Hush

Relative to the amount of material that’s out there, I’m a noob to the world of the Caped Crusader, but even so, I suspect this fantastic story is a standout no matter how many Batman comics you’ve read. The writing, the art, the character arcs… This is as much a noir detective tale as it is an action-packed superhero adventure. For too long I ignored most mainstream superhero comics, not knowing where to jump in or what about them might compel me. Now that I happen to have a fabulous guide to the world of Gotham, I’m loving my time there and so excited by how much there is to explore.

I keep going back to Batman hoping I'll get a suped-up noir detective story and i keep ending up with a sad angry man whose single redeeming quality is that he's not keen on murdering people. Hush is no exception, it's a wild goose chase that allows for a greatest hits parade of villains, drowned in gratuitous fan service. It might function as an introduction to modern Batman lore, but it certainly didn't leave me looking for more. I'm also not a massive fan of Lee's hyper realistic art style, which loses all sense of dignity and anatomical feasibility during action sequences. Overall its fine for what it is, but this is hardly in the ranks of the greatest graphic novels I've read and seems deeply overrated.