It's time for Hush's big reveal...
What's it about?
This is it! The mystery killer is unmasked! The secret of the new Catwoman is revealed! Gotham City is under siege! Terry McGinnis and Bruce Wayne are at odds! And Batman is torn between duty, doubt, and a vengeance-crazed super-villain!
Review
Another comic book review; another strange place to jump in to reviewing a series... but you gotta start somewhere right?
I wasn't a huge fan of 'Batman Beyond' or 'Batman of the Future' as it is known here when it originally aired, I was still heavily mourning the loss of 'Batman The Animated Series' to openly consider watching a new version of my childhood hero but over the years which have followed I have grown to love this show and I am glad to see it getting another shot at become a credible ongoing comic book series.
We've picked up sometime after the end of the TV series but before the events of the 'Justice League Unlimited' crossover episodes which took steps to reveal the truly lineage of Terry McGinnis. This way the writers don't have to the pander to the ending of the cartoon which angered certain groups amongst the fan base, instead the slate is somewhat clean and the playing field is open to to entirely new stories.
Although in the case of this six part mini-series by 'new' what we really mean is a new story featuring guest appearances by the foes of old.
The inclusion of classic characters from the Batman mythos is a great nod to all the years of work which have gone in to creating the legend and also a nice 'passing the torch' metaphor if this mini-series is to expand in to a full ongoing monthly comic.
Having the story initially revolve around the character of Hush has provided a good amount of conflict both between hero and villain but also hero and mentor shedding more light on the relationship between Bruce and Terry which differs heavily from his relationship with previous characters as this time Terry is not a sidekick.
What has been lacking in early issues has been the supporting cast of characters which made the TV series but slowly they are beginning to appear in this comic. Perhaps the writers felt they needed time to cement the core relationship of the series before they could encompass the entire universe that had been created on our TV screens.
The lack of panel time given to these characters has by no means taken away from my enjoyment of the story but the animated series created such a well rounded universe that it would be nice to see that fully translated into the comic work.
Some criticism has been heaped on Ryan Benjamin and John Stanisci's artwork in this series but I am not one to agree, the artwork and the colouring is reminiscent of the show whilst also taking in to account that fact that this is no longer a show supposedly for kids and now a serious comic book series of a different age range.
All aspects of the show have been recreated with respect for the source material but it's nice to see that DC Comics have allowed room for interpretation especially as we have moved on from the time period of the original show.
This includes the language of the show, one of the other aspects which put this show above others of its time. The language, or more specifically the slang, which was used in the show has also made its way from screen to page and it slotted in perfectly with the sharp dialogue of writer Adam Beechen.
Overall
Story 4.0
Character 4.0
Artwork 3.5
Script 3.5
Overall 4.0
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