Review: Red Hood- Outlaw Vol. 1- Requiem for an Archer

Quick Summary

Pros: The volume doubles down on Red Hood’s new status quo, leading to tons of action-packed fight scenes. New mysteries give readers a reason to return for the next volume. The Red Hood redesign looks great.

Cons: The storytelling is clumsy and leads to a volume that feels like a bunch of fight scenes loosely strapped together. The artwork is weird in some places.

Overall: This is a volume that contains some positive features but also contains some seriously flawed storytelling. It’s successes primarily come from the fight scenes, which are consistently engaging, and a few mysteries it introduces for the future. Its flaws come from a chaotic narrative and a few places where the visuals falter. This volume may appeal to readers simply looking to see Red Hood fight villains but might not be as enjoyable for those expecting the level of quality seen in previous Red Hood titles.

Story

Red Hood: Outlaw Vol. 1: Requiem for an Archer, by Scott Lobdell, takes Red Hood in a bold and interesting new direction but severely stumbles when it comes to storytelling. The series starts out by returning Red Hood to his violent, antiheroic roots, in a way that introduces some seriously intense action. As it progresses, it also introduces a few intriguing mysteries. However, the general flow of the narrative is clumsy and cluttered. There are points where the storyline is almost nonsensical and where the action is so over-the-top that it comes across as ridiculous. As a whole, the first volume in this comic’s new direction shows some potential but isn’t quite where it needs to be.

(spoilers start here)

The first thing Requiem for an Archer does is set up Jason Todd’s move from a violent antihero who follows Batman’s rules to an outlaw willing to kill criminals first and ask questions later. Though the move is a bit of a regression for Jason’s character, I found it intriguing and was generally pleased with this shift in the status quo. It opens up the door for Jason’s trademark cockiness to come through in brutal battles against criminals, creating a few great moments. It also introduces more gratuitous action than before.

Unfortunately, the storyline surrounding these bursts of action seriously flounders. The volume seems to jump from one ridiculous scenario to the next with little rhyme or reason for doing so. One moment, Jason is fighting the entire populace of a small town then, for unexplained reasons, they tie him to a cross where he is awoken by a monster. Immediately after this, Batwoman inexplicably shows up, fights Jason for a bit, and then ends up teaming-up with him. Around this same point, a subplot involving a mystery person going by Jason’s old Wingman identity shows up and then, before his motives are explored at all, he ends up also teaming-up with Jason. While all of this helps create action-packed scenarios, the storyline linking these scenarios together is lackluster at best.

However, there are points within this storyline where some promise shines through. Though the new Wingman’s introduction was poorly-executed, I’m intrigued by the mystery surrounding him. I was also happy to see Bunker return and to learn that Bizarro and Artemis are still out there somewhere. These points of potential don’t do much to help this volume but they do give hope that the next volume will be better.

(spoilers end here)

Art

The visuals in Requiem for an Archer are mostly positive but will randomly look strange on some pages. Pete Woods’ work is mostly well-structured and flows well. It does well in depicting the action scenes, which is the volume’s biggest draw, and I seriously enjoyed the new redesign of Red Hood’s costume. However, there are several places where the visuals take a turn for the worse. This primarily is seen on pages where characters are not wearing masks, leading to expressions that do not look right, or pages where the scene’s perspective feels off. Overall, the volume ends up looking alright but feels like it could have been better.

Continuity

Red Hood: Outlaw Vol. 1: Requiem for an Archer directly continues the story from Red Hood and the Outlaws Vol. 4: Good Night Gotham (Review).

The story here continues in Red Hood: Outlaw Vol. 2: Prince of Gotham (Review).

This volume also references other comic books, detailed below:

• This entire volume makes a number of references to Red Hood’s (Reading Order) death at the hands of the Joker. This happened across the Batman: A Death in the Family story arc.
• Red Hood and the Outlaws Annual Vol. 2 #2 mentions the original Outlaws team-up’s history.
  • The group formed across Red Hood and the Outlaws Vol. 1: REDemption (Review).
  • Suzie Su threatened a children’s hospital and was shot by Red Hood in Red Hood and the Outlaws Vol. 1 #8, collected in Red Hood and the Outlaws Vol. 2: The Starfire (Review).
• Killer Croc mentions recent troubles in Roy Harper’s (Reading Order) life. These troubles are detailed across Titans Vol. 4: Titans Apart (Review).
• In Red Hood and the Outlaws Annual Vol. 2 #2, a map of the DC Multiverse from Multiversity is seen.
• The death brought up in Red Hood: Outlaw #27 occurred during the Heroes in Crisis (Review) (Reading Order) event.
• Red Hood (Reading Order) mentions the fact that both Bruce Wayne and Damian Wayne died in the past. Bruce died in the Final Crisis event and Damian died in Batman Incorporated #8, collected in Batman Incorporated Vol. 2: Gotham’s Most Wanted.
• Red Hood took on the Wingman identity back in Batman Incorporated.
• Batwoman (Reading Order) shot Clayface back in Detective Comics #973, collected in Detective Comics Vol. 6: Fall of the Batmen (Review). Red Hood stuck up for her at a trial in Detective Comics #975, collected in Detective Comics Vol. 7: Batmen Eternal (Review).
• Bunker (Reading Order) served as a member of the Teen Titans (Reading Order) throughout most of the team’s New 52 era history. He came into contact with Red Hood (Reading Order) and the rest of the Outlaws in Red Hood and the Outlaws Vol. 3: Death of the Family (Review) (Reading Order).