Batman: Streets of Gotham: Hush Money
This, however, I could really sink my teeth into, not least
because of the beautiful artwork by Dustin Nguyen and Derek Fridolfs. And to be honest, I’ve never read a Paul Dini
story I didn’t like.
Hush Money takes
place somewhat further along the storyline from R.I.P. (as illustrated by the fact it’s part of the “Batman Reborn”
storyline, which replaces Bruce Wayne Batman with Nightwing/Dick Grayson
Batman). Hush (vol. 2, anyway) is one of my favorite Batman graphic novels, so I enjoyed getting into this one, which
follows the villain Hush across the world.
And I didn’t even mind an occasional bevy (or several) of superhero entourages. Catwoman is beautifully written and
beautifully drawn. And as I mentioned in
R.I.P. review, Damian Wayne has
become a lot more loveable.
Back in Gotham, there’s a lovely cameo from Harleen Quinzel
(that’s right, not Harley—Jokerless and for once, more or less, on the right
side of the law). Damian’s reaction to her—“She’s
annoying. May I cut out her tongue?”—is funny
and painfully spot-on. I don’t quite
know how pre-teen hooker Katy fits into all of this, but I bet she will appear
again. Like R.I.P., there is a bit of foreshadowing in Hush Money in terms of how people attack Batman/Bruce Wayne in TDKR—Hush makes a daring,
superficially-legitimate attempt to clear out the Wayne bank account.
“Business” is a really enjoyable one-shot. I’d definitely recommend you read Hush Money just for that.
As I said, I like Nguyen’s style—it’s fluid, very
modern-looking (which is for the best, I suppose, when you’re in a “Reborn”
range!). I absolutely adore his
inkwash/watercolor covers as well.
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