by Brian LeTendre
Sigh. After twenty issues of Red Hood and the Outlaws, I still couldn’t tell you exactly why I keep buying this book. This series has been consistently inconsistent from the start, and while there have been flashes of brilliance, they are often buried in the muddled mess that are the adventures of Jason Todd, Roy Harper and Koriand'r.
Now, this is only wew writer James Tynion IV (taking over for Scott Lobdell) second issue, so it’s too early to judge his run. But, his story about Jason Todd getting his memory erased is not exactly kicking the run off with a bang. As had been the case for much of this book’s life, everything revolves around Jason’s struggle to define himself and Roy and Kori get dragged along for the ride. Frankly, it’s boring.
The best issues of this series involved the space-faring adventure where the boys had to help Starfire save Tamaran (they are in the vol.2 trade if you want to check them out). That arc balanced action and character development well, something this book has failed to manage outside of that one example.
Red Hood and the Outlaws should be a swashbuckling, high adventure book, not the same kind of morose character examination that half of the Bat-family books are. This one is supposed to be different.
I’m really hoping Tynion IV is just wrapping up some loose ends from Lobdell’s run so that he can unleash on this book. I’ve been waiting for someone to capture the full potential of this team, and I don’t know how much longer I can hold out.
2 out of 5 Tag Alongs
Sigh. After twenty issues of Red Hood and the Outlaws, I still couldn’t tell you exactly why I keep buying this book. This series has been consistently inconsistent from the start, and while there have been flashes of brilliance, they are often buried in the muddled mess that are the adventures of Jason Todd, Roy Harper and Koriand'r.
Now, this is only wew writer James Tynion IV (taking over for Scott Lobdell) second issue, so it’s too early to judge his run. But, his story about Jason Todd getting his memory erased is not exactly kicking the run off with a bang. As had been the case for much of this book’s life, everything revolves around Jason’s struggle to define himself and Roy and Kori get dragged along for the ride. Frankly, it’s boring.
The best issues of this series involved the space-faring adventure where the boys had to help Starfire save Tamaran (they are in the vol.2 trade if you want to check them out). That arc balanced action and character development well, something this book has failed to manage outside of that one example.
Red Hood and the Outlaws should be a swashbuckling, high adventure book, not the same kind of morose character examination that half of the Bat-family books are. This one is supposed to be different.
I’m really hoping Tynion IV is just wrapping up some loose ends from Lobdell’s run so that he can unleash on this book. I’ve been waiting for someone to capture the full potential of this team, and I don’t know how much longer I can hold out.
2 out of 5 Tag Alongs
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