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Batman: Streets of Gotham #3
Batman: Streets of Gotham - The House of Hush
Paul Dini and Dustin Nguyen deliver an exciting continuation of the saga of Tommy Elliot and Bruce Wayne in this highly anticipated sequel to HEART OF HUSH. Cracking under the strain of living as "Bruce Wayne," Elliot plans his final, murderous revenge on Dick Grayson, Selina Kyle and other members of Wayne's extended network of friends and allies. Will Dick and Damian be enough to thwart Tommy's plans - or will the end of Hush require the return of Bruce Wayne?
Collects BATMAN: STREETS OF GOTHAM #12-14, 16-21.
Collects BATMAN: STREETS OF GOTHAM #12-14, 16-21.
192 pages, Paperback
First published November 11, 2011
9 people are currently reading
376 people want to read
About the author
Paul Dini
726 books715 followersPaul Dini is an American television producer of animated cartoons. He is best known as a producer and writer for several Warner Bros./DC Comics series, including Star Wars: Ewoks, Tiny Toon Adventures, Batman: The Animated Series, Superman: The Animated Series, The New Batman/Superman Adventures, Batman Beyond and Duck Dodgers. He also developed and scripted Krypto the Superdog and contributed scripts to Animaniacs (he created Minerva Mink), Freakazoid, Justice League and Justice League Unlimited. After leaving Warner Bros. In early 2004, Dini went on to write and story edit the popular ABC adventure series Lost.
Paul Dini was born in New York City. He attended the Stevenson School in Pebble Beach, California on an art scholarship. He attended Emerson College in Boston, where he earned a BFA degree in creative writing. (He also took zoology classes at Harvard University.)
During college, he began doing freelance animation scripts for Filmation, and a number of other studios. In 1984, he was hired to work for George Lucas on several of his animation projects.
The episodes of the He-Man and the Masters of the Universe cartoon that were written by Dini have become favorites amongst the show's fans over the internet, although despite this as well as contributing to interviews on the released box sets of the series, Dini has made no secret of his distaste for Filmation and the He-Man concept. He also wrote an episode of the Generation One Transformers cartoon series and contributed to various episodes of the Ewoks animated series, several of which included rare appearances from the Empire.
In 1989, he was hired at Warner Bros. Animation to work on Tiny Toon Adventures. Later, he moved onto Batman: The Animated Series, where he worked as a writer, producer and editor, later working on Batman Beyond. He continued working with WB animation, working on a number of internal projects, including Krypto the Superdog and Duck Dodgers, until 2004.
He has earned five Emmy awards for his animation work. In a related effort, Dini was also the co-author (with Chip Kidd) of Batman Animated, a 1998 non-fiction coffee table book about the animated Batman franchise.
Dini has also written several comics stories for DC Comics, including an acclaimed oversized graphic novel series illustrated by painter Alex Ross. (A hardcover collection of the Dini and Ross stories was published in late summer 2005 under the title The World's Greatest Superheroes.) Other books written by Dini for DC have featured his Batman Animated creation Harley Quinn as well as classic characters Superman, Batman, Captain Marvel and Zatanna.
Best known among Dini's original creations is Jingle Belle, the rebellious teen-age daughter of Santa Claus. Dini also created Sheriff Ida Red, the super-powered cowgirl star of a series of books set in Dini's mythical town of Mutant, Texas. Perhaps his greatest character contribution is the introduction of Harley Quinn (along with designs by Bruce Timm) on Batman: The Animated Series.
In 2001 Dini made a cameo appearance in Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back during the scene in which Jay and Silent Bob wear ridiculous looking costumes for a film being directed by Chris Rock, in which Dini says to them "you guys look pretty bad ass".
In 2006, Dini became the writer for DC Comics' Detective Comics. That same year, he announced that he was writing a hardcover graphic novel starring Zatanna and Black Canary. In 2007, he was announced as the head writer of that company's weekly series, Countdown. Paul Dini is currently co-writing the script for the upcoming Gatchaman movie. Dini is also currently writing a series for Top Cow Productions, based in a character he created, Madame Mirage.
