"The Lonely Crusade," Part 2. The Black Hood has tracked down the "Crusaders," a mysterious group of vigilantes who have vowed to clean the "scum" off the streets of Philadelphia. But their first encounter leaves our man beaten, humbled - and hungry for payback. The Crusaders, however, have some payback of their own in mind. Especially when they stumble upon the Hood's real identity!
Jumping in after missing an issue means I'm likely missing a bit of context, but Swierczynski makes it easy and I definitely enjoyed the issue overall and am curious to see where it goes. The addition of Robert Hack to the art chores works well as I like his style and he really digs into the grimy and gritty side of things here while not losing focus and going so far that it's too stylized. You get a real sense of the kind of darkness and impact of the action in the streets that we see here at the beginning combined with the overall darkness in Greg's life through the artwork, be it at home or at work, and it all comes together really well. I'm curious to see what else is at stake here as we get hints of something more with a subplot involving kidnapped people and some kids involved as well, but I'm hesitant to say too much since I don't know if it was touched upon in the previous installment. Read Full Review
So if you like stories about vigilantes or would like to take a break from your average super hero comic for something bit more based closer to reality then allow me to recommend The Black Hood. Read Full Review
However, the sheer lived-in nature of Robert Hack's artwork and its engaging nature combined with Kelly Fitzpatrick's colors, and Duane Swierczynski's hardboiled crime meets salt of the earth voice for Greg Hettinger sets Black Hood #8 apart from the other superhero books currently on the stands. Add Greg's chronic inability to catch a break, and it's a riveting read even if turns into yet another hero versus villain showdown albeit with a dose of reality because of Philadelphia's real problem with homelessness and a highly unconventional lead character. Read Full Review
'The Black Hood' is a down and dirty street tale of a determined cop turned vigilante that is doing everything he can to make the streets safer even if it kills him. And it almost does. It's this type of realistic portrayal that makes Hettinger a compelling figure for everything he does right and everything he does wrong. He's no all-powerful gun-toting savior and that's okay. He might be misguided but damn is it gripping. Read Full Review
The character of the Black Hood fighting crime is still a great idea it just needs to be handled better. Read Full Review
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