Batman created by Bob Kane
Reviewer: John Babos
Story Title: The End (Part 12 of “Hush”)
Written by: Jeph Loeb
Penciled by: Jim Lee
Inked by: Scott Williams
Colored by: Alex Sinclair
Lettered by: Richard Starkings
Editor: Bob Shreck
Associate Editor: Michael Wright
Special Thanks: Mark Chiarello
Publisher: DC
HUSH
HUSH by all measures has been a success for DC, catapulting Batman to the top of the industry’s best sellers for the majority of its 12 issue run.
The series has been relatively accessible to new readers with innovative in-story recaps by scribe Jeph Loeb to keep potential new readers in the know. The pencils of Jim Lee and his long-time inker Scott Williams gave Batman a dynamic look and may very well have been the “hook” that drew readers to the book.
The first 11 parts of HUSH were solid through and through.
Batman 619
So, how does the last installment of HUSH measure up? Well, as I stated on 411’s comics forum…
In under 5 pages the identity of Hush is revealed, and the rest of the issue ties up the HUSH loose threads from the debut of the Jeph & Jim show. In my opinion, the whole HUSH story was going gang busters, but Batman 619 left so much to be desired.
Batman 619 was well drawn and well written, BUT the end of an epic arc, that has delivered over the last 11 months, should have been more “epic”. It felt more like an “epilogue” issue – it was very human story, but certainly not an “event” let alone an “epic” one.
DC did not deliver the goods with the end of their hit HUSH series-within-a-series…
…(However,) issue 619 won’t be as disappointing a read when it is read within its eventual mini-hc & tpb forms. It will flow better when read with the rest. As a standalone read, it is anticlimactic – again with solid art and good writing, just not “epic” enough…
There’s not much more I can add to that, except…. for my obligatory comment on “gimmicks”.
Gimmicks
Batman #619 came with three covers. A 3-part gatefold villain cover, a 3-part gatefold heroes cover, and a standard (non-gatefold) cover based on one-third of the heroes gatefold.
The Good: The gatefold covers were “regular” price. No bump in cover price – still $2.25 US – Canadians actually saw a decrease in cover price from last month’s $3.75 CAN to $3.50 CAN on the strength of its dollar.
The Bad: I will relent and say that a big bang ending gimmick for HUSH was warranted. The two regularly-priced gatefold covers looked great and were a treat for readers who wouldn’t have to expend any additional cash – that is if the reader was to get 1 version of issue 619. Fine, readers can buy two “super-covers” at regular price, but was an actual non-gatefold “regular” cover needed then? Readers who pick up that issue may actually feel that they’re getting ripped. Same price as last month, but no “extra” – they get one-third of the heroes gatefold that’s coloured in shades of red. Harumph.
Ranking HUSH
I thought it would be interesting to average out the scores that 411 has given HUSH since its beginning a year ago.
Now, 411 began reviewing HUSH from part 4. So, I will give you all my unpublished scores (i.e. no published review by moi) for Batman 608, 609, and 610.
The Ransom – Batman 608: Unpublished score by John Babos: 8.0
The Friend – Batman 609: Unpublished score by John Babos: 8.0
The Beast – Batman 610: Unpublished score by John Babos: 8.5
The City – Batman 611 Review by Dace Graham: 9.0
The Battle – Batman 612 Review by Dace Graham: 9.0
The Opera – Batman 613 Review by John Babos: 9.0
The Joke – Batman 614 Review by Matt Morrison: 10.0
The Dead – Batman 615 Review by Chris Delloiacono: 10.0
The Assassins – Batman 616 Review by John Babos: 9.0
The Grave – Batman 617 Review by Gary Day: 9.5
The Game – Batman 618 Review by Dave Graham: 9.5
The End – Batman 619 Review by John Babos: 8.0
(NOTE: As a standalone read 619 gets a 7.0, but as part of the whole HUSH arc and reading at as an “epilogue” its a 9.0 – so averaging the scores, issue 619 gets an 8.0.)
So, the scores for Batman 608 to 619, averages out to: 8.958333333333333333333333333333…….. which I’ll round up to 9.0.
Therefore, my friends, the HUSH arc gets a 9.0 for its year of solid writing, great art, and gaggle of gimmicks. Agree, disagree, indifferent? Let me know.
Thank you DC.
