Reviewed by: Mathan “Matthew Broderick ‘War Games?’†Erhardt
Story Title: Pushback Book Six
Written by: A.J. Lieberman
Penciled by: Al Barrionuevo
Inked by: Francis Portela
Lettered by: Clem Robins and Company
Colored by: Brand Anderson
Editor: Matt Idelson
Publisher: DC Comics
Ok so Hush is after the Riddler for what happened after “Hush.†The Riddler goes to the Joker for help offering to the Mister J the identity of the man how killed his wife. The Joker protects Riddler by having his goons beat Hush to a pulp. Hush goes to get Prometheus from Star City, which results in an encounter with Green Arrow. Prometheus and Hush team up. Oh yeah and Batman occasionally pops in from time to time.
So this issue begins with Batman dreaming, and as usual it ends badly. Then we have Hush showing Prometheus his hideout, and abandoned hospital. At the Joker’s HQ the Riddler expresses his fear of Hush, and Joker reminds him that if the name doesn’t check out he should fear the Joker more.
The Joker then proceeds to try to take the Riddler out of Gotham. Prometheus holds up the procession. Joker gets out of his car and has some words with Hush, reminding him the last time they met Hush ended up a bloody mess. Hush then instructs Prometheus to kill every one except for the Joker. He does.
Hush then proceeds to beat the spit out of the Joker. Hush looks for the Riddler in the car, but the crook has escaped. Then he attempts to get answers from the Joker, but the clown is so distraught over being beaten that he’s delusional. Then the Joker disappears into the sewers. And then Batman shows up.
Batman and Hush talk about things. Prometheus tries to kill Batman. Hush and Prometheus escape. Batman doesn’t even try to find Hush. But in the end he does come up with a name for Prometheus.
The Riddler turns up at Poison Ivy’s looking for refuge. And the Joker winds up at a very familiar looking circus. The End.
I hope that the up coming War Games crossover prevented Lieberman from telling the story that he wanted to tell, because if this was it, it wasn’t a success. We never got a resolution to what Joker is going to do with the name he got from the Riddler. The Riddler is still searching for help. Hush and Prometheus teamed up for what reason? The Joker is defeated. I’ve enjoyed the storyline, because it was building to something. This is not what I expected. But Lieberman made the best of what he was given and hopefully he will resume once the crossover has ended.
I really enjoyed how Lieberman took the adage that a hero is only as good as his foes to heart. The storyline has been very villain-centric and to me it was all the more enjoyable for it.
Barrionuevo and Portela can really create atmosphere. Hush’s hideout looks creepy and cool. The face off between Hush and the Joker work very well, and the rain adds a very nice touch. The broken Joker wandering the sewer and the outskirts of Gotham are some pretty powerful images. While Jim Lee may have created Hush, these guys have made him their own. Gotham Knights is the best-looking Bat book out.
