Call me late to the party, but I have finally just gotten around to reading Batman: Hush, one of the most lauded Batman books of recent years. Filled with shadowy noir goodness, bitter-sweet romance, and more revealing secrets into Batman's tragic past, Hush has earned its reputation as one of Batman's best.
For fans of Loeb's The Long Halloween, the level of mastery and delicate balance of mystery and tension in Hush will be no surprise. Jim Lee and Scott Williams' tight ink and linework is perfectly complimented by moody colors by Alex Sinclair. The story is instantly engrossing, and sheds light on aspects of The Dark Knight's personality usually ignored.
The story begins with a hostage situation; practically routine for Batman. But one crime leads to the next, with the criminals of Gotham City behaving even stranger than usual. Batman finds himself in dire straights, unable to anticipate his foes' next move, or guess the cause of their erratic behavior. The longer the crimes go on, the more one thing becomes abundantly clear: who ever is behind this knows the truth behind Batman. This triggers a series of memories to resurface that Bats would probably rather stay dead and buried. Making matters even more complicated is Catwoman, ever walking the fine line between enemy and ally. Realizing that sharing similar worlds may give them a shot at happiness together, the Bat and the Cat begin a tentative romance. But can Batman ever see past the many betrayals in his life and learn to trust?
This story zigzags across the DC universe, leading Batman from Crime Alley to Metropolis, and from his haunted childhood to a present he'd rather not be living in. Loves new and old dig their claws in, and characters neglected or (in some cases) long since buried, reappear, driving the Caped Crusader to the brink.
I really enjoyed this book. As a long time fan of Loeb, I was not disappointed. His signature style of writing gritty noir for superheroes is spot on, and as far as I'm concerned, a perfect marriage with Batman, who at his roots, is still mainly a detective. He made great use of Batman's extensive stable of background characters and villains, giving them each a specific and highly appropriate purpose in the story. This truly gave the impression of a lived-in world that I could literally step into. And with Batman, who all too often is depicted as having all of the answers, this book did a fantastic job of leaving him clueless (pardon the detective pun).
In the end, many questions go unanswered. Batman is free to return to his normal life, but with the nagging feeling that things aren't quite finished as far as Hush is concerned.
Well, at least he has his friends.
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