Paul Dini is an active cryptozoologist, hunter and wildlife photographer. On a 1985 trip to Tasmania, he had a possible sighting of a Thylacine. He has also encountered a number of venomous snakes, a Komodo Dragon and a charging Sumatran Rhi
Paul Dini was born in New York City. He attended the Stevenson School in Pebble Beach, California on an art scholarship. He attended Emerson College in Boston, where he earned a BFA degree in creative writing. (He also took zoology classes at Harvard University.)
During college, he began doing freelance animation scripts for Filmation, and a number of other studios. In 1984, he was hired to work for George Lucas on several of his animation projects.
The episodes of the He-Man and the Masters of the Universe cartoon that were written by Dini have become favorites amongst the show's fans over the internet, although despite this as well as contributing to interviews on the released box sets of the series, Dini has made no secret of his distaste for Filmation and the He-Man concept. He also wrote an episode of the Generation One Transformers cartoon series and contributed to various episodes of the Ewoks animated series, several of which included rare appearances from the Empire.
In 1989, he was hired at Warner Bros. Animation to work on Tiny Toon Adventures. Later, he moved onto Batman: The Animated Series, where he worked as a writer, producer and editor, later working on Batman Beyond. He continued working with WB animation, working on a number of internal projects, including Krypto the Superdog and Duck Dodgers, until 2004.
He has earned five Emmy awards for his animation work. In a related effort, Dini was also the co-author (with Chip Kidd) of Batman Animated, a 1998 non-fiction coffee table book about the animated Batman franchise.
Dini has also written several comics stories for DC Comics, including an acclaimed oversized graphic novel series illustrated by painter Alex Ross. (A hardcover collection of the Dini and Ross stories was published in late summer 2005 under the title The World's Greatest Superheroes.) Other books written by Dini for DC have featured his Batman Animated creation Harley Quinn as well as classic characters Superman, Batman, Captain Marvel and Zatanna.
Best known among Dini's original creations is Jingle Belle, the rebellious teen-age daughter of Santa Claus. Dini also created Sheriff Ida Red, the super-powered cowgirl star of a series of books set in Dini's mythical town of Mutant, Texas. Perhaps his greatest character contribution is the introduction of Harley Quinn (along with designs by Bruce Timm) on Batman: The Animated Series.
In 2001 Dini made a cameo appearance in Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back during the scene in which Jay and Silent Bob wear ridiculous looking costumes for a film being directed by Chris Rock, in which Dini says to them "you guys look pretty bad ass".
In 2006, Dini became the writer for DC Comics' Detective Comics. That same year, he announced that he was writing a hardcover graphic novel starring Zatanna and Black Canary. In 2007, he was announced as the head writer of that company's weekly series, Countdown. Paul Dini is currently co-writing the script for the upcoming Gatchaman movie. Dini is also currently writing a series for Top Cow Productions, based in a character he created, Madame Mirage.
Paul Dini is an active cryptozoologist, hunter and wildlife photographer. On a 1985 trip to Tasmania, he had a possible sighting of a Thylacine. He has also encountered a number of venomous snakes, a Komodo Dragon and a charging Sumatran Rhi
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 57 reviews
October 30, 2025
(B) 74% | More than Satisfactory
Notes: It relies on flashbacks to sustain interest in stories where otherwise drab, anemic villains stew, scheme and soliloquy.
Notes: It relies on flashbacks to sustain interest in stories where otherwise drab, anemic villains stew, scheme and soliloquy.
November 2, 2015
Hush is that B list villain that just won’t go away. Like a cockroach or Barry Manilow.
Hush aka Thomas Elliot, aka another one of Bruce Wayne’s childhood pals, aka another nutter Bat villain with anger and mommy issues, has sculpted his face to look like Bruce Wayne because the Batman is “dead” for at least half this volume. No worries because Alfred and Batman’s pals are keeping faux Bruce on a short leash.
