Batman: Hush

Batman:Hush is a phenomenal product and very pleasurable reading experience. Once you turn the last page, only to see that beautiful back cover art, you'll definitely find yourself starting all over again in order to relive the thrilling moments of Hush, of which there were many. I know I did. Everything about this collection was just right and so well done including the artwork, character design, dialogue, pacing, cover, length, and trust me, I could go on. This is a must read for those who are fans of Batman and overall great storytelling. While Hush has many familiar faces, it is told through the eyes of Batman and is the story of a new criminal mastermind striking at Gotham's protector through the ones he loves and using various villains as pawns in his game as an even bigger plot unfolds. The Dark Knight seeks to find the identity of this new foe and take him down...before its too late. The plot of Hush is very addictive due to its fast pacing, multitude of villains, and the desire as a reader to get answers as the story goes on. While the plot is a somewhat complex and has a lot of moving parts, it is told in such a way that it never gets sloppy or out of hand. Despite all of the characters and details regarding the introduction of this new criminal mastermind, its written in a way that always keeps you hooked and aware of whats going on. Not to mention, the ending is a real shocker! The writing also stayed true to Batman's character and does a fantastic job of helping us get inside his mind, allowing us to see the toll that the events in this story have on him. Although it contains 11 issues and has some length to it, you'll finish this book in no time due to not being able to put it down! Overall, I would say Hush is a great pick-up for those who have been reading graphic novels for years or are just starting out since not much prior knowledge is needed to understand and enjoy this story. I could go on and continue to praise this storyarc but for now, I should probably hush.

For me, the grittier and less "super" the hero, the better--hence the appeal of Batman. Here's what I think is great, and not so great, about Hush: What's GREAT: * WRITING: I haven't read a ton of Jeff Loeb, but what I have is considerably better than average. As another reviewer mentioned, Hush did feel a little "contrived" at points, with perhaps a few too many characters shoe-horned in. That aside, I have to give Loeb a 9/10 for a great, gritty, solid story arc. * ART: There's a level of maturity in Jim Lee's art here that I didn't always notice (in the often miserably written dreck that passed for comics) in the 1990s. Always technically brilliant, Lee's forms are a little more restrained. Women, in particular don't have cleavage ready to burst onto the next page... Meanwhile, Lee's depth, design and attention to detail are simply stunning. There is an electrical crackle to his pages that will drop your jaw, catch your breath, and snap your head back if you're not ready for it. In the forward, Lee showers praise on his inker, Scott Williams, and the colorist, Alex Sinclair. The final product is memorable. Finally, the muted, Alex Ross-esque "flashback" scenes are excellent! Heroes & Villains: The Bats/Cats dynamic was great. Croc was pretty interesting. Harley Quin was fun. I don't want to ruin anything for those who haven't read this yet, so I'll stop there. NOT so great: * Superman: Sorry, but invulnerability annoys me, the vast majority of lame muggles not fingering Clark for Supes annoys me, kryptonite annoys me like a puss-producing rash, and Krypto the Dog Wonder makes me want to tie an anvil to my tongue, and drop it from a tall building. I put up with Superman, but Super Dog needs to be flown to Bizarro Land, and abandoned. * Lady Shiva: She reads (at least here) like a lame carryover from the mindless '90s. Send her back... Little Grievances: * Bruce Wayne is a bazillionaire. If Obama has a bullet-resistant suit (he really does!), Batman should be fully bullet-proofed. If Gordon can mosey up behind The Bats, wing his arm (and draw blood), any decent shot with a gun could kill him. I'm sorry, but real world technology has gone so far beyond the "Bat-leotard" that it's time DC stopped asking readers to suspend their disbelief. * "Poor little rich boy" Bruce Wayne is so done already. How about recasting Wayne losing lots of $ in an economic downturn? * ART: There is one small beef I have with Lee's art: Virtually all of the heroes' (particularly the males) faces look nearly identical. When Wayne meets Kent, they're indistinguishable. If Bruce's friend Thomas Elliot didn't have red hair, he'd be pretty much identical too. I wish great artists like Lee would make more of an effort to differentiate. Overall though, big, big fun.

If I had to give an epithet to Batman Hush it would be: perfect. For me the graphic novel made by the team Jeph Loeb, Jim Lee and Scott Williams is a work of art that all Batman fans must have. The introduction made by Jeph Loeb in the graphic novel shows the dedication these three men had when doing it, and how they realized how important this story was going to be. The story begins with Batman on a mission to rescue a boy that has been kidnapped by Killer Croc, during the operation Batman realizes that this kind of things is something that Killer Croc wouldn't have made, so he thinks who's behind the operation. Who's the real brain of all this. At the beginning it seems that Catwoman is behind all this but his investigations will take to somebody that is moving the strings, somebody we have never seen before, but is someone who knows Batman very well and won't stop until defeat him. This story isn't that dark, the hero doesn't move in the scum of Gotham as much as in other comics we have seen, here we have a romance between Batman a Catwoman that brings some emotional stability to the hero in some stages of the story. She even helps inside the Batcave and in the investigation. We have some flashbacks in the past of Bruce Wayne and his friend Thomas Elliot when they were children, some allies like Lois Lane, Clark Kent, Huntress, Oracle or Dick Grayson and Tim Drake. And we have a good selection selection of villains in this graphic novel like Killer Croc, Poison Ivy, Clayface, Harley Quinn, Joker or even Lex Luthor as President of USA. The script made by Jeph Loeb makes this story very attractive and interesting maybe he gave a clue of who was that new enemy very soon, something that makes him lose a lot of attractive. An easy story to read and you don't need to go to other arcs to know what's going on. Jim Lee's art it's perfect for this kind of story full of details and a lot of good techniques we normally don't see in comics very often. I also emphasize the Alex Sinclair's good job in the right use of the colors to not wrinkle all the work of Jim Lee. My recommendation is that you have to pick this graphic novel if you want to have one of the best stories of Batman ever made.

