DC KO: Red Hood Vs The Joker #1 review

You know the routine by now. Three rounds, combatants die, come back, die again. Along the way we get action scenes that are even more over the top than are the norm in superhero comics, and if we’re very lucky, a few insights into character. Red Hood Vs The Joker #1 follows the pattern to a tee, with a couple of surprises – to me, anyway.

The first round sees Red Hood Jason Todd and the Joker in their current forms, evenly matched until Jason gets out – rather belatedly – a gun with a load tailored to undo the Clown Prince of Crime.

Round Two rewinds the combatants to the way they were the day the Joker murdered Jason with a crowbar and a bomb.

And finally, Red Hood decides to go full-on Red Hood.

What’s that? The Red Hood has always been a Gotham legend? If I had to guess which of our co-writers, Joshua Williamson or Scott Snyder, came up with that one, I’d go for the latter. He did something very similar in his New 52 Batman series, when we learned Gotham was secretly run, under Batman’s nose, by a shady society known as the Court of Owls.

So now the Red Hood is a legacy rather than something the pre-Joker came up with before he took a swim at Ace Chemicals. It seems pointless, but maybe something will be done with that in future.

There is another surprise in the issue, one that seems to me the doing of old DC fan Williamson. Jason Todd’s original origin saw him as a Dick Grayson-style kid acrobat, while after the Crisis he was a juvenile delinquent. Here’s what we get this issue as Jason thinks about his past.

The left-hand side of the page references both origins. Eh? Did some Crisis I missed smoosh the two continuities together? I know DC is taking an ‘everything happened attitude to their history these days, but surely exceptions must be made where two things are contradictory?

I’m not a fan of the extra violence we’re getting in these comics, but the ‘anything goes’ aspect is quite fun, and I enjoyed being with Jason as he gets a chance at revenge against the Joker not once, but three times. I’ve wanted to see Jason face his murderer for decades, and finally it happens.

The final KO of the issue seems a tad unfair, coming after one player has been killed by the other… it’s a bomb-in-the-heart deal.

The art is split between Dustin Nguyen and Giuseppe Camuncoli, inked by Mark Morales, coloured by John Kalisz, and is superb. The storytelling is great, with smart compositions, clear emotions and plenty of background detail. Jason is the very model of determination, the Joker the personification of chaos. Camuncoli and co recreate the famous Death in the Family climax with obvious relish. The Heart of Apokolips gimmick allows for different settings, look and gimmicks, all of which allow for changing visual interest. Steve Wands brings his lettering skills to the party, ensuring intensity without irritation.

Jorge Corona and Sarah Stern capture the frenzy of the fights on their cover.

All in all, I liked this comic. The legacy business is a bit much, but Red Hood Vs The Joker #1 one encapsulates the spirit of DC KO, being big and bold and unashamedly nuts.