It seems that an old gangster, just released from prison has mad-on for the Wayne family, who he blames for putting him in the slammer. So he’s gunning for Bruce Wayne, only it’s not the real Bruce but surgically altered Thomas Elliot/Hush. The jokes on you pal.
The first part of the volume focuses on a character called The Carpenter, a Mad Hatter minion, who has a talent for building lairs for villains. Her latest gig: building a movie set for The Director. Not the “Mad” or “Evil” or “Ill-Tempered” Director, just the Director. He wants to film Batman getting beheaded or eaten by crocs or electrocuted.
Let Dick Grayson deal with it.
Part two and Batman’s alive, but all the good/bad villains are on vacation so who’s up?
The Bedbug.
The Bedbug uses parasitic bugs to brainwash people in their sleep so they can do his nefarious bidding. It’s up to Batman to exterminate him.
*sigh*
Well played, Bats. Well played.
Nobody’s happier to see Batman alive than Catwoman.
That’s a batarang in my pocket and I’m happy to see you!!
Shelby’s bottom line: She's still angry at the Caped Crusader, so this would be a “no”.
Hush aka Thomas Elliot, aka another one of Bruce Wayne’s childhood pals, aka another nutter Bat villain with anger and mommy issues, has sculpted his face to look like Bruce Wayne because the Batman is “dead” for at least half this volume. No worries because Alfred and Batman’s pals are keeping faux Bruce on a short leash.
It seems that an old gangster, just released from prison has mad-on for the Wayne family, who he blames for putting him in the slammer. So he’s gunning for Bruce Wayne, only it’s not the real Bruce but surgically altered Thomas Elliot/Hush. The jokes on you pal.
The first part of the volume focuses on a character called The Carpenter, a Mad Hatter minion, who has a talent for building lairs for villains. Her latest gig: building a movie set for The Director. Not the “Mad” or “Evil” or “Ill-Tempered” Director, just the Director. He wants to film Batman getting beheaded or eaten by crocs or electrocuted.
Let Dick Grayson deal with it.
Part two and Batman’s alive, but all the good/bad villains are on vacation so who’s up?
The Bedbug.
The Bedbug uses parasitic bugs to brainwash people in their sleep so they can do his nefarious bidding. It’s up to Batman to exterminate him.
*sigh*
Well played, Bats. Well played.
Nobody’s happier to see Batman alive than Catwoman.
That’s a batarang in my pocket and I’m happy to see you!!
Shelby’s bottom line: She's still angry at the Caped Crusader, so this would be a “no”.
January 14, 2012
The first part of this book features the ridiculous “villain” the Carpenter, who sets out to work for a deluded villain director who plans to kill Batman (want to guess if he succeeds?) and film it – it ends how you’d expect.
The second part, and the bulk of the book, concerns Thomas Elliott, aka Hush, who is currently masquerading as Bruce Wayne. Predictably he goes from being compliant with his role, to donning the bandages and going after Wayne once he returns. He’s joined by an old gangster recently released and wants revenge on Wayne.
Both stories really peter out real quick. Hush isn’t the best villain in Batman’s rogues gallery and there’s nothing here to convince you otherwise. There’s a lot of face-swapping between Hush and another villain of Arkham which stretched the story too far for me to believe in it anymore – really, you just peel off a face, drape it over yours, and everyone believes you’re that person?
Anyway, Hush’s plan to kill Bruce Wayne surprisingly doesn’t go as he planned, and the book ends. This is a pretty dismal way of ending the “Streets of Gotham” series with his weak book of bad plotlines and crap characterisation. Dini’s done better work with just about any other book he’s authored and for anyone looking for a decent book on Hush would do well to check out Jeph Loeb and Jim Lee’s book from a few years ago. “House of Hush” is a very poor Batman book and above all boring – avoid.