Collects Batman 609-619 As a fan of Jeph Loeb's work on Batman: The Long Halloween , I came into Batman: Hush with high expectations, as The Long Halloween is one of my favorite Batman stories. I recommend Batman: Hush to any fan of Batman comics, even though the ending is slightly lackluster. Without spoiling too much, Batman: Hush follows Batman's search for the person responsible for many members of his rogues gallery acting unlike their normal selves and causing extra mayhem in Batman's life. He is also reunited with a childhood friend, and the run explores their relationship while also acting as an epic mystery in the spirit of Loeb's previous work on the character. If you have read The Long Halloween, Loeb's voice as a writer is very similar here. I personally like the way he lays out scenarios and presents the reader with clues and information in a way that acts as a slow-burn or a drip-feed, allowing the reader to piece together the mystery one issue at a time. The art by Jim Lee is also incredible, providing much more detail than many comic fans are accustomed to, but this is a positive rather than a negative. Gotham is truly brought to life by Lee's pencils, every minute detail adding to the reader's understanding of the world that the creative team is pushing. The art is truly of the highest technical caliber, although the anatomy may be too oversexualized or unrealistic for some. In addition, at over 300 pages, the book has a relatively substantive bang for your buck. My only gripes with the story have to do with the ending. Without giving away too much, I will say that the explanation for the events in the book feels very unnatural and unearned, unlike Loeb's wonderfully ambiguous conclusion to The Long Halloween. It is not a satisfying ending, and this stands out because the rest of the book is so excellent. Batman: Hush is a must-read for any Batman fan, as it involves many aspects of the Batman mythos and crafts an interesting and rewarding tale up until the conclusion, where it slightly drops the ball. This does not completely diminish the overall package, however, which is one that you won't want to put down. Read if you like: Batman: The Long Halloween, Batman: Arkham City, Epic Storylines, Jim Lee's Art Don't read if you dislike: Poor Endings (Although I would still recommend it, it's just something to consider), Oversexualized/Unrealistic Anatomy

Amazing is one word that could sum up this entire piece. Not only is the reader privy to excellent writing from Loeb, but a visual masterpiece from Lee. This story takes many twists and turns, from the dank, shadowy Gotham, to the brighter, more hopeful Metropolis. Batman encounters almost his entire rogues gallery through this story, while simultaneously balancing his life as Bruce Wayne and the Dark Knight. Loeb explores the human aspects of Batman, showing that even this brooding detective feels emotion. His relationship with Selina Kyle evolves to greater depth. While this is the focus, his interactions with his two protégées, Robin and Nightwing, is by no means left out of the story. The incorporation of Jim Gordon, Huntress, Lois Lane and Superman provide an interesting perspective into how other characters perceive the Dark Knight and how his methods differ when fighting crime. The writing is almost seamless, no chapter feels as though it could be discarded, and each panel has some significance to the story. Jim Lee's Batman is tough and heroic looking, intimidating yet not outrageous (as far as dressing up as a bat can be). Each villain, with the possible exception of Joker, looks terrific. I only single out Joker, because it seems as if Lee draws him in several styles (particularly his face), and looks as if his features change. Of course, Joker still looks insane and maniacal, just a little distracting however. Hush is some of Lee's best work, no doubt helped by the excellent colors and inks. The reader can tell that effort and thought was put into the art. Some feel that this is among Jim Lee's best work, and I can certainly understand why. In the end, there really is no good reason not to purchase this book. While perhaps not as seminal as the Dark Knight Returns, I enjoy rereading this piece much more. It is satisfying, a good conclusion with just enough hint of a cliff hanger to feel eager to read more. When many comic book readers talk about missing the older days of comics, this is one of those works that makes certain contemporary titles shrink by comparison.

