Hush

DC Comics

Hush
Jeph Loeb
Matt Lee
2009

The Summary
After a number of crimes strikes Gotham, Batman is faced with the usual suspects in his investigation:  Poison Ivy, Joker, Harley Quinn, Riddler, Ra's al Ghul.  It's just another normal day in Gotham for the Dark Knight.

Except someone else behind the scenes is pulling the strings, preparing to take the city by storm and take Batman down along with it.

The Good
I absolutely loved Hush.  Granted, I'm an ardent fan of the Dark Knight (which probably explains most of my reading choices when it comes to comics), but I enjoyed Hush because it is singularly wonderful in its own right.

Matt Lee, the illustrator, does a fantastic job of depicting Batman and his usual band of villains in a new light, offering a level of depth and detail that's absolutely astounding.  As Jeph Loeb points out in the foreword, "Where Tim [who illustrated The Long Halloween] works well in the shadows and ink, Jim demands that you see it all.  The magic is in the detail.  What glorious details!"

And it is magical to see everything take shape, to see Batman and Robin and Alfred and Catwoman - and all those wonderful, wicked, and wacky characters - come to life.  It really does make all the difference.

Likewise, Jeph Loeb manages to give Batman and his cohorts an amazing amount of emotional and psychological depth, exploring what has damaged them in the past and what continues to play upon their fears in the present.  More importantly, he manages to breathe life into his characters with the understanding that they have their own unique memories, experiences, fears, and expectations.

The Bad
Although Hush begins in a later chapter of Bruce Wayne/Batman's life, Loeb does an excellent job of filling in the blanks for new readers.  He and Lee transition effortlessly - flawlessly - from previous works and building upon the Batman canon; however, their intention is to tell a story, build a new plot, rather than spoon feed their readers.  It's probably helpful to know a little history about the Dark Knight and Gotham before you begin reading.

The Ugly
The thing about Hush is that it dredges up some spectacularly ugly things from the past:  things that should stay buried.