ASK LOBDELL- 5/29/12 Post 3 Day Weekend Edition

Welcome to our sixth installment of Ask Lobdell where YOU get to ask Scott Lobdell questions about Red Hood And The Outlaws.

This week, Steve asks: 
What character would you have loved more than anything to be on Red
Hood's "team", but were unable to use for one reason or another, and
how would you have brought them on board Outlaws? What do you love
about that character?

Scott Answers
That is a great question, Steve, because there were probably a lot of characters I had toyed with adding tot he roster right from the start.   I, along with everyone else who heard the title "And the Outlaws" thought "Really?  Can they be a 'team' with just three characters?"

(Of course, it turns out they can!)

But I think you asked about the one character "more than anything"... so that narrows it down to Misfit.

I thought she would have made an excellent addition to the team because she is just so out there.   I think Jason, Roy and Kori carry a lot of their "out there-ness" inside with them, so at a distance they seem like mostly normal (sometimes violent) people... until you get to know them and you appreciate the damage within.   Misfit, however, is just so gosh darn loopy that she wears her damage on her sleeve.   If RHATO were the A-Team, she would be their Murdock.

Gail Simone has done amazing work with Misfit -- is it any wonder I wanted her for RED HOOD AND THE OUTLAWS!  (MIsfit, that is!)

Remember Hoodies, you get to ask Scott a question in our weekly polling over at the Red Hood & The Outlaws Facebook page, so like us and keep an eye out for the invitation to submit next week's questions.

Mike DePalo
Hoodie Admin
https://www.facebook.com/RedHoodOutlaws
@RedHoodOutlaws on Twitter

ASK LOBDELL: 5/22/12 It's late because I have a house guest edition

Welcome to our fifth installment of Ask Lobdell where YOU get to ask Scott Lobdell questions about Red Hood And The Outlaws.

This week, Mike asks: 
The ending of Red Hood 9 was somewhat ambiguous, did Jason pull the
trigger and kill Xiao Loong, the Talon? When writing the piece, was
did you feel was going through the Talon's mind that made him break
away, and say "No mas!" to the Court of Owls?

Scott Answers
Well, as you know, I wasn't there... but I can tell you that in the previous issue we actually saw Jason pull the trigger.   So...

I don't know what Xiao's thinking was, but I got the impression he might have felt any obligations he had to the Court of Owls were fulfilled "in life" -- and that perhaps this second chance at life was an opportunity to take his fate into his own hands.    But you know, those Talons are notoriously non-forthcoming, so that is just a guess on my part. 

Remember Hoodies, you get to ask Scott a question in our weekly polling over at the Red Hood & The Outlaws Facebook page, so like us and keep an eye out for the invitation to submit next week's questions.

Mike DePalo
Hoodie Admin
https://www.facebook.com/RedHoodOutlaws
@RedHoodOutlaws on Twitter

Girl In The Hood- Red Hood # 9 Edition

By

Elizabeth Airelle

Who Are You?--Hoo Hoo?

     Continuing from the last issue it’s the night of owls and the Outlaws are in Chinatown which almost all of it has been frozen solid by Mr. Freeze in an attempt to bunker down.  Freeze has an assassin called a Talon from the Court of Owls after him [one of many high profile Talon targets the Bat-Family has to protect], so the Outlaws have come to look out for Freeze while trying to save the city from Freeze as well. The team splits up with Jason going after Freeze and Kory with Roy clearing the ice and getting people away to safety. Jason uses the moment to be alone with the city he was born and raised in. Being home makes him feel confused and anxious. With all that’s happened he would suspect that this was all just a ruse to ambush him and arrest him, if not for the ice fort he’s breaking into.

     Red Hood feels off his game and he is when the Talon gets a jump on him, but he's the only thing between Freeze and Talon. Our frozen foe is understandably confused as to why Red Hood is trying to protect him and refuses his aid because he won’t take any help from Batman. Freeze then cold-blasts Jason’s hand to his gun and in the confusion Talon attempts to slip away.

     Jason goes up against the Talon who explains about his past and Jason begins to understand him. The  Talons have risen from the dead to serve out the court of Owls mission to assassinate key figures in Gotham. Jason criticize him by saying “You get a chance to come back to life- and the only thing that comes to mind is “assassin”” It's an important moment we'll come back to later.

     Talon is about to strike when Roy intervenes. He fixes Jason’s frozen hand with a heat arrow, Jason remarking how brilliant he is at making weapons. They decide to switch with Red Hood going after Talon and Roy with Kory finishing Freeze. Starfire attempts to offer protection for Freeze, but he refuses blasting her out of the sky, warning there will be a frozen death for the next person who tries to enter his lab.

     Kory and Freeze battle out with her flames vs his ice. She feels repulsed and impressed by him. Freeze tells her everything he does is for love. Starfire not believing him states “Love does not leave suffering and death in its wake” realizing that she only pities him now.  The Court of Owls seemed to use Freeze’s experimental work to reanimate their Talons. It is the reason he got mixed up in this. He agreed to work with them because they promised the end of Batman. Roy finally ends the fight, shorting out Freeze with an electrical arrow, and a Back to the Future reference [1.21 gigawatts anyone?]

     Meanwhile Talon seems to lead Jason to an empty lot that was occupied by Haley’s Circus. The same circus that Dick Grayson, aka Nightwing, came from. Jason notes that Talon’s movements are that of an acrobat. Jason figures out that Talon must of “ran away and joined the circus”. Afterwards the Court of Owls enlisted him. Talon says they own his body, not his soul, which he feels has become a mockery since his return to life. Jason can understand. Talon revels himself as Xiao Loong [the name itself is a reference to Bruce Lee, Li Xiaolong being one of Lee's stage names in China]. Wanting to end this “life” on his terms, Xiao asks Jason to shoot him, almost begging. Jason complies [or does he?]