I haven't had this much fun and enjoyment with a Batman story since either Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight or Rocksteady's Batman: Arkham City. Loeb does a fantastic job with Batman: Hush. The Good: Oh boy, there's a lot! Batman is great as always. I really like the Batman & Catwoman duo throughout the story. They're a great team together. I also really liked the variety of other heroes and villains used throughout the story. I can't say too much about who else is in it because I'll get into spoiler territory, but it's awesome to see other faces from the DC universe. I also really like how mysterious and terrifying Hush is throughout the story. There's so many points where Batman feels like he's got everything under control, then BAM! Hush throws a curve ball and takes away all of Batman's momentum. ***Minor SPOILER, but it's not too big of a deal. Even though we've seen it a thousand times, I liked the usage of the death of the Wayne parents flashbacks as well as the Bruce and Tommy flashbacks. They add a really interesting level of depth to the overall story*** I also really liked the ending's big twist and the resolution to it all. It was handled very well, and I have no major complaints there. It really surprised me, and that's what I was hoping for all along. The Bad: So, about Hush. We don't really see all that much of him until the last third of the story, so until then, you're kept waiting and waiting and waiting. That's why there's so many other characters in the story (heroes and villains alike). The idea is that someone is playing this complex game of chess, and Batman as well as his friends and foes are the pieces, so I guess you HAVE to be kept waiting, but I was just hoping we could have seen more of Hush in the other two thirds of the story. I would have given it a 6/5 rather than a 5/5 if there was more Hush in the story. Also, as much as I liked Batman + Catwoman, it definitely felt awkward at points. Sometimes it totally works, but sometimes I was just thinking to myself, "Really? I don't know if Batman would be on board with something like that." But that's just a minor nit pick, so it's easy to look past. Final Verdict: You absolutely need you read this book! If you're a Batman fan, you owe it to yourself to read it. I read the book in 2 hours because I was so invested in the story. I really enjoyed The Dark Knight Returns, but I couldn't read it for THAT long without needing a mental break. It's awesome! Just buy it already.

This work is a tour de force, literally a "feat of strength." It is a monumental accomplishment in the comics genre. It's an excellent addition to the rich archives belonging to the Batman family of stories (and that's coming from a guys who's mainly a Marvel fan, folks!). Writing---Excellent, excellent. The way Jeph Loeb tells this story is simply brilliant. You often get three things happening at once, (A) Batman's thinking/narration, (B) Batman's speech, and (C) the speech of other characters. Now, I would normally think that's a recipe for disaster, but Loeb pulls it off like a pro. It becomes almost symphonic. And the dialog is brilliant. Pencils---Jim Lee's artwork is amazing. He was brilliant with Marvel "back in the day" on the X-Men titles and such, but in this volume, "Hush," you can see that he has grown in all facets of his illustrating prowess. If I can single out one thing in particular, it's this: Jim Lee has become one of the best story-tellers with his illustration that has ever been in the comics business. His Batman is second to none. Inks & Colors---just spectacular. Enough that the artist personally thanks them in a couple pages at the end (at least in the single-volume, paperback edition I have). Sometimes loosely monochromatic, sometimes vivid and colorful, sometimes dark and moody---they made all the right choices on every single friggin' page. Lettering---Yes, dangit, even the lettering is superb! Batman's thoughts/narration are in a nice blue thought cloud, in contrast to speech. Also, the lettering is characteristically "out of the way," for lack of a better term. It doesn't hide the brilliant artwork. I am so glad I bought this volume. It has a rich selection of characters, a super story, brilliant art, and is loads of fun.

This story originally came out around ten years ago, and this is the most recent re-printing of the story, and also the most economical. (Why DC waits so long to collect entire storylines into a single collections is beyond me, but I refuse to buy stories in two parts at jacked-up prices!) This book succeeds on pretty much every level, and is a good example of what can be accomplished in this medium. Like a near-perfect summer blockbuster movie event, this book has it all: Heroic champions, mysterious and deadly villains, beautiful ladies, exotic locales, fisticuffs, explosions, gadgets, friends who won't let you down, surprise plot twists, a great director (in this case, the writer Jeph Loeb), great special effects and cinematography (in this case, the masterful visuals of penciler Jim Lee - my favorite comic artist ever!), and a cast of famous actors (in this case, practically every popular Batman villain and ally you'd be familiar with). This book literally has it all, and it is just a joy to read and share with friends. Really, you can't go wrong with this book unless you hate Batman. If that's the case, why would you be reading this? As I said before, this is the most economical version of the story to purchase, and one of only a couple ways you can get the complete story in one package. If you really want to spend more and have it in a very nice, larger-print version, you can always spring for this version: Absolute Batman: Hush . Though I doubt most people want to spend that kind of money on one book. Either way, I really doubt anyone is going to be disappointed with this book. It is one of the best Batman stories ever written, and there is NO better-looking Batman book anywhere to be found!

Great and arrived fast

Entregado en excelente estado , novela gráfica muy recomendable de Batman tapas blandas y buena calidad de hojas

Bellissimi i disegni di Jim Lee, e storia accattivante di un Batman arrabbiato che passa in ressagna tutti i villain per scoprire la verità!!!

I got the product with a damaged corner and a weird residue on the back of the book, overall the quality of the book is good but wonder where the book came from because it does not feel clean.

I don’t need to add to the years of positive comments. It’s a great book, if it wasn’t so famous it would have been an ideal live action movie. Highly recommended.