Review – Red Hood & The Outlaws: Rebirth #1 (DC Comics)

Publisher: DC Comics
Writer: Scott Lobdell
Artist: Dexter Soy
Release Date: 27th July, 2016

As a young lad on the cusp of becoming a teenager I picked up a random Batman comic by Jim Starlin and began to flick through it. As I was drawn into the story with each passing page, it became clear to me that this was no ordinary story and that this was a far cry from the bubblegum world of comics I had been reading before. The comic, as you may have already guessed, was Batman: A Death in the Family.

The tragic tale of Jason Todd, Batman’s second Boy Wonder is a powerhouse of literary magic that drags the reader through every emotion before spitting them out a broken shell at the end. So when picking up the Red Hood Rebirth comic, not only was I dismayed to see that the pages before me contained a modern day recreation of that story, leaving me fearful of what was to follow.

However, no such fears came to pass, as what came next was a masterclass from Scott Lobdell in weaving the past and the present together. The story jumps between a retelling of Jason Todd’s tempestuous life as a superhero-in-waiting to his now established anti-hero persona as the Red Hood. Although the story doesn’t delve too deeply into the relationship/history between Batman and Jason, there is enough there to tease a new reader into wanting to learn more. It also sets up what looks to be an interesting plot that will drive the Red Hood deep into the global criminal underworld.

This is a cleverly written issue that introduces the reader into the complex relationship between Jason and The Batman, as well as the events which bind and separate them equally. Scott Lobdell’s writing is a joy to read, keeping the dialogue direct and to the point, never writing more than needs to be said. Dexter Soy’s artwork has an almost manga-esque quality to it, giving the book a fresh aesthetic while still keeping things feeling familiar throughout.

Rating: 4/5.

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