Batman: Hush

The comics obsession continues. This is one of those Batman stories that is regarded as a benchmark, and I can see why. I read this ages ago but had forgot the details. Jim Lee's art is excellent and Jeph Loeb's story is one that twists and turns to the final reveal.
If you are new to comics and want to start somewhere, this is a good place to begin.

This was a first for me - reading a graphic novel/comic. I really enjoyed it. It was hard to get into at first, since it kind of jumps around and it doesn't have much depth to it, but after talking with the friend that recommended it to me and lent the copy to me, I found myself pulled into the story and imagining each panel as if I were in the room with Batman, Robin, Catwoman, Superman and all the others in this book.

Love the art work done on this! Everything from the layout to the inking to the color, 5 out of 5...I seriously wish I could draw like them. I would rate the story a 4/5. Great characterization of Batman and I really appreciate the continuity of it all. My favorite scene was when Catwoman tells Batman she'll claw his eyes out if he allows the bad guy to get away in order to rescue her. The identity of Hush was killing me. I had thought it was Dr. Elliot, then he died. Then Ra's said someone defiled one of his pits, so I was like okay Timmy is back. Then Jason comes in and I"m like wtf?! My mind was going in circles, which made the story fun. There was just something missing for me... But overall, I am very satisfied with this. So far, the books I've been reading in 2013 have been amazing. It looks like I've been starting this year off right =)

After hearing about this book and waiting to read it for years, I was a bit letdown (especially as I unfortunately knew the twist). The plot itself was exciting, as it seemed nearly every Batman character was wrapped in this growing mystery, but it soon became a “fight-the-villain-of-the-issue” type affair. Hoped for more mystery and different kinds of combat, and whilst there were small deviations which threw me off course and I enjoyed, overall the book didn't hold any thematic exploration of who Batman or Gotham was as a character. A very good read if you just want an awesome Batman story though.

I was hoping for more. I read ‘The Dark Knight' series 15 years ago at Uni and LOVED them. Great stories and a real insight into the character of Bruce Wayne. Perhaps I need to have read a bit more background stuff to cope with this, as it seems to be a revisiting of all the enemies and friends Batman has had over his career. To be honest, the storyline was a bit too episodic - “...and here's the next one...” - and I was left totally confused by the ending. I'm still not entirely sure who the bad guy turned out to be.

Beautiful artwork, though, and Catwoman was good to look at while I was losing the plot...

I don't like superheroes, but I love a good story and this book tells a great story full of twists and turns, even if I wasn't the biggest fan of the ending. I really appreciated how fragile and human Batman was through this book, going so far as suffering a life-threatening injury (even if we all knew he'd make it out with only scars). There were also a lot of gray areas with very little white or black, his relationships with his sidekicks, allies, and nemeses being the most obvious.

I don't think this book will strongly change my opinion on superheroes—I'm ambivalent to most superheroes and despise any that don't have a set of rules, limitations, or weaknesses governing them—but I'd be willing to read a few more if someone suggested them to me.