The second part, and the bulk of the book, concerns Thomas Elliott, aka Hush, who is currently masquerading as Bruce Wayne. Predictably he goes from being compliant with his role, to donning the bandages and going after Wayne once he returns. He’s joined by an old gangster recently released and wants revenge on Wayne.
Both stories really peter out real quick. Hush isn’t the best villain in Batman’s rogues gallery and there’s nothing here to convince you otherwise. There’s a lot of face-swapping between Hush and another villain of Arkham which stretched the story too far for me to believe in it anymore – really, you just peel off a face, drape it over yours, and everyone believes you’re that person?
Anyway, Hush’s plan to kill Bruce Wayne surprisingly doesn’t go as he planned, and the book ends. This is a pretty dismal way of ending the “Streets of Gotham” series with his weak book of bad plotlines and crap characterisation. Dini’s done better work with just about any other book he’s authored and for anyone looking for a decent book on Hush would do well to check out Jeph Loeb and Jim Lee’s book from a few years ago. “House of Hush” is a very poor Batman book and above all boring – avoid.
October 12, 2012
Fairly weak installment here. The opening storyline (with the Carpenter character) is a throwaway. I do like the Carpenter herself, most of the time, but the Director character introduced here is just a sad cliche. There's no tension in the story, because there's no question that he must, inevitably, fail. The actual Hush storyline, that makes up the bulk of the book, has a rushed conclusion. (This is probably not entirely Dini's fault, as cancellation was on the horizon.) In the end, it isn't exactly a satisfying conclusion to Hush's story arc before New 52. Still more enjoyable than not, and great art.
May 23, 2025
This bored me to tears...after the great last volume this was a letdown.
May 9, 2019
Not as good as the first two
May 11, 2012
The first storyline in this volume, featuring the awful character The Carpenter, almost made me stop reading completely. The Carpenter, a girl who builds traps in supervillains' lairs, is tasked with creating a theater with traps so elaborate they will kill Batman. The guy who hires her is meant to be some sort of Hollywood caricature who wants to catch Batman's death on film, but he speaks only in cliches and terrible puns. Seriously, he says "greenlight" or "director's cut" or "lights, camera, action" or some other awful thing in nearly EVERY SENTENCE. And it's not funny! As far as I can tell, it's not even meant to be. Rip those pages out of this book and throw them in the sewer.
As for the main storyline focusing on Hush, bleh. Dini's been building up this whole Tommy-Elliott-takes-over-as-Bruce-Wayne storyline for seemingly years, with almost no payoff. It's amazing that an arc as long and tedious as this Hush thing ends as anti-climactically as it does in this book. First of all, Dini can't even finish the story without introducing some stereotypical mobster character who is basically a walking plot device. This mob idiot wants to take revenge on Bruce Wayne because one time 40 years ago Bruce's mom wanted to build a free clinic where the mobster wanted to build apartments or something. I don't know about you, but if I went to jail for 40 years for an unrelated crime, when I got out I don't think I'd want to murder the child of someone I barely knew 4 decades previous. It is absurd and holds no water.
I'm very glad Streets of Gotham is done. It was boring at best, grating at worst, and did little to expand the Batman universe. Good riddance.
As for the main storyline focusing on Hush, bleh. Dini's been building up this whole Tommy-Elliott-takes-over-as-Bruce-Wayne storyline for seemingly years, with almost no payoff. It's amazing that an arc as long and tedious as this Hush thing ends as anti-climactically as it does in this book. First of all, Dini can't even finish the story without introducing some stereotypical mobster character who is basically a walking plot device. This mob idiot wants to take revenge on Bruce Wayne because one time 40 years ago Bruce's mom wanted to build a free clinic where the mobster wanted to build apartments or something. I don't know about you, but if I went to jail for 40 years for an unrelated crime, when I got out I don't think I'd want to murder the child of someone I barely knew 4 decades previous. It is absurd and holds no water.
I'm very glad Streets of Gotham is done. It was boring at best, grating at worst, and did little to expand the Batman universe. Good riddance.
