In Red Hood: The Hill #1, Strike and Red Hood investigate something rotten in The Hill neighborhood of Gotham City.
Title: Red Hood: The Hill Part 1: Balance
Writer: Shawn Martinbrough
Artist: Sanford Greene
Color Artist: Matt Herms
Cover Artist: Tirso Cons
Variant Covers: Dave Wielgosz & Ben Mears
Release Date: February 13, 2024
This comic book review contains spoilers.
On The Eve of the Joker War
It is just another day at the diner. Dana and her employees are enjoying time with the customers, some of whom are former henchmen, aspiring lawyers, and mysterious old women. The old woman is particularly interested in Hank Carson, a current truck driver and former henchman who has a lot of stories. He leaves, and the employees discuss the impending Joker War, and if it will affect the Hill. Dana insists that everyone is going to be okay and sends Carmen home for the night, as she has some last minute law studying to do.
The old woman calls Carmen over, and the two chat. She knows about Dana’s father’s medical bills, and she talks about balance. Just then, several clowns come in to rob the place. The woman goes into action and kills the invaders. She has Dana and Miquel, the cook closes the windows and starts to train them in balance.
Present, after Joker War
The police spot Strike; she is on her way to meet with one of her crew, Sofia. Sofia gives her intel about an attack, and Strike says she is going in. Sofia tries to get her to stop and wait for backup, but Strike goes in anyways.
In the church, mob boss Pastor Jackson is on his knees. A group has him in their sights with a tablet. They tell him to sign, and the Grand Imperial takes off his head. Strike arrives and engages the villains, but she is quickly overwhelmed. Fortunately for her, Red Hood and Strike’s crew have finally arrived and cleaned the house.
Denise Harlow is having an interview with Demitrius Korlee Jr, the owner of Godmode culture stores. Denise is looking for dirt to expose him for being a criminal. After the interview, she is chastised by her producer.
Later there is a party at Jason Todd’s apartment. Jason begins to meet more of the people in the Hill, presumably members of Dana’s crew. Later, Jason finds Dana alone on the roof. He talks to her about the mission in the church and that she needed to wait for help, Dana retorts saying that they needed to be faster.
At the dock Demitrius meets with the villains from the church raid. The young woman with them tells Demitrius that Jackson transferred all his assets, including shares in Waynetech. This gives them access to more weaponry, and, as they say, balance.
On the roof, Strike meets with Captain Battle about their deals. Battle is hit by a bullet, and Strike finds herself outnumbered.
I am having a hard time with this art style. It looks like all the characters have rosy noses, like they all have a head cold. The character designs are very cartoony, which does not match the tone of the book. This book is about a gang war, and the art should have a gritty feel.
The colors in this book are better. They do not improve on the art, but they do follow the tone. They are muted, giving the darkness this story needs to be told with. It is a very violent, bloody story, and even though there is great restraint in depicting the violence, the violence that is depicted is dramatic and relays the action without being over the top.
The story itself is very ambitious. There is a lot going on, and characters come in and out a lot. One thing is the old woman in the diner scene at the beginning of the book. I felt as I was reading the later pages that she might be the one behind the gang war. The Grand Imperial consistently uses her quotes throughout the battle. The meetup at the dock, which does not include the woman, shows the term balance used once again.
There is also a theme of family, so it is possible that a child of the old woman is involved in this instead.
It was good to see how a motley crew like Strike’s could become so good. The old woman is formidable in taking out the entire gang of clowns with brutality and ease. It is reasonable that she could have trained this vigilante gang.
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.
