Batman: Heart of Hush

Paul Dini is a great writer - nice plot, catchy dialogue - and the art by Dustin Nguyen and Derek Fridolfs is spectacular - realistic enough to be believable, stylized enough to make it enjoyable, and dazzling colors that know how to enhance the story from moody shadows to vibrant lights. It collects Detective Comics 846-850; the plot follows up on Private Casebook (Detective Comics 840-845), and both should be read together. Both collections are self-contained, which is a welcome relief from the half-finished, confusing storylines of the Grant Morrison Batman RIP story arc.

The second helping o stories from the A-Team of Paul Dini and Dustin Nguyen collects the five part tie-in with the Batman:RIP, but stands apart from that story as it is supposed to be either cuncurrent or right before the events of RIP. Dini takes Hush, a villain who had been languishing in bad writer hell for the last few years, and finally makes sense of him. When we last saw Hush, he was in the pages of the dreadful monthly Batman: Gotham Knights series. His big plot to destroy batman was stretched so thin that most readers like myself lost interest, but Dini brings him down to earth here and shows us why he is so bitter, why he hates Batman, and why we should care. He also gives him an interesting hideout and henchmen to suit his mania and previous life as a doctor. Not only does Dini amp up the threat level of Hush back to major villain, he also give Catwoman something more to do than just look pretty. She is an integral part of the story and is made more of an important part of batman;s life than before. Nguyen keeps getting better and better drawing Batman, and I hope he keeps on this book for years to come. He is quickly proving to be the definitive Batman artist of the decade in my eyes, due to the quality and consistency of his art. He is also one of the few really good artists to linger on Batman for more than a year, which deserves praise in itself. The hardcover edition of this storyline is well worth the cover price. The cover is great (both on and behind the dust jacket) and the production design is top notch. I am happy to see DC didn't tack that ugly blue logo at the bottom of the spine like they do with many of their collections these days; Pick up this winner.

Hush is still a fairly new addition to the Bat canon in the grand scheme of things. I think a lot of fans were split on his introduction but I really enjoyed it. Some thought was definitely put into his back story and I'm happy to see a modern villain introduced that isn't gimicky in any way. The childhood connection he has with Bruce is a nice added twist. So here we have Dini taking a crack at Hush and continuing to explore his past and what made him who he is today. Not only does this story do that but it also pushes his character forward in a surprising way. Other than a couple 2 part stories, this is the first real arc that Dini has attempted since beginning his run on Detective. I know his intention was to tell a stand alone story in each issue, which is the tradition of Detective Comics, but this 5 part story was definitely worth the wait. Heart of Hush has so many great cliffhangers and easily ranks up there as one of the best Bat novels ever. This is the sort of book I can read all in one sitting because it is so face paced and the suspense is tight. Even if you aren't familiar with Hush, don't let that stop you from reading this. There is a lot of flashbacks to fill in his past that really define his character. I also really appreciated the small nods to other characters that Dini has been using recently like Peyton Riley and he couldn't resist squeezing Zatanna in there again, however it is Catwoman who I might say is the heart of the story. Brilliantly done. I had to reread this in anticipation of Dini and Nguyen's brand new monthly series Streets of Gotham which released today, and I couldn't be more thrilled that these two are teaming up again. Nguyen's work has never been better than this, his style fits Hush perfectly. I love the dark shadows who I have Derek Fridolfs to thank for. If you're looking for a break from all the R.I.P. confusion, this is a true Batman story. It's not trying to shake up the whole Bat universe, it's not trying to make a huge earth shattering impact on Batman's mythos, it's just a fantastic read and I can't recommend this one enough.

The "Heart of Hush" storyline ran in Detective Comics while Batman was running the disappointing "R.I.P." I found that "Heart of Hush" had a better storyline, was MUCH better written, had real character development, and had the possibility (and believability) to affect and change Batman/Bruce Wayne more than "R.I.P." ever could. This was my first experience with the Hush villain, having just starting reading comics again after 15 years. I must say that he's equally creepy as -- if not creepier than -- the Joker. What a background Hush has. I loved the flashbacks throughout "Heart of Hush" to his childhood. They went into great depth with his turn into a villain, specifically despising Bruce Wayne because of his jealousy and "mommy issues." What a terrific concept. Unbeknownst to me, the "heart" of Hush turned out to be an actual heart. Catwoman's heart. Ouch. Surgically removing Catwoman's heart to use as bait was brilliant, not to mention incredibly twisted and devious. I loved seeing how much it affected Bruce/Batman personally. The tender moments between he and Catwoman were beautiful. I hope more comes of this. They've been playing "cat and mouse" for years. It's about time something more was done with the chemistry between the two of them. All in all, I can't say enough how much Paul Dini did a beautiful writing job writing this story arc. How about taking over both Batman titles, Dini?

I won't bore you with a recap (and I won't give away any plot spoilers), but I will give some background information. Heart of Hush is officially part of the Batman R.I.P. storyline, but takes place a couple of nights before the events of RIP proper (and therefore, before Final Crisis). Hush, upon learning of the Black Glove's intentions for Batman, returns to Gotham to make one final attempt on his nemesis. What happens in the story, I won't say, but it is a very good story. The Heart of Hush storyline officially ends within this book, but an epilogue of it takes place in the 'Faces of Evil' issues of Batman and Detective Comics (Not collected in this), but they aren't necessary and only serve as to give closure to some of the characters in this story. The story officially picks up in Batman RIP and then Final Crisis, telling the story of the 'last' adventure of Batman.