In Red Hood: The Hill #0, Jason Todd returns to the Hills to escape the Bat-Family, but trouble always follows him.
Title: Red Hood: The Hill #0
Writer: Shawn Martinbrough
Artist: Tony Akins & Moritat
Color Artist: Paul Mounts
Release Date: February 6, 2024
Editor’s note: This comic book review contains spoilers.
It collects previous issues of Red Hood: Outlaw #s 51 and 52 from 2020.
It is the aftermath of the Joker War, but peace is far from a reality for the citizens of the Hill. Jason has finally arrived with a duffle bag in hand. He arrives back at his abandoned apartment, but he is not alone. He had asked a young woman, Dana, to keep an eye on the place. Dana offers to buy Jason some lunch.
Dana tries to ask Jason why he came back and for how long he is staying. All Jason says is that things are intense, and Dana invites Jason to a party.
We have interludes throughout these scenes with a guy named Thomas Missel. He is a businessman specializing in apparel modeled after the criminals of Gotham. He meets up with his partner, Jerome Gordi. Thomas is not listening, so he gets a slap to the face. The streets are Jerome’s expertise, not Thomas’, so Thomas better pay attention.
At night, Jason sits on the roof with a beer watching the traffic drive by. Elsewhere, a lone masked woman watches him, but Jason notices her and leaves.
At the party Dana asks Jason to dance. Meanwhile, Killer Croc is talking to Thomas at a bar. He is grumbling about his partner. Croc gives him his number; he wants points on all the Croc merch.
The masked woman now is faced with Red Hood. The woman says that she is not a thief but is keeping an eye on a criminal. Just then an explosion is heard. Jerome Gordi has lost his establishment, but later he does not look all that choked up about it. A door shatters, and Croc enters along with a masked man calling himself Tommy Maxx (Thomas Missel). He tells Jerome that he is going to show him how things are done.
Part Two
Red Hood flees the burning building with the woman. Red Hood, when he gets out, spies Killer Croc.
Maxx sees a newscast by Denise Harlowe describing the explosion. Tommy makes a phone call to talk to Harlowe.
In the morning, Jason visits Dana. She has just woken up but agrees to get dressed and have breakfast with Jason. Jason asks about the wounds on her arm, and Dana brushes it off. Denise arrives, she is going to an interview and she stopped by to pick up some food from their father. Jason notices that Mr. Harlowe is missing a leg. He lost it during the Joker War and that is when Dana decided to organize a citizen watch group with her as the leader. The two sisters end up arguing, and Dana storms out. Jason follows her to try to calm her down; he is not successful.
Maxx makes his next hit, he takes a hideout from the Black Mask Gang. He wants to use this place for an interview.
Meanwhile, Jason notices Croc again and decides to pay him a visit. Maxx takes Denise hostage, while Croc is just a decoy to occupy Red Hood. The masked woman and her gang also arrive to rescue Denise. Red Hood jumps into action, but everyone has to let the car with Denise go to protect the innocent bystanders. One of Maxx’s gang members is taken hostage and interrogated him for information.
Maxx is taunting the captive Denise. The masked woman is with Red Hood when she gets word that they know where Denise is being held. The woman removes her helmet and reveals that she is Dana Harlowe.
Red Hood and Dana go into action to beat Maxx and free Denise. All parties then part ways, the deal is done, and Tommy gets his spotlight.
There is an epilogue which shows Jason and Dana painting the apartment. Jason finds a gift and surmises it is from Bruce. The last scene is The Batman looking approvingly at the apartment building.
How Does this Issue Compare?
Admittedly the story is convoluted, and the villain I do find very uninteresting. This story shines in that it is finally a vehicle for Jason Todd to get his own solo book. It is unclear to me how long this series will last as this takes place after the Joker War and before the Gotham War where Bruce lobotomized Jason, thus making him fearful. It’s definitely not a shining point of Batman’s career. Anyway, this is Jason in the spotlight, not in the shadow of the Bat-family, and it’s his chance to shine.
Back to the villain, He is not only uninteresting but his motives for his action, if you can figure out what his actions are, are very superficial. He wants personal revenge for losing his brand, so he decides to form a gang and play a Joker-type of figure short on laughs and jokes. This makes absolutely no sense.
I do appreciate that there is a supporting cast for this story, and may I say that they are not white. Yes, they are African-American, The Hill is basically shown to be the low end of Gotham, the police do not have much activity there, and the people themselves decide to form their own team of protection. Jason does try to tell Dana that this line of work is dangerous, but she loves her family and her home, and she will fight for both of them. There may even be a little romance between the two.
The art is the standard Batman art style. It does shine with the character designs. Dana and Denise are distinct in their style and appearance. The action sequences, including the car chase after Denise’s abduction and the brief fight at the warehouse lair, are action-packed, dynamic, and interesting if not short.
Editor’s Note: DC Comics provided TBU with an advanced copy of this comic for review purposes. You can find this comic and help support TBU in the process by purchasing this issue digitally on Amazon or a physical copy of the title through Things From Another World.
