of a man pushed to the brink with nothing else to lose. I can only imagine how bloody things are going to get. Read Full Review
In a lot of ways, the structure of comics is a hard thing to master - either the story is heavily decompressed, leading to a meandering narrative, or the writers build up to a dull splash page to act as a cliffhanger, forgetting to properly set up the story along the way. Swierczynski does something altogether different - this second issue has a big twist to set itself up from the first issue, but even more importantly, it builds up on the seedy tone and theme from the first installment and adds to it. The world of The Black Hood keeps getting bigger, and when you're as messed up as this character, that means there's only more opportunities to fall. Read Full Review
"The Black Hood" #2 suffers from stepping back on the development of the main character, but remains a decent chapter in the story of a decidedly unheroic hero figure. Read Full Review
Not a huge fan of Swierczynski but he's killing it here. Very cool art too. I'm hooked.
The Black Hood continues to be a phenomenal read which provides all the revenge violence of Rorschach without *all* of the craziness.
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