Book Review: Batman: Streets of Gotham vol #2: Leviathan

Book: Batman: Streets of Gotham volume #2: Leviathan (issues #5-11) by Chris Yost (issues #5-6), Paul Dini (issues #7, 10-11) and Mike Benson (issues #8-9)

Illustrations by Dustin Nguyen, ink by Derek Fridolfs, color by John Kalisz and letters by Sal Cipriano (issues #5 and #8), Steve Wands (issues #6, #9-11) and John J. Hill (issue #7)

Edition: Trade Paperback

Description:

GOTHAM CITY CAN BE A BEAST.

Batman's home town is a monster, and its veins flow with crime -- including a rampaging Man-Bat, the murderous Mr. Zsasz and a twisted "Santa Claus", among many others.

But the world's most dangerous city is not without hope, thanks to the Dark Knight Detective and his network of operatives -- Robin, Huntress, Oracle and Abuse, the new vigilante with a startling secret identity -- whose tireless work keeps the population safe.

But when Robin and Abuse get caught up in the web of Mr. Zsaz's attack on Gotham's children, will Batman be able to save them -- or will they end up being swallowed whole by the concrete and steel monster he has sworn to protect?

Book Review: Batman: Heart of Hush

Book: Batman: Heart of Hush (issues Detective Comics #846-850) by Paul Dini

Illustrations and cover by Dustin Nguyen, ink by Derek Fridolfs and color by John Kalisz

Letters by Travis Lanham, Steve Wands, John J. Hill and Jared K. Fletcher


Edition: Paperback Trade

Description:

Revenge is a dish best served warm -- and still beating!

The man once known as Tommy Elliot has thirsted for vengeance against Bruce Wayne for nearly his entire life. Calling himself Hush, this brilliant archvillian has twice brought the Dark Knight to the edge of destruction using schemes as tangled and twisted as the bandages that hide his face.

Now, with Batman reeling under the mysterious Black Glove's campaign of terror, Hush has returned to strike the killing blow he feels is rightfully his to deliver. But this time only complete eradication of everyone and everything close to Bruce Wayne will satisfy his hunger for revenge.

Can Batman and his allies -- including Selina Kyle, the one woman who has come closest to winning his heart -- unravel Hush's deadliest plot yet? And once the bandages are peeled back, will Batman and Catwoman have the strength to face what is revealed?



Rating: 5 stars

Review:

I would consider Batman: Hush to be a modern classic, it's an excellent read. I read it some time ago but for some reason I never got around to reading Batman: Heart of Hush until now. In this continuation, Hush a.k.a. Tommy Elliot is still trying to seek his revenge on his old friend Bruce Wayne and his alter ego Batman.

Even as little boys, Tommy resented Bruce and as he got older it manifested into Bruce being the cause of all his troubles. In Batman: Hush, Tommy tried to use some of Batman's villains to destroy him but that plan didn't work out the way he had hoped. So in this story, Tommy set in place a new and more diabolical plan to go after Bruce/Batman and his love ones.

This was a very well-written story and an interesting follow up to Batman: Hush. I like how everything unfolds and it gives the reader even more backstory for Tommy. This is a story that's smart and full of action and drama and suspense as you see what's lurking beneath Hush's insanity in his desire to seek revenge against Bruce. You see incidents that helped fuel his delusions towards Bruce as well as seeing Tommy's anger towards his parents. I think Hush maybe one of Bruce's most dangerous villains because he knows so much about him including his secret identity. And that makes it easier to create a plan that strikes at his weaknesses and the people who mean the most to him with Catwoman possibly paying the ultimate price in Hush's revenge.

I don't think Paul Dini gets enough credit for having such a good grasp of these characters. He knows how to write these characters so they don't appear one dimensional instead there's plenty of facets and emotions shown. There are some interesting cameos in this which also includes Nightwing (Dick Grayson), Robin (Tim Drake) and Alfred Pennyworth. The story also introduces a new character Colin Wilkes who will later be known as the hero Abuse (for more on Colin see series: Batman: Streets of Gotham and Batman: Li'l Gotham).

There are so many things I enjoyed about this and one of them was seeing Bruce realizing how much Selina meant to him. While another was seeing Batman and the Batfamily going up against Hush. A wonderfully written story with revenge as the focus highlighted by Dustin Nguyen's delightfully animated artwork and great color by John Kalisz.

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.

Art of the Day: Damian Wayne, Colin Wilkes and Nell Little

Artwork: Movie Night at the Manor by OnTDre

I wonder whose idea it was to have movie night at Wayne manor, probably not Damian. He doesn't seem to be enjoying himself but Colin and Nell are certainly having fun.