Girl In The Hood: Outlaws Zero Edition

By

Elizabeth Airelle

"That's My Story--And I'm Sticking To It!"

     We take a break this month from our outlaws still in space for a story everyone has been waiting for since the reboot started:  Red Hood’s origin. Like most people, his story starts with his own parents’ story. His mother Catherine Elizabeth was a high schooler who met the older, charming, troublesome Willis Todd. After a hook-up in an alley [ahhh romance] she becomes pregnant. Willis was welcomed into her family home but it did not last very long.  Jason grew up to the sounds of his parents fighting a lot. Jason was often left alone while his father was “working” and would watch over his mother who now was battling depression and drug addiction.

     While Jason seems to feel sorry for and love his mother his feelings for his father seem much different, more cynical. He would have to put his drunken father to bed. Spending quality time with dad was working the corner dealing drugs [the same corner Willis met Catherine]. Jason never seemed to mind when his father got hurt whether by a batarang [but then Willis bragged about it] or gunshot wound. Then the day came when his father was arrested. And that was it, he died in prison. This left Jason the man of the house and he tried his best to protect his mom by scaring off her dealers.  Like many addicts, he couldn’t save her from herself and found her “dead” in an alley.

     Jason then began a life on the street stealing to survive. While he never hurt anyone others were not as nice to him. He was nearly killed but was saved by Dr. Leslie Thompkins, who tried to lift his spirits. After he recovered  Jason attempted to steal drugs from her but was stopped by Batman. Batman was ready to cart the boy off to juvie hall but Leslie intervened and somehow convinced Batman otherwise. With that we was whisked off the street to a “friend of a friend” who happened to be Bruce Wayne

After a moving in Bruce told him the truth about himself.  He had hoped that Jason could channel that similar loss into something larger than them.  From the start as Robin, Jason had doubts about himself. He spent 6 months training and then would spend every night at Batman’s side. At first he was great at it. Shortly thereafter, the anger from his youth would come out and he would get more and more violent with the criminals.

     Jason was then put on monitor duty where he came a across a photo of his mother who was clearly alive. 3 days later Jason was in the Middle East reunited with her but immediately it all “went bad” as the Joker was there and beat him nearly to death with a crowbar and then blew him up. Jason doesn’t remember what happened between his death and after: he just remembers awaking in the Lazarus pit.

     The story doesn’t end there! The backup tale has the Joker takes over the narration and he has been in Jason’s life long before his death. One night Joker was bored and needed something to do, he noticed a young Jason in the next room whose father was having a gunshot wound treated. Joker decides he wants to make Jason a “star”. Joker was behind Willis’s arrested, he was also responsible for Catherine’s overdose which turns out to be not so deadly after all, just the illusion of death. He also was the one who dropped off a near death Jason to Dr. Leslie Thompkins and maybe the one who had him attacked in the first place. Before he knew it he created his own Robin, but shortly after destroyed him too. Joker feels disappointed after all his hard work Jason didn’t stay dead. Of which isn’t good For the Outlaws, because next month we finish up our space odyssey then we head into Death Of The Family!

     They said this would be the story that changes everything and it did. I guess we will start with his mom. There is only one woman now, Catherine Elizabeth Todd.Gone is Sheila Heywood, his biological mother from A Death In The Family whom Jason had discovered as a different name on his birth certificate which led him around the world until he found her. Catherine was originally Jason’s stepmother Pre-Crisis, a woman we only saw in quick flashbacks, we knew she was probably a drug addict who’d died of an overdose. Catherine plays both roles in Jason’s story: mother and destroyer. Catherine “died” but shows up alive in the Middle East in the Joker’s plan to lure Jason to his death. Somehow that makes it all that much worse, when you think of the little boy with the baseball bat, wanting to protect his mother from her dealers and how she delivered him to a killer with a crowbar.

     Some people are having a hard time understanding why Jason would be so loving and protective to his drug abusing mom? You got to remember that is his mother, love can be unconditional for a parent-child relationship. But if we’re really looking at things to adjust to, there is a huge change is that in the panel where Willis is getting arrested for the last time you can clearly see a baby bump on Catherine! Was Jason going to be a big brother at one point? Is he still and we don’t know it?

     Next we have his meeting with Batman. I miss the old version with him stealing the wheels off the batmobile but I get it, times change. Also the adding of Leslie Thompkins being involved with his becoming Robin and she clearly has been de-aged in this new 52. I wonder if she  is still part of Bruce’s backstory as a child?The big bombshell is the Joker not only killed Robin but may have even created him.  The Joker is at best an unreliable narrator but we are to believe he is telling the truth. If this is the truth this is pretty wild. The Joker controlled his life and his death. We are all left wondering the details but this has got to be something that will be explored in Death Of The Family.

     Also a minor observation, Roy Harper now seems to have been an alcoholic rather than a old 52 heroin addict as mentioned on the Who’s who in the new 52 page.

     This issue does raise questions such as; does Joker know Leslie Thompkins has a connection to Batman? Why else would he drop Jason off there? If he knows about Jason does he know about Bruce or the others? Does he simply not care? Who was the person at Jason grave? What became of Catherine’s pregnancy? Why didn’t Catherine’s parents take Jason in? Does Batman know of Joker’s involvement? These questions are all the more reason to keep reading. 

Until next time Hoodies !! 

You can find Elizabeth chatting with other Hoodies at:

https://www.facebook.com/RedHoodOutlaws

And follow our Twitter feed: @RedHoodOutlaws

Girl In The Hood: Outlaws 12 Edition

By

Elizabeth Airelle

"We Are Family--Come On Everybody And Die!"

This issue starts off before Roy was kidnapped by the Blight. He is trying to cheer Kori up. Her crew has been taking out many of the enemy forces but she does not understand the motive for their attack on her planet.  DePalo and Kori take a moment to talk alone.  He tells her he has never questioned her before but he is concerned about her relationship with Roy. He thinks it will lead to heartache for Arsenal. Kori disagrees with him, saying she went to Earth to be alone and that he is different than any human she has met and will not let anything hurt him or her friends.

Jason and Isabel have a moment alone. She states how crazy it all is and what was he thinking asking her out. He states that he is more of a street fighting vigilante and this is all new to him as well.  She tells him that if she has to die anywhere is the universe with anyone she could do worse than him. He promises he won’t let anything happen to her.

               

            They walk in to find Roy and K’tten arguing. He thinks he can find a way to save power for the ship. She finds it so insane that it might work. When it does she is surprised to  find that humans are not as dumb as everyone says they are. They suddenly are breached when the Blight teleports directly onto the bridge. While Jason protects Isabel, Arsenal protects Kori from the transformer beam.

The flashbacks end and we now cut to where we left off in the present.  Roy had been explaining events to Komand’r. She finds her sister being intimate with Arsenal to be a humiliation to her family. The Blight interrogator warns Blackfire that she is not to overstep her bounds as she is a prisoner as well. Roy then states he remembers why he let himself get captured so he could grab onto Komand’r. A second later they are transported on to the Starfire ship.

We learn it was all a part of Kori’s plan. The ship makes a full about into the Blight’s mother ship. They cannot attack them without damaging their own ship. Blackfire thanks him for saving her.  Against the ideas of Jason and Orn, Starfire and Blackfire are left alone for the first time since the arc has started. They hug it out.  Blackfire apologizes for her ruse. She had to pretend to work with the Blight in order to stay alive long enough for Kori to arrive. Kori states she never doubted her and she is thankful she is alive. Kori understands that Kommad’r was only a child in charge of an entire planet when she was traded into slavery. Blackfire says she will never forgive herself.

Meanwhile, below, the Tamaraneans are prisoners to the Blight and are in bad shape. The leader is using them to keep his race alive. When the Blight invaded they discovered humans were on the planet as well. An Earth colonel and his wife it looks like. They came looking for something called “The Thirteen.”. The leader kills him and states it is only a myth and if the Thirteen did ever unite the entire Omniverse would be destroyed.

