Book Review: Batman: Streets of Gotham vol #1: Hush Money

Book: Batman: Streets of Gotham volume #1: Hush Money (Detective Comics #852, Batman #685 and Batman: Streets of Gotham issues #1-4) by Paul Dini

Illustrations by Dustin Nguyen, inks by Derek Fridolfs and color by John Kalisz and Guy Major

Edition: Trade Paperback

Rating: 5 stars

Review:

The Streets of Gotham series takes place during a time when Bruce Wayne a.k.a. Batman was presumed dead following the aftermath of the Final Crisis. With Batman gone Dick Grayson eventually took over as Batman and made Damian Wayne his new Robin.

The book opens with Detective Comics issue #852 and Batman issue #685 focusing on Dr. Tommy Elliot a.k.a. Hush gambling on his newly surgical appearance of looking like his former good friend Bruce Wayne (who he also knows is Batman) getting him back on his feet. His new look follows his defeat from Batman as well as having all his money stolen by Catwoman.

After being rescued by a couple of fishermen and finding his way to an exclusive club which Bruce is a member of, it didn't take him long to get back to his old ways of murder and mayhem. Keeping a low profile following the murder of a rich socialite, he took advantage of his resemblance to Bruce by getting money from some of Bruce's businesses. One con attempt in Vietnam had him being snared in a trap by none other than Catwoman.

Selina knowing he's not Bruce, enjoyed a little bit of pleasure in seeing Tommy slightly tortured. However his capture by Dick Grayson and Damian Wayne who were in disguise (and part of Catwoman's plan) really caught him by surprise.

Now back in Gotham, Dick and Damian not sure what to do with Tommy, have him locked up in the penthouse in Wayne Tower. Being imprisoned will not keep Tommy from thinking of a way to escape which leads to the first four issues of Streets of Gotham.

As Commissioner Gordon was heading to a hostage situation you get a good sense that the city is still in turmoil with many of the worst criminals roaming free after the destruction of Arkham Asylum. Rumors about Batman are floating around from whether he's gone or that the Bat just seems different. Once Gordon shows up you find out the hostage situation was a total misunderstanding, Harley Quinn had only gone into the store for some legitimate shopping and was in no way robbing the place. Harley unlike many of the other criminals running free had actually been released from Arkham. Poor Harley after dealing with the police then she had to deal with Batman and Robin.

Black Mask was trying to take over the city and doling out money to his minions to let them try out their worst fantasies but Firefly has other plans. The fire bug no longer wants to play by Black Mask's rules and has set in motion a plan that has mysteriously caused people to spontaneously catch fire. While Batman and Robin try to stop Firefly, they were getting some unwanted help from Abuse, a vigilante stopping criminals throughout the city and leaving his calling card upon his targets.

With Dick and Damian away, Alfred Pennyworth was left with the responsibility of monitoring Hush who unfortunately tricked Pennyworth into setting him free. After Black Mask was double crossed and nearly killed by Firefly, he took on a new associate Zsasz.

Now that Hush had escaped, the Batfamily was left wondering what he would do next. But they didn't have to wait long because Hush posing as Bruce was making a huge announcement to the press. He planned to help restore the city by making large monetary donations around the city. His plan was to bankrupt Bruce but the Batfamily had other plans for him. Although they did like the idea of helping the city, they were not going to stand by and let Hush destroy everything Bruce had built. To drive this point home, Dick called in some help from the Justice League. They were going to help keep an eye on Hush and make sure he only gives out approved amounts of money.

Meanwhile, Black Mask was giving Zsasz the money to take his chance at bringing chaos to the city. Not to be overshadowed, there is someone preying on runaways. The last part of this story focused on The Broker, an underground realtor who helps villains find their perfect lair. He had never had a problem doing business with criminals before but his meeting with Zsasz caused a shift to his conscience. So when Batman stopped by for a "little chat" he had no problem handing over his information.

What I love about this book is the writing, the author blends the right amount of dark and gritty with all the drama and suspense coupled with humor and action. I also love how the characters are shown and it doesn't hurt that you have an author who actually understands what motivates them. 

There were a lot of interesting cameos in this and you can see that Batman and Robin will have a lot to do in trying to get Gotham back from this state of chaos. I can't wait to read the second volume, Huntress (Helena Bertinelli) will be in it.