Steven Scott 2008-10-23

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Here we have one of Batman's best writers teaming up with one of comic's best artists to bring us a brand new Bat foe in Hush. The first time collaborators seem to know each other's strengths and utilize them well, with Loeb incorporating a lot of Batman's rogues gallery to add to the mystery and Lee giving us gorgeous renditions of Batman's friends and foes. I very much enjoyed this story when I first read it two years ago, and after picking up the Absoulte Edition and re-reading it, I still found it to be very enthralling.

In this story, someone is playing mind games with Batman and using many of his villains as part of the scheme. But more importantly, they also know Batman's true identity. On top of that, Batman has suffered a major accident and it's up to a childhood friend who's now a famous surgeon to save Bruce's life. On top of that, Batman has made the decision to include Catwoman in his life. Both of them.

This story has many twists to it and lots of appearances from Batman's extended family to lend a hand, including Superman. I admired Loeb's skill at including so many villains throughout the story, but not turning it into one big villain team up (He made that mistake in the Batman/Spirit crossover with Darwyn Cooke, albeit he only had one issue to do it in).

I love Jim Lee's artwork. I loved it in X-Men, he is by far my favorite X artist, and while there are so many to choose from, he is definitely in my top 3 Bat artists. His covers are spectacular! Yes, there is a bit of a sameness to the way he draws women, but I wouldn't necessarily downgrade him for it. His take on Joker isn't my favorite, but but his version of Croc, Riddler and Scarecrow are cool (although I hate the way Loeb writes Scarecrow). And Hush's look is a pretty cool idea as well as his back story.

This being an Absolute edition, there's an interview in the front with Lee and Loeb, Lee's sketches and covers in the back, along with his notes on particular panels. The highlight these edition is of course being able to enjoy the story as big as it's ever been. Not only is it big but it combines both volumes of Hush into one compact story which I can't understand why they couldn't do that with the paperback, but that plus the features I think makes this version the obvious choice to pick up, the extra cost notwithstanding.

If this story has any faults, it's the use of a long thought character as a red herring, and after the reveal at the end, I wasn't too crazy about some of the explanations behind every villain's involvement. Still, it's a great read and keeps you entertained from start to finish. One of the best Bat books you'll have the chance to read in the best way possible.

Victor E. Correa 2008-09-01

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I fell in love with Jeph Loeb's story telling in Batman: The Long Halloween, it was amazing to see how he incorporated the villains of gotham city. And he does the same thing in Hush, and its still awesome. The story is good, but that doesn't stop it from being a bit run of the mill. Bunch of villains fight batman, nothing really unique. But i must say, I didn't buy the absolute edition for Jeph Loeb's story, i bought it for Jim Lee's art work. I'm a huge Jim Lee fan. His style is simply amazing. In all honesty, he is what makes this book absolutely a must have.

Rogueman_8 2008-08-30

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A great quality book in the Absolute edition series. Much care was given to this book being the first Absolute Batman series (Dark Knight Returns and Long Halloween followed after). The book has many sketches and designs from Jim Lee as well as commentary. The story is pretty interesting and will keep you hooked until the end. It's not Loeb's best but still good. The art by legendary Jim Lee is of course, unbelievable. If you're a Jim Lee or Batman fan, you can't go wrong with this amazing book.

D. Radd 2008-08-24

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I bought this out of curiosity for one of the more popular Batman series of the past decade (hey, it did well enough to draw an Absolute edition). Anyway, I'll start with the good parts, namely the art team led by penciler Jim Lee. The series is filled with some great sketches, from the covers to panels inside (which include two page spreads) are all beautiful and full of detail. I know some people complain about the way the characters were drawn (basically, everyone having super model proportions) but honestly that's just more symptomatic of comic art in general, so I don't really think that's a fair complaint. Honestly, if you like comic art, Jim Lee and company are some of the best in the business, and I can certainly how that alone would validate the purchase of Batman Hush to some people.

Comics do have to have stories, however, which brings me to writer Jeph Loeb. The veteran writer of series like The Long Halloween, has created a story with delusions of grandeur, but to me, it was little more than a typical arc in an ongoing comic story line. It starts in a not uncommon way for a Batman story, rescuing a hostage from a longtime enemy, to something that escalates into an unnecessarily complex quagmire involving a variety of characters like Poison Ivy, Oracle, Huntress, Superman, Harley Quinn, the Joker, Nightwing, Two-Face, Riddler, Talia Head, Ra's al Ghul, Lady Shiva, Robin, Scarecrow and Clayface, a demonstration of how cameos are cheap in comics. The story is all over the place, both literally and figuratively, as it shifts from Gotham to Metropolis to North Africa and back again, which all seems to be done simply for the sake of itself, not because it improves the story. At the conclusion, there's a confrontation with the titular villain Hush and a not to surprising revelation of who he is. Ultimately, very little ends up changing for Batman. There are a couple of comic 'deaths' during the arc and a set up for maybe the biggest comic resurrection in DC Comics history (comic buffs know what I'm talk about). Perhaps the most unintentionally amusing part of the storyline was the romance with Catwoman and how Batman goes on about it like a shy 12-year-old. The annotations at the end weren't all that great to me, but maybe big Jim Lee fans will get a kick out of it.

In summary, a average story in a very pretty package. Entertaining enough for one read through, though I don't think I'll be keeping Absolute Hush forever. Ultimately, I'd say preview the art from the series and see if that's worth the price of admission for you.

N. Durham 2008-07-17

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Jeph Loeb's yearlong Hush arc on Batman was made all the better by offering spectacular artwork from penciler Jim Lee and inker Scott Williams, and ended up being a best-seller as well as being one of the best Batman stories in the past few years. Hush is the name of a new villain to come into Batman's life, who utilizes many members of Batman's rogues gallery to wreak havoc on the Dark Knight. Everyone from the Joker, to Riddler, to Poison Ivy, the Scarecrow, Killer Croc, Clayface, and even Catwoman whom Batman has grown even closer to as of late. For those who may have missed Hush the first time around, Loeb offers plenty of entertaining twists, and Lee's pencil work is gorgeous as always, made all the better by the inks of his longtime, underrated partner Scott Williams. This gorgeous Absolute Edition is a true work of art, and has a bounty of features and commentary from Loeb and Lee on the creation of their run. All in all, Absolute Batman: Hush is a must-own for Bat-fans, and remains one of the best Batman stories to see the light of day in the past few years.