            Roy and Jason have a moment alone and Jason worries about the sacrifice he made to be used to go undercover to free Blackfire. Roy tries to shrug it off but Jason pushes the issue. Roy states that after he woke up in vomit with his best friend beaten to a “bloody green pulp”, and seeing all the damage in the wake of his bad choices, other things do not get to him so easily.

Blackfire and Starfire decide to go alone to take the biggest risk to save their planet. Kori asks if she dies for Red Hood and Arsenal to avenge the hell out of her! It ends with the two sisters flying off together to save their home.

This has been the best issue in the arc for me.  It puts Arsenal in the spotlight and we got a quick mention on his past with his fall out with Green Arrow.  We got to see that Roy is very smart.  Since the series began he has made his own weapons and has figured out how to use alien ships quickly (Crux’s ship and now this one). So he is not just some wisecracking sidekick. It feels like pre Rise and Fall Roy Harper is back.

Starfire understanding and forgiving her sister was awesome, not as awesome as them flying off together though. I’m glad she can put it behind her and start to move on.  Even though this is Red Hood’s he took the back seat. We saw more of him and Isabel but with Jason and Kori both telling her they won’t let her get hurt; it makes me think she might not live through this.

            The biggest thing was the art. It looks like it was rushed and it was. Roy and Kori were drawn well I thought and next time Timothy Green draws for the book I hope he is not given a mere two weeks to pencil and ink the entire thing as was the case here, Bad DC Bad!. We also got a setup for a future arc about “The Thirteen” but that is going to have to wait because next month it’s Red Hood’s New 52 origin!

Until next time Hoodies !! 

You can find Elizabeth chatting with other Hoodies at:

https://www.facebook.com/RedHoodOutlaws

And follow our Twitter feed: @RedHoodOutlaws

Girl In The Hood: Outlaws #11 Edition

By

Elizabeth Airelle

"Stars Fading, But I Linger On, Dear--Still Craving Your Death!"

     The story opens with Roy Harper; he has been taken prisoner by the Blight. They are torturing him trying to find out where Koriand’r aka Starfire. He claims she left him behind, abandoned, so he feels no need to protect her any longer and the stoy unfolds.  We flashback to the end of last issue, the Starfire crew wipes out a majority of the Blight’s fleet and the rest flee.  While the ship celebrates, Roy notices that Kori is sad so he and Jason talk privately with her  in the sickbay.

     Starfire’s origin is explained.  She and her sister Komand’r grew up together. They were very close and Komand’r cared a lot for her younger sister, until she traded Kori for her people’s freedom. She suffered for years and grew to resent and hate her older sister. After her, Depalo, Orn and K’tten escaped to Tamaran she planned on killing her, until Komand’r held her and they cried for days together. But the damafe was still done.  Kori and Komand’r couldn’t reconnect so she left to command the Starfire.

     For years Starfire was a slave, and not one person on her planet had tried to save her. Now she really doesn’t want to help them. She claims a part of her wouldn’t care if the planet got destroyed.  Jason starts to say she’s not wrong but Roy interrupts and tells Kori she is a good person and if she is going to help, it comes from her own strength not because of what her people did or didn’t do. It’s interesting how one member of the group seems to play the role of a conscience for other at various times.

     Starfire leaves to be alone and Roy debates on going with her but stays. Is.Abel aka Isabel aka Jason’s date from last issue catches up with them.  Jason starts to explain himself but Isabel says there is no need, and until aliens crashed their date it was the most boring date for her. Interestingly from one issue to the next Jason’s phoney life story for his date went from Dry Cleaning service owner to Real Estate Agent. I sort of wish we’d had an issue of Jason just lying to his date to see how far he’d take it.

     We cut to now and the Blight is enraged over what’s deemed a delaying tactic by Roy, telling a whole story instead of answering a simple question of : Where is Koriand’r?  A voice off panel says that he is stalling because he thinks Kori will save him, but she won’t because Kori only ever has been worried about herself and her own safety.  The voice is Komand’r aka Blackfire and she is demanding to see her sister. Roy states that will happen sooner than later and he can’t wait.