December 25, 2017
Good, but probably the weakest of the three books. Batman really only has a supporting role this time around. I found the opening story featuring 'The Carpenter' amusing (it looks a fair number of other reviewers didn't really care for it), especially when her narration did not match the shown action. The 'Hush' storyline was best when showing the pre-Bruce lives of Thomas Wayne and Martha Kane.
April 17, 2017
A nice conclusion to this series. I enjoyed them all.
April 12, 2022
By far the weakest part to the whole “Streets of Gotham”. I wouldn’t really recommend this one and would probably just say skip it.
March 29, 2013
The 4 stars are for my feelings at the end more than my overall experience. What happened to Sonny?! Did we just forget the little orphan boy or should I know who he is as an adult or what? Is he the Joker, is that it? Crud. Well that maybe makes me want to lower the rating to 3 stars for making a good kid evil...
Anyway, I like a little more Batman in my Batman stories, though reading the previous two volumes showed he really was not the focus of the series. The series really makes you sympathize with the bad guys. I liked The Carpenter stuff well enough though The Director was kind of lame (though I'd like to see him in cartoon form, I think he really needs moving pictures to shine as a comically bad villain. ;) I think it could be like the Condiment King but with more death traps.). I liked Batman in that story.
The Bedbug was gross and I don't know if he was cool or lame, I couldn't decide since it felt almost like I was getting part of the middle of a story rather than a complete tale as I was in the other parts of the book. Plus I was sad Dick wasn't Batman anymore.
The Hush stuff was cool. I really liked the flashbacks to before, the Waynes deserve their own book practically, I'd be interested in their life in more detail up until their murder though I don't think they really left me with unasked questions, I just like them and want to see more. I know I haven't read all the Hush stuff and that might reveal more about them, though I know he was trying to make them seem evil from some of the things I read. I wish graphic novels were better organized. I mean these were labeled by volume so it was easy to go in order but it's not clear what other books I should be looking for to find the related stuff that is mentioned in passing like Bruce being Insider and Batman Inc stuff. Is there more of Colin out there somewhere because I don't recall ever seeing him before and we're kind of left hanging with Damian sneaking him gear.
Anyway, overall it was a good book though a bit violent (what, in a Batman book?) or yucky (especially in what's implied happened to Sonny and even more if a life of things like that turned him into Joker, though he got his revenge in an unpleasant way. Side note: how would Joker react if he knew that Batman was the son of the lady he got kidnapped trying to help? I don't know if that makes it better or worse, I haven't read the latest stuff in the comics, maybe he does know that now. He must know who Alfred is at least since Alfred totally saved them during the shooting... I don't know, and this being pre-reboot it may be meaningless now.). The art was nice as always and it's really nice to have read three volumes with the same artist instead of having things change every couple issues.
Anyway, I like a little more Batman in my Batman stories, though reading the previous two volumes showed he really was not the focus of the series. The series really makes you sympathize with the bad guys. I liked The Carpenter stuff well enough though The Director was kind of lame (though I'd like to see him in cartoon form, I think he really needs moving pictures to shine as a comically bad villain. ;) I think it could be like the Condiment King but with more death traps.). I liked Batman in that story.
The Bedbug was gross and I don't know if he was cool or lame, I couldn't decide since it felt almost like I was getting part of the middle of a story rather than a complete tale as I was in the other parts of the book. Plus I was sad Dick wasn't Batman anymore.
The Hush stuff was cool. I really liked the flashbacks to before, the Waynes deserve their own book practically, I'd be interested in their life in more detail up until their murder though I don't think they really left me with unasked questions, I just like them and want to see more. I know I haven't read all the Hush stuff and that might reveal more about them, though I know he was trying to make them seem evil from some of the things I read. I wish graphic novels were better organized. I mean these were labeled by volume so it was easy to go in order but it's not clear what other books I should be looking for to find the related stuff that is mentioned in passing like Bruce being Insider and Batman Inc stuff. Is there more of Colