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The new Batman anthology series continues! In part two of Chip Zdarsky and Eddy Barrows’s epic Batman/Red Hood story, Jason Todd has taken a man’s life, and now his mission is to keep the dead man’s young son safe. But Batman plans to take down Jason before he can make another mistake.
Then, in chapter two of Matthew Rosenberg and Ryan Benjamin’s senses-shattering tale, Cole Cash earns his pay as personal bodyguard to billionaire Lucius Fox, but what led him to Gotham in the first place? How does the mysterious HALO Corporation play into it all? And which Bat-Family character does he have an unfortunate meeting with in this chapter?
And in part two of Brandon Thomas and Max Dunbar’s epic Outsiders story, see Katana’s perspective on what brought the Outsiders to Japan, who wants her dead, and what her ultimate punishment will be for no longer having her husband’s spirit in the Soultaker sword.
Plus, Barbara Gordon has identified a citywide system hack from a foe she faced before as Batgirl…but this time around, Babs may have found a way to defeat her for good as Oracle!
I'm glad to see that this book gets so many good reviews and this is for sure one of the best books DC puts out at the moment. That being said, as a Red Hood fan, I do have some problems with it. First of all, if Zdarsky read any earlier comics with Jason, he would not put that scene in this book. Sure, Jason had some rough edges and he was a bit of a troublemaker as a little kid but not in that dark way, to push a dude downstairs. It seems to me like Zdarsky took inspiration more from Jason Todd from the Titans show, I do see that Jason doing that. But comic Jason? Neah, as a kid he knew right from wrong, he reached out to Batman when he knew Ma Gunn was up to no good with those kids. Yes, he did kill a dude who got away with stuff he shouldn't have but that was when he grew up (he was a teenager at that point) and the anger kept bubbling up. So, that's strike one for Zdarsky. Strike two is Jason's anger at Batman for the fact that "his moral code stops at the border". That just doesn't make sense, the other option for Batman would be to chase Red Hood across the country to bring him in and he doesn't want to do that. So if anything Jason should be grateful or at least understanding that Batman allows him to operate in Gotham under these conditions and doesn't chase him when Jason's killing people outside Gotham. All in all, I loved the scenes with Batman chasing those criminals, he's never been this menacing in comics for a long time. Castellucci's story is pretty weird, the Outsiders is okay as long as you're cool with Jefferson and Katana's thing and the last one is good too, though Grifter would never win one in one against Jason.
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I also have a lot of problem with that topic, Zdasky's writing is good but making a murderous Jaybaby has made me uncomfortable. I do not know I do not like the insistence on the subject of Jason murderer and / or beaten already seems redundant and does not lead anywhere. On the one hand I love what Chip does and on the other I hate him.