Comics / Comic Reviews / DC Comics

Review: Red Hood and the Outlaws #6

By Philip Schweier
January 10, 2017 - 16:08

Red Hood’s showdown with Black Mask – really, I ask you, were there ever two opponents better suited for one another based on their names? After an uneasy partnership and an even more tumultuous exposure, the two come face to face. Or as much as two people hiding behind facial coverings can manage.

But on the ex-Robin’s side are two wild cards – a rogue Amazon and an imperfect duplicate of Superman (VERY imperfect). Once again, Red Hood forms an uneasy partnership, but given his history with Batman, should we be surprised? (Girls: this is the guy your dad warned you about.)

But here’s the thing with these emotional stunt people who jump from one train wreck relationship to another: it’s FUN to watch. Fun like Buster Keaton in The General. Until you’re phone rings at 2 a.m. on a Tuesday, and they’re crying into their Motorola while in the background, a George Jones song wails from jukebox on the other side of town.

But enough about my week.

The latest issue of Red Hood ties off the first story arc of the Rebirth era, and while the meat wasn’t terribly impressive, the bread was. Beginning with Jason Todd’s encounter with Batman in issue #1, and ending with a follow-up rendezvous in issue #6. It reminded me somewhat of the end of The Outsiders (2004) first story arc.

If I have a complaint, it’s the multiple final scenes that come about after the final takedown of Black Mask (C’mon, was the outcome ever in doubt?) I chalk it up to Scott Lobdell planting seed for upcoming stories. Planting seeds, hell, he planted an entire farm – and I should know, I grew up in Indiana.

Last Updated: August 31, 2023 - 08:12