     Roy narrates this story which I like because so far we haven’t focused much on him. Isabel handling this situation makes sense when she compares it to a scared kid alone on a plane. I like the space outfits, very nifty. I really like the space adventures but can’t wait for them to get back to Earth. Also was I the only one to catch Roy saying he was wounded?

     So we finally get to see some of Starfire’s past. I want more already. From the sound of Komand’r there’s another version of the story and I’m curious to see it unfold. The old origin was Komand’r was born with an illness that made her unable to fly and lost the title of princess to Kori, and that’s where the hatred and jealousy came from. It seems she became queen at a young age so I really want to know what happened. I always liked the Starfire/Blackfire rivalry. Also love Blackfire’s new look. She used to be drawn to be less attractive than Kori but the uniform, claws even hair looks a lot better. Kudos to Rocafort, because this is one of my favorite redesigns for the new 52. 

Until next time Hoodies !! 

You can find Elizabeth chatting with other Hoodies at:

https://www.facebook.com/RedHoodOutlaws

And follow our Twitter feed: @RedHoodOutlaws

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

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.

ASK LOBDELL- 4/29/2012 Edition

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

This week's question is from Brad, who asks:
Why did you choose to make Roy more of a fun, talkative guy than he's usually been? I'm not complaining, but this was a real precedent to molding him into the lovable comedic relief with a big heart he is now-from his pre- New 52 days. Will we see more of Roy's past before he became an alcoholic and had a falling-out with Ollie? (This is me assuming there was indeed a "falling out")?

Lobdell answers: 
This might sound strange, but I don't really see him as the comedy relief. Does he have a sense of humor? Certainly, but so do Jason and Kori. I see Roy as just being a passionate guy who says what is on his mind with very little internal editor. He's in recovery because of some of his poor life choices in the past-- and as such he doesn't think to keep anything in. In that way--honestly-- I don't think he is all that different from any of his other previous incarnations: Roy has always been the type of guy who says what is on his mind, only now it isn't as blustery or angry as it has been in the past. I think Roy comes from a place where his darkness is in his past. 

Ann Nocenti is in the process of working on a Roy/Ollie story so I'm not really in a position to talk about that right now but I am sure it will be awesome!

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.

Girl In The Hood- Outlaws #8 Edition

By

Elizabeth Airelle

Our story opens up in Hong Kong a few years ago when Jason just left the All-Caste. He crashes the funeral of a Chinese mafia boss, demanding 10% of the illegal income from the seven crime families in attendance so he could finance his revenge on Joker and Batman.  This was an “or else” ultimatum by Jason that he made good on, killing everyone at the funeral. The scene also reminds of a similar one from “Under The Hood” in which Jason demands 40% of revenue from Black Mask’s drug trade. By that point though, Jason knew to come with heads in a bad to show he meant business and get his take.

Several different families took over until Suzie Su and her father came to town. A few issues ago when Jason stopped in Hong Kong before going to avenge the All-Caste,  he killed Suzie’s men and left her for dead in an ambush on Jason that went the other way on Ms. Su. Turns out, she was shipped to Gotham because unsurprisingly they have the best hospitals for dealing with gunshot wounds. She awoke from her coma and now has taken the entire children’s ward hostage. So the Outlaws find themselves turning around their craft yet again toward Gotham.

The hostages being another form of captivity that strikes a chord with former slave Kori, she wastes several of Suzie’s mercs with one starblast, after a set-up by Arsenal who waltzes right into the hospital as a distraction. The two make a great team and Roy says to remind him when it’s over to ask her out on a real date, to which she says she’d like that. The relationship develops and develops further.

