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[Punchy]

Eli could have the blind adoration of many a British teen if he ever chose to pursue a career in comic booking.

Not true, I hate Bendis dialogue pastiche more than I hate cosplay.

[48THRiLLS]

7 fucking pages after 1 day?
I am not reading that... cliff notes please.

[thefourthman]

7 fucking pages after 1 day?
I am not reading that... cliff notes please.

gibberish... review... gibberish. There you go.

[GLX]

Prince of Power, Avengers and Gotham City Sirens were all Red Hood-free.

I'm pretty lax on how often people need to post reviews, but the "I don't like character x" or "I don't like creator y" excuse is infinitely lame.

What about the, "I'm on a limited budget and I'd rather buy stuff that I like than stuff that will be reviewed in a thread", excuse?

[Eli Katz]

I remember A DEATH IN THE FAMILY when it first came out. I remember that brutal scene where Joker beat Jason Todd to a bloody pulp with a crowbar and then blew him up. But I stopped reading comics in the early 1990s and, when I started reading them again seven years ago, I did not pick up many DC books. So I did not read UNDER THE HOOD when it came out or INFINITE CRISIS. Or, thank God, the Superboy Prime reality punch.

In other words, I come to THE LOST DAYS with few preconceptions and maybe a mild interest in the Jason Todd character. I know that this new mini is meant to tell us what happened between Jason's miraculous resurrection and his first battle with Batman as the Red Hood. Unfortunately, the opening issue of this mini does little to spark my interest in either Jason or the original UNDER THE HOOD storyline. Certainly I won’t be reading the rest of this miniseries.

The first chapter of LOST DAYS, entitled PROLOGUE, is light on action and suspense. Ra's al Ghul and Talia learn of Jason's horrific murder, but discover soon afterward that Jason is somehow alive. Talia takes in the devastated Boy Wonder, who is mute and almost catatonic, and does her best to revive him. She is still very much in love with Bruce and wants to restore Jason in order to spare Bruce the pain and loss that she know will rip him apart. As she explains to her father, "[Bruce] will never recover from this." Eventually, however, Ra's al Ghul grows impatient with Jason's slow recovery and tells Talia that she can no longer play nursemaid. Desperate, she decides her only chance to revive Jason is to take radical action.

There is nothing tremendously wrong with this story. But there is nothing tremendously exciting about it, either. Essentially the problem is that Judd Winick has decided to write a project that presents more challenges than it does narrative possibilities. First, it's tough to write a story around a guy who's mute and has the personality of a vegetable. Second, it's tough to write a story where we know what will ultimately happen: Jason becomes the Red Hood and fights Batman. Third, it's tough to bring credibility to a story and a character that are based on a terribly silly retcon -- the super-duper reality punch.

If Winick can get over these three hurdles and pen a story that turns out to be a highly engaging page-turner, then I will salute him. But based on this first issue, I find that to be highly unlikely.

As for the art, Pablo Raimondi is a clear and consistent storyteller. But his style is conventional and, to be honest, a little boring. There is very little energy in his panels. He is one of those illustrators whose work is difficult to distinguish from all the other mundane artists that do so many of DC's books right now.

Bottom line: skip LOST DAYS unless you are obsessed with Jason Todd or need to read yet another Batman-related title.

STORY: 6
ART: 6

OVERALL: 6

[doombug]

This thread is interesting reading.

[john lewis hawk]

What about the, "I'm on a limited budget and I'd rather buy stuff that I like than stuff that will be reviewed in a thread", excuse?

Just make up a review. I'm sure this comic has a unicorn that shoots lasers out of it's horn so mention how awesome that was.

[Punchy]

I enjoyed this, and I rarely enjoy Batman comics.

Review tomorrow maybe (I have revision to do)

[GLX]

Just make up a review. I'm sure this comic has a unicorn that shoots lasers out of it's horn so mention how awesome that was.

Nah. Wouldn't be right.

[thefourthman]

Hey, Eli, did I mention that that was a top notch review. I disagree with some parts, but that is some beautiful writing.

[thefourthman]

BTW, mostly, I disagree with your not having any preconceived notions, cause you enumerate them later and use them to dismantle the book.

[Eli Katz]

Hey, Eli, did I mention that that was a top notch review. I disagree with some parts, but that is some beautiful writing.

Hey, thanks.

[Eli Katz]

BTW, mostly, I disagree with your not having any preconceived notions, cause you enumerate them later and use them to dismantle the book.

Well, what I meant is I'm not a Winick hater, and I wasn't opposed or outraged by Jason Todd's return. So I entered the book with a relatively open mind.

But after finishing the first issue, I realized that I had no enthusiasm for the book because I know already how this story is basically going to end. I gather that Under the Hood was exciting because readers at the time didn't know who was masquerading in Joker's old costume. That mystery propelled the story. There's nothing that interesting this time around.

Do I think Super punch is stupid? Yeah. But doesn't everyone?

[thefourthman]

Well, what I meant is I'm not a Winick hater, and I wasn't opposed or outraged by Jason Todd's return. So I entered the book with a relatively open mind.

But after finishing the first issue, I realized that I had no enthusiasm for the book because I know already how this story is basically going to end. I gather that Under the Hood was exciting because readers at the time didn't know who was masquerading in Joker's old costume. That mystery propelled the story. There's nothing that interesting this time around.

Do I think Super punch is stupid? Yeah. But doesn't everyone?

I'm hoping for a real explanation. I know people hate on Winick, but he has never struck me as a slight writer, which makes me think that the references to them not knowing why he is back is a thrust of this story as much as it the journey down the dark path. Someone the other day explained the Super Boy Punch as a catalyst and dcu history will have to create its own reality to make things mesh up. We need to remember that Superboy Punch explains things to us, but not to them.

Plus I genuinely like character exploration and if that is all this series is, I would be cool with that. Noble Causes is one of my most favorite comics of the past ten years and at its best it was nothing but character exploration.

But I see what you are saying and I think you can see where I was coming from with what was written. Thanks for the clarification.

[Starlord]

Red Hood: The Lost Days #1

I wasn't sure what to expect from this because like most writers, Winick is hit or miss with me, but I do tend to enjoy him more than not - especially when he dabbles in the Batman mythos.

As a long, long, long time fan of the Batman mythos, the death of Jason Todd was probably the biggest and most emotional moment that I can ever remember. So when he returned, like so many heores and villains before him, it really turned me off. The reason why, however, actually didn't bother me at all. Like Pam Ewing waking up to find her dead husband Bobby in the shower, it was just ludicrous enough to work for me. No, it was the way he was written after his return that seemed to turn me off.

Now Judd is getting the chance to fill in the blanks. Personally I enjoyed this more than I expected to. Any story that focuses on Ras or Talia can't be all bad. I did see a bit of mystery here; perhaps there is more to his rebirth than a wall punch. I would have no problem with a retcon on this subject, just to stop so many from complaining about it.

It was the art that I had the most trouble with. Close ups were okay but there were several times that they would show Ghul from a distance and he suddenly looked like some ancient chinese guy who could barely walk upright.

My favorite scene was the moment between Talia and Jason where Talia reaches out to the young man on an emotional level. Great moment! Melodramatic? Maybe, but what's wrong with a little melodrama once in a while.

Story: 7
Art: 4.50
My Score: 6.75