Review: I’m Not Sure What ‘Batman’ #158 Is

Twenty years ago Batman: Hush made a massive impact on the pop culture landscape. No one ever truly anticipated a sequel, but in Batman #158, “H2SH” begins…

The original creative team of Jeph Loeb, Jim Lee, Scott Williams, Alex Sinclair and Richard Starkings returns to the Dark Knight.

The Joker has returned to Gotham and, strangely, is repeating some of his greatest hits. Can Batman put a stop to the Clown Prince or will Joker finally gain the upper hand? And in the shadows, has Tommy Elliott returned and what does Hush resurfacing mean for Batman, ther Joker and the city?

I actually liked quite a bit about this issue. I don’t know if it was good though. I think more than anything, I was a bit confused.

First off though, the art was fantastic. Lee and Williams nailed the line work. Some panels were a little looser than the last time I saw Lee interiors, but overall, it is sitting at the exactly quality I’d expect from his pencils. The figures are bold, the layouts dynamic, and the storytelling is clean. Williams knows Lee better than anyone in the industry, which helps his inks enhance and deepen Lee’s pencils without taking away from them at all. Sinclair’s colors immerse us in this vision of Gotham and set the tone through the story. In a complete package, this is a beautiful book.

But as for the story, I’m not sure I get it. The issue opening fight between Batman and Joker was great, but the narrative idea of “why is the Joker repeating old tricks”- an interesting hook on its own- is instantly squashed by the Joker himself. The Bat-family worrying about Bruce’s comms getting jammed shows there may be something deeper going on, but Bruce’s reaction is such a knee-jerk of a moment that I feel like I got kicked in the teeth. And then the book is filled with coincidence after coincidence- like Talia being on hand at an exact convenient time to give Bruce mouth to mouth.

Loeb does have some engaging moments and dialogue, but they keep getting overwhelmed by weird beats. I think I liked what I read, but I also really don’t have a hook to come back. There’s a feeling like I’m supposed to be on the edge of my seat, wondering what’s next, but in all actuality I’m trying to figure out how these pieces- particularly with Hush himself- sit together to make an interesting whole.

Loeb has five issues to turn it around and make it all make sense though. Despite his personal problems, he’s still a fairly decent writer at worst.

Batman #158 is available now from DC Comics.