Jason heads off to find Suzie but she finds him first and lands on top of him hoping to crush him to death in the elevator in what is one of Rocafort’s cooler panel set-ups this issue. Luckily Kori stops it from falling to the bottom. Suzie tries to run for it but Jason catches her easily. He gives he a chance by saying she should try to get a new perspective[the kinder, gentler Red Hood] but she refuses and  he kills her[there’s the Jason I know!]. The Outlaws start to leave when they intercept Alfred’s call to all Bat allies, stating that the Talons (The Court of Owls assassins) are on their way to kill over 40 people of interest I Gotham. He lists the targets names and warns that the Talons are highly trained killers with extraordinary healing powers. Red Robin aka Tim Drake pops in the transmission stating he has detected Jason eavesdropping and asks that he helps.  Starfire asks if he knows this boy to which Jason says yes.

We then flashback to a scene a month or two before Outlaws and Teen Titans #1 at Lex Towers in New York City, where Red Hood and Red Robin make a intel deal that explains how Jason found his nuclear weapons smugglers in Red Hood #6’s flashback and how Red Robin found Cassie Sandsmark’s Wondergirl; they helped each other out. Jason is about to leave when Tim asks him to stay and join him for breakfast. Jason is skeptical considering he “wasn’t the nicest guy” to him. Tim is very understanding stating that Jason came back to life after being brutally murdered. He understands that would be a lot for someone and hopes on day the whole bat-family can be understanding about what Jason went through. So we see the beginnings of a reconciliation between the second and third Robin. Back to the present, Jason decides to help the Bat-Family out and asks Roy for a person on the hit list who is not being helped by anyone else. They find Victor Fries aka Mr. Freeze is a Talon target...

      

        So while Susie deserved to die for threatening children, I’m still sad to see her go. She would have been a fun villain but I guess we can just wait until “Daddy” makes a debut.  Finally Kori and Roy will go out.  I knew it, ever one freaked out in the first issue for nothing. I loved seeing Kori show no mercy to the would-be children Killers. The interaction with Tim and Jason I know has made some mixed feelings for people.  I like that one of the Robins are being understanding to Jason. Before Tim was Robin he was a fan of not only Dick Grayson but Jason too. He is one of the more logical ones so I can believe that in this reboot he feels for Jason. I hope we can see more interactions from them. Enough cannot be said about the combination of Kenneth Rocafort’s art and panel design, Blond’s coloring, and Lobdell’s words on this title. Great Book!  

 Until next time Hoodies !! 

You can find Elizabeth chatting with other Hoodies at:
https://www.facebook.com/RedHoodOutlaws
And follow our Twitter feed: @RedHoodOutlaws

Ask Scott Lobdell: 4/20/12 Edition

Sneak Attack! Today, we are introducing a new weekly feature to The Red Hood's Den, Scott Lobdell has agreed to answer one question from YOU, the Hoodies, each week about your favorite Outlaw topics. So from now on,we will poll for questions on our Red Hood & The Outlaws Facebook page, before submitting them to Scott for an answer and posted here for all to see.

To keep this a surprise, our first question came from Elizabeth Airelle, our "Girl In The Hood" column writer, whose been awesome about meeting deadlines for me, so she gets the inaugural question. Elizabeth's new review of issue 8 will be posted tomorrow, so check back for that.

So without further ado:

Elizabeth asks:

This issue we got to see Tim Drake and Jason sit down together over waffles. What started as an information trade turned into something quite civil and nice for the two "brothers". My question is do you view this as Tim moving beyond two really brutal beat-downs Jason gave him in Teen Titans and Battle for the Cowl, have those events still happened, did he just decide to extend the olive branch in spite of all that or is there more to the story of how they ended up in place of civility you plan to unfold in front of us?

Scott Lobdell: I think of it this way, if you came to my house to beat me up and we fought and threw each other out the window and tried to bloody each other, it would probably be very awkward (least of all because we don't know each other from Adam). But for guys like Jason and Tim who are in knockdown drag out life or death battles every day, it has to mean something completely different: part and parcel of the life they chose.  So to that end, I can see a world where both guys wouldn't be able to see past the events leading up to and the resulting trauma of the moment without coming to the conclusion that in the end all we have is family.    

Check the our Facebook page regularly for your chance to ask Scott Lobdell a question!

