In this review of Red Hood: The Hill #6, the saga of the Hill ends or does it?
Red Hood: The Hill #6
Writer: Shawn Martinbrough
Artist: Tony Akins
Color Artist: Matt Herms
Main Cover: Sanford Greene
Variant Covers: Shawn Martinbrough
Release Date: July 31, 2024
This review contains spoilers
Red Hood: The Hill #6 — The Story
Red Hood: The Hill #6 begins after the disaster of the night in the previous issue, the attack on the Batmobile and the explosion and theft of Waynetech, Batman, Strike, and a perfectly fine Red Hood question their prisoners. Batman tells Strike that he has notified Denise Harlow and she is on her way to investigate the lead. Batman surmises that she will send a field team. Red Hood corrects him that she will go alone. Red Hood convinces Dana to back up Denise. Batman and Red Hood will take care of Omar and the Grand Imperial. Of course Batman lied he did not contact Denise he just wanted Strike to get to her sooner. He now has Oracle contact Denise. Red Hood goes to handle Omar.
Omar and Korlee argue over the phone and Batman contacts Korlee making it look like he is the Grand Imperial.
Denise is waylaid by Korlee Sr’s guards but she is soon helped by Strike. Strike later provides the muscle allowing Denise to interview Korlee Jr.
In the Hill, Red Hood confronts Omar and detonates the stolen weapons. He then tells Omar that the death of his daughter was orchestrated by Korlee Jr. Red Hood explains this before the police arrive to pick him up.
At the retirement compound of Korlee Sr. Denise and Strike have left and Korlee Jr arrives to kill his father and the survivors of the compound.
Back at Gotham News One, Denise learns of the massacre at the compound and she prepares to go on air to expose Korlee Jr.
Dana visits Captain Battle and her team at the hospital as they all recover. And in the jail Omar is approached by Tommy Maxx from the very beginning of this story. He suggests the two get together to go after Korlee Jr.
Everything then is treated like it is over? Korlee Jr may have been exposed but his is still free and he rejects Batman’s menacing tone. Omar is freed on bail and the Grand Imperial is still loose. All Red Hood says is that the bad guys are always out there. Jason has some stops to make before he leaves the Hill but he insists that he will. The only thing resolved appears to be Dana and Denise’s relationship.
Analysis
The art in Red Hood: The Hill #6 is alright. Unfortunately the characters keep looking different from issue to issue. For example Denise is hard to recognize in this issue it is only through the dialog and her actions that the reader can even know it is Denise Harlowe. Dana herself has gone through various changes throughout this story and this issue is no different. It helps that she mostly appears in her Strike costume.
Of course this conclusion leaves me with a huge question of what was the point? Nobody was really put in prison. The only exception could have been Omar who was given a sympathetic quality in that his daughter murder was actually set up by Korlee Jr. Now he is free like everyone else but his goal is to get revenge on Junior. The writer decided to bring back Tommy Maxx to lead into this pot point, again why?
The way it looks is that Korlee actually wins, his father is now dead so he is seemingly the crime lord of the Hill and he has the courage to stand up to Batman. My question remains: what is the point? This story has no conclusion.
One more question, this is a Red Hood book, why did we not see the battle alluded to in the previous issue? He only made a scant appearance in the beginning of that issue and Batman was told he was killed. Now he is miraculously back. Show Red Hood doing what he is good at.
Final Thoughts
A really pointless story and a pointless conclusion. Not a great showing of Red Hood. He needs Batman to come in to clean up the Hill but even he fails to do it. There is no change from the beginning except for alliances are different and some people are dead and most of the Watch was beat up.
