RED HOOD AND THE OUTLAWS #7

[ DON'T MISS... THIS COMIC ] 

Don't you find payback a b*tch? It's like scratching a very irritating itch. Red Hood knows what I mean - Kory is very clean - and Roy is ready for another sales pitch. Now what are they selling? These guys know. Writer: Scott Lobdell; Artist: Kenneth Rocafort; and Publisher: DC Comics in April 2012. Shazbot!

So what’s the STORY morning glory?

This chapter of Red Hood and the Outlaws, entitled 'I Found That Essence Rare and Deadly', is like a cold sip of lemonade on a fresh summers day, except that there is chilli-sauce dabbled along the rim of the glass.

You see, Jason (Red Hood) Todd, plus his chums, Roy and Kory, have just dropped off Crux at Arkham Asylum, stolen his spaceship, and are now setting forth to kick 'Unknown' ass. But then, suddenly, Jay's old flame, Essence, pops up, and... err... sh*t happens. 

Well, Jason thinks that she has betrayed him and the 'All-Caste'. And so he attempts to stab this smoky sullen filly until the cows comes home.

But does he manage to do this? Err - no - not really. However, with a bit of help from Roy and Kory, as soon as they know what is going on, he does teleport her to God knows where, just before she explains to him, her and Ducra's connection to 'the Unknown'.

Great news, huh? Now we can see the gang fight Suzie Su in Gotham City next issue. 

What is the most memorable SENTENCE OR CONVERSATION spoken in this issue?

There is one quick comment made by Roy during his battle with Essence that really did make me laugh "Well, history was never my strongest subject. Or Biology. But what I lack in book smarts I make up for in aim".

It's kind of pithy, isn't it?

What was the BEST thing about this issue?

This book is so full of personality, I feel that it should be able to give some to 'The Dark Knight' comic book, and it would still be in great fighting form. Honestly, even the clerk at Arkham had a character trait that made him seem memorable in this issue, plus the rest of the cast and that Essence lady as well.

Oh! While I am on the subject of Essence, she mentioned 'Trigon', right? And Kory did not flinch! Well heavens to Betsy, retro-continuity is at it again, Yeee-haw!!

What was the WORST thing about this issue?

I am not really that 'au fait' with all of those silly names Scott uses to depict the characters past. 'The All-Caste', 'The Unknown', 'The Chamber of All', they all just sound like a perfume by L'Oreal or something. You can imagine some flavor of the month showing her assets on camera and saying something like "I use 'The All-Caste' by L'Oreal, because I am worth it". Or words to that effect. But apart from that, this issue was blooming marvelous.

What was the most CREATIVE thing about this issue?

STORY: The most creative little touch to this story was the way that Roy and Kory could not see Jason speaking to Essence, thinking that he was a nut who just cracked. Also, I did like the brief flash-back to Jason's past, because I found it to be the most revealing part of the story, inadvertently. 

ART: Kenneth is a class artist on this book. In this particular installment, I liked how colorist, Blond, de-saturated the pallet in the flash-back sequence, as well as the overall bumbling flow to the battle. It was very 'Abbot and Costello', huh?

If you had to CAST TWO CHARACTERS in this comic book, who would they be and why?

THE CLERK IN ARKHUM: Due to this chaps, uh, way of like... ur, speaking. Plus, err, his glasses as well. Err, he does kind of remind me of Mr Garrison from 'South Park', OK?

ESSENCE: Look at the picture. Go on. Look at it. And tell me that this white haired-diva who goes by the name Christina Aquilera, does not look like this smoky b*tch / secret assassin.

If this issue had a MOVIE TAG LINE, what would it be?

Please Be Careful Not To Stab At Smoke With A Knife, Or Else You May Muck Up A Micron.

If this issue were a MOVIE, an OBJECT, or a piece of MUSIC, what would that be and why? 

OK, so this story was fun, had a jovial tone to it, plus it gave us an inadvertent incite into Jason's past and probable future. Simple - The Steve Miller Band 'The Joker'.

Catchy, huh? 

FINAL thoughts...

I love this comic I do. Sometimes I do not think that it can do any wrong, apart from the occasional hick-cup here and there, were names and tones are concerned. I just hope that next issue's inclusion into the 'Court Of Owls' saga isn't a stop gap. Though Red-Robin's is in it, so it shouldn't be, huh?

MARKS out of 10? 8.5