-Mike DePalo

Hoodie Admin

https://www.facebook.com/RedHoodOutlaws

@RedHoodOutlaws on Twitter

Girl In The Hood- Issue 7

"I Found That Essence Rare-----And Deadly!" 

 By 

 Elizabeth Airelle 

            This month we are back to our story involving Red Hood and the Outlaws in avenging The All-Caste. It opens with Crux being admitted to Arkham by a disguised Jason. Here he will be kept heavily sedated. Rather than let Starfire kill him, Jason reasons that it technically isn’t a crime to kill aliens, so killing a non-criminal would be against his (new?) code. Kori understandably isn’t happy with it but let’s Jason have his way with the promise she can kill who ever she wants if they visit her planet.

 After defeating Crux they commandeer his Inter-orbital transport with plans to steal from his “treasure trove of technology” he’s cobbled together hunting alien artifacts .Essence then appears, still only to Jason, which leads Kory and Roy to think he’s just talking to himself. This is how she appeared in the first issue, informing Jason of the defeat and slaughter of All-Caste by the Untitled.  She attempts to comfort him over the loss but Jason then attacks her. He accuses her of betraying the All-Caste and tricking him into killing a member of the Untitled. She denies it and attacks back becoming visible to everyone.

During the fight Essence reveals some of the Untitled’s past.  They were a clan of nomads that drank from the waters of absolute evil. She claims that Ducra was there and defied her brother but became linked to the Untitled. She also claims Ducra was her mother. Jason doesn’t want to believe her. Essence has the upper hand but vanishes when Jason pulls out some of Crux’s alien tech on her, in the hopes, something, anything can stop Essence. While the group continues out of Gotham, Jason calls the Flight Attendant, Isabel, from an earlier issue. She picks up but he gets cold feet, and hangs up reasoning he’s doing her a favor. Meanwhile in Gotham, Suzie Su has awoken from a coma after surgery for the gunshot wounds from Jason in issue 2, and swears revenge.

I liked this issue for a few reasons. Roy and Jason’s back and forth amuses me. I like the bit about killing anyone Kory wants on her planet seeing how they will be in space soon! Jason reveals that he and Essence were lovers at one point but I wasn’t that surprised by it. Ducra being revealed as her mom did surprise me thoug. There may have been an error because Baby Essence was behind a dark haired woman in one scene, then Ducra was depicted blonde, then back to black.  I was little confused for a second but figured it was a mistake.

 They only thing I didn’t like was the abrupt ending to this story. She just vanishes.  However, it was announced she is getting a backup feature so maybe we can learn more. Hopefully she joins them because I like this character. I heard Crux was supposed to join but considering he hasn’t been mentioned in future solicits and is currently sedated at Arkham I assume he’ll be around later at some point?  I would rather Essence join over Crux because she is more interesting and beautifully drawn. Speaking of the art, next month kicks off the Talon crossover and Red Robin will be guest-starring and I can’t wait for him to be drawn by Kenneth Rocafort.

See you then, hoodies!

You can find Elizabeth chatting with other Hoodies at:
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And follow our Twitter feed: @RedHoodOutlaws

Playing The Long Game

By Mike DePalo

         We come to the conclusion of the first arc of Red Hood And The Outlaws 7 months into the New 52. "Conclusion" might be the wrong word, we may have just completed the first leg of a long journey in a title where nothing has been as it seems. The in-your-face-loud-mouth archer is desperate for friends. The hot alien in a bikini is a Battling Buddha. And the killer vigilante from Gotham might just be a tribal warrior and humanity's last best hope from the forces of darkness. And who really is the big-bad is still up in the air... a lil' bit.

          The other thing we see from Lobdell is a Red Hood who might be growing beyond his hatred of Batman. Or at least a Red Hood that knows the end of the world stuff is more important than schmucking with the Bat-Family. A Red Hood that keeps his eye on the ball. No spoilers but bare in mind, Judd Winick had Jason close that zippo lid instead of igniting a gasoline covered Joker in Lost Days. And that was about highlighting that the character of Jason Todd was not about a better world but about revenge. Fast-forward to this month's issue and it's surprising how good a bad boy can be.