     On top of the Gotham Police department Batgirl, aka Barbara Gordon, having defeated her Talon waits for Batman.  She is surprised to see Jason dropping off Mr. Freeze. Batgirl tells her that this one act won’t make up for everything he has done and to leave Gotham. Jason says that better bats have tried and to tell Bruce he’s welcome.

     I really liked the second page with Chinatown covered in ice! It reminds the audience of the epic power Mr. Freeze has. Victor Fries as a villain I always liked, and made me sad at the same time.  The “love” he does this for is for his wife Nora.  His actions have always been about trying to save her.  He’s a tragic villain, not a pun saying, eskimo henchmen having villain (Damn you Batman & Robin movie!).

     The Talon Jason fight was good. A Talon not wanting to start again and end his life is understandable. I wish this had been two parts, just to see more of his past and how/why he was picked. Jason really is not the same Red Hood from the Under The Red Hood days. It’s displayed with his remark to Xiao about second chances being squandered as an assassin highlighting that change in him. A few years ago someone could have easily said  to Jason “You came back to life and all you want is revenge?”  This shows a lot of character growth.

     Batgirl’s cameo was a surprise! Now, I got into comics when Barbara was Oracle and read through Cassandra Cain to Stephanie Brown and I liked that dynamic so it’s been hard to wrap my head around still that she is Batgirl again. I loved how she was drawn and understandably did not like her attitude. Makes me wish it had been Tim Drake or Alfred at the end but I guess someone had to kick the three out of Gotham.

     I cannot wait for next month because the Outlaws will be heading into space. I’m hoping this changes the dynamic with Starfire in charge and the boys following her lead. Until next month Hoodies !!

  

ASK LOBDELL- 5/14/12- Maybe we'll just do this on Mondays rather than be late, Lobdell

Welcome to our fourth installment of Ask Lobdell where YOU get to ask Scott Lobdell questions about Red Hood And The Outlaws.

This week, Adam [yes, Adam, who asked the question last week too, come up with good questions a you could be Adam] asks:
Since Jason is able to do what most heroes cannot, kill, is the idea of a Rogues gallery for RHatO out of the realm of possibilities? Are large/overarching groups of enemies more or less what we will be seeing for a while? or even just one-and-done (or spanning a few issues) villains?

Scott Answers
I will try to answer this question the best I can, because I admit I don't really understand it. I'm not sure why his killing would prevent him from having a rogue's gallery. Just because he can kill doesn't mean he does kill, or have to kill -- so it is not as if every person he faces, he kills.(I believe he would have given Suzie the benefit of the doubt if she has opted not to define the rest of her life by revenge.) He didn't kill Crux or Mr. Freeze or (presumably) even the Talon.

So while yes, he will be battling larger scale groups (like the Untitled and Intergang and the Blight, to name a few) it doesn't mean he's not going to have individual "villains" making their way in and out of their lives.    And sometimes there will be villains that come from Roy and Kori's backgrounds that he might not see as it being his place to kill.

Remember Hoodies, you get to ask Scott a question in our weekly polling over at the Red Hood & The Outlaws Facebook page, so like us and keep an eye out for the invitation to submit next week's questions.

Mike DePalo
Hoodie Admin
https://www.facebook.com/RedHoodOutlaws
@RedHoodOutlaws on Twitter

ASK LOBDELL- 5/7/2012 A Day Late And A Dollar Short Edition

Welcome to our third installment of Ask Lobdell where YOU get to ask Scott Lobdell questions about Red Hood And The Outlaws.

This week, Adam asks:

What sorts of hijinks would Crux have been contributing to the Outlaws if you had decided to make him a member? Also, as a side question, would you mind explaining in detail why you decided not to have Cruxbecome an Outlaw after all?


Scott answers: [Spoilers below kids]
Originally I felt the team needed a physical powerhouse and a brilliant scientist and thought that Crux could provide both of those characteristics in a single character. The goal was to develop Jason, Roy and Kori first and then to introduce a fourth character who would have his own sort of redemption arc.

But as the series progressed and the dynamics between the trio became more evident, it also became pretty clear that a fourth member would have introduced a whole new slew of interactions and conflicts that -- in a comic of only twenty pages -- I felt that it was too soon to add another Outlaw.

Now I am going to do something I rarely do, but -- you know, Hoodies and all I think you deserve -- I'm going to tell you my plans for Crux moving forward:   Around issue 16 or 17 (it will be here before you know it, trust me) I want him to break out of Arkham and make his way to his lab, only to discover the Outlaws.  Instead of attacking them, he thanks them.  His time spent at Arkham really helped turn him around and get his head on straight.   So instead of continuing to stalk aliens across the globe, he decides to help Jason and Kori and Roy on their exploits.   Opting to never "dragon out" again, he is instead going to use his brilliance to help Red Hood and the Outlaws battle the Intergang!
That is the plan any way.   But in comics -- as in real life -- I don't always get my own way!   So stay tuned!


Remember Hoodies, you get to ask Scott a question in our weekly polling over at the Red Hood & The Outlaws Facebook page, so like us and keep an eye out for the invitation to submit next week's questions.

Mike DePalo
Hoodie Admin
https://www.facebook.com/RedHoodOutlaws
@RedHoodOutllaws on Twitter.