DC Comics Announces ‘Red Hood’ — A New Mature Readers Ongoing Series
by Tony Thornley
He’s a fan-favorite member of DC Comics’ Bat-family and for the first time in five years, Red Hood is headlining his own ongoing series in September. And there’s a massive twist.
Coming from writer Gretchen Felker-Martin and artist Jeff Spokes with lettering by Becca Carey, the series finds Jason Todd back out on his own, defending a new city as the Red Hood. And for the first time, the series is set firmly in the DCU and is a 17+ mature readers title. Felker-Martin is best known for her horror prose, including the novel Manhunt, and I believe is the first openly transgender woman to write a Batman family ongoing series.
Jason Todd is back on the streets, but Gotham City isn’t the city he’s protecting—Red Hood has left Batman behind. All he’s taking with him to New Angelique is his costume, his bike, a determined sense of justice, and a metal briefcase containing two handguns (and lots of bullets).
New Angelique, a city drowning in corruption, seems like the perfect place for Red Hood to put down roots. There’s crime, vice, and sedition everywhere. When Jason discovers a super-powered serial killer who is targeting the city’s police, he finds himself sucked into a deadly conspiracy with seemingly no end in sight.
But Jason isn’t the only person on the scene. Following his trail is Helena Bertinelli a.k.a. Huntress. Is she here to stop him, or will she join his crusade? What will happen when the two black sheep of the Bat-Family start working together?
This really is a huge deal. Not only is Jason a fan favorite character, but by giving him an in-continuity series that lifts a lot of the restrictions of typical in-continuity stories, DC is giving the creative team the leeway to explore the darkness in the world of the Bat-family. Jason is probably the darkest and most violent member of the family, and has also been the one most traumatized by Batman’s mission. Finding a story there will be exciting.
This new setting also looks very cool. A stand-in for New Orleans within the DCU is a great fit for Jason. Pairing him with the Huntress, another more violent vigilante, just adds to the dark feel this series is going for.
“Sweat, blood, and powder burns. Broken bones and mind control. A city rotted from the inside out,” said Felker-Martin. “Jason’s going through hell on the hunt for an enigmatic telepath, and he’s taking us with him. I’m thrilled to be helming this new run of Red Hood with Jeff Spokes.”
“Red Hood is gritty, bloody, sexy and stripped down,” said Spokes. “Gretchen’s writing is a well-crafted blend of superheroes and pulp noir, all with a New Orleans flavored backdrop.”
“Red Hood is the in-continuity story Jason Todd fans have been waiting for,” said DC editor Arianna Turturro. “It delivers high-stakes action, a gripping mystery, and raw, unapologetic storytelling. Every element of the book highlights the core aspects of Jason’s character—his difficulties with personal connections, his badass training, his brooding hotness, and his violent approach to heroism. Which means he’ll be killing people—a lot. Let me repeat myself: this is the story Jason Todd fans have been waiting for.”
“Jason isn’t a regular antihero who coldly does things their own way and feels nothing,” continued Turturro. “He is an exposed nerve, a beating heart with no protection, a man lashing out at both his world and himself for the violence he has survived. Helena deeply understands where Jason has come from. They’re two severely broken people who can’t help but hurt themselves and others… and together they might just end up bringing out each other’s worst instincts.”
“Red Hood is a mature and richly layered Jason Todd series that gives the long-troubled outcasts of the Bat-Family a place to truly shine,” concluded Turturro. “Jason is going to take a crack at doing things on his own terms in a city of his own. And well, you’re going to need to read the series to see how that goes. But let’s just say that we’re not pulling any punches. Buckle up.”
This feels very much like a darker version of the same pitch that set Nightwing on his own long term. It was exactly what Dick Grayson needed twenty years ago, and I hope this will finally set Jason on his own.
Red Hood debuts September 10th, 2025 from DC Comics.