          Would you have believed it if I said this 6 months ago? Me either.

          But that's the thing about this comic, written by Scott Lobdell and pencilled by Kenneth Rocafort,  it requires a bit of faith and keeping the long game in mind. What has begun here was not just the first story arc of Outlaws but rather the end of the beginning of a saga- the story of the millennium old All-Caste and the Untitled, the teacher Ducra and her students, Jason Todd and Essence, and the roles everyone has been set in, because of their own choosing, or otherwise.  It's your good ol' fashioned biblical Doomsday stuff, mixed in with some giant megalomaniac green bat-dude, that steel-jawed James Bond-esque nuclear bomb smuggling submarine commander, Roy's crocodile AA sponsor, and a fat lady Yakuza boss straight out of a Tarantino movie for good measure.

          Oh yeah, after that: outer space.

          Stayed tuned...




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Girl In The Hood

By 

Elizabeth Airelle

    

Red Hood And The Outlaws #6 [February 2012]  

Red Hood and the Outsiders has been my favorite series since the new 52 relaunch, and issue 6 has been my favorite issue so far. This book has been written by Scott Lobdell who I think has been doing a great job with Jason, as there has been much growth for the character than ever before. The art is by Kenneth Rocafort and it is really beautiful. Between the awesome spread of the spaceship, to the tropical island setting, to Starfire herself (say what you will, Kori looks awesome). The book has been amazing looking since the beginning.

This issue focuses on Jason Todd aka Red Hood and his first meeting with Starfire aka Kori which takes place one month before the series began. Spoiler Warning: The issue opens with Jason stopping a submarine from smuggling nuclear weapons into Miami in which he succeeds but barely escapes with his life. He is saved and nursed back to health by Princess Koriand'ar, who has been in seclusion on an island where her spaceship has been hidden.  There he discovers that Starfire had a relationship with Dick Grayson aka Nightwing who was Robin before Jason. She cannot remember his name but knows when she sees him again; she will. Kori has a few of his costumes which helps her remember him. This is how Jason gets his new costume which was Grayson’s Batman suit but he may or may not have used it [not sure yet].

Jason opens up to Kori telling her everything about him from beginning to end and she does not judge him because she doesn’t believe in living in the past. Their friendship builds from this, he believes that friendship and romance aren’t different just a different variation of love. It ends with Jason finding out online that Roy Harper is a prisoner in Qurac and he and Starfire take off to save him leading into the first issue.

When we first met Starfire in issue one she didn’t really say nor do much. Kori spent most of the issue posing to me. She didn’t acknowledge Roy aka Arsenal when they saved him; nothing until she propositioned him on the beach later. Now I didn’t see what the big whoopla was about. Firstly on her planet they all dress like Kori does, even the men. I always thought they absorbed sun light in as well. As for her fling with Arsenal I think people put too much thought into it. I wasn’t bothered by it at all. I just figured they would have a relationship down the road, if not friendships sometimes start differently than others. This could have been a way for her to get to know him. If not it was a booty call and I thought that everyone overreacted. I really liked getting to know Starfire more in this issue. She is a smart, spirited person who will live her life to her own standards and not judge others which I think most people can’t do.  I believed then and still do now that Scott Lobdell gets these characters right. Roy and Jason’s interactions remind me of my friends and how they talk to each other. Judd Winick may have brought back Jason as Red Hood but Mr. Lobdell is giving life to him.

As any other fangirl will tell you the best part of the issue we got Jason who is naked (except for some well- placed leaves) for almost half this issue.  When the first issue came out Starfire was in some teeny tiny bikini and everyone went off, Jason was naked and this issue has been one of the best. This book is equal opportunity for nudity! Now I don’t think that was the sole reason this issue has been greatly reviewed. It was just really good storytelling and it was really sweet to watch this friendship start. I recommend this book and I think that people who stopped reading after the first issue should pick this one up and give it another chance.

Editor's Note:  Saw this and thought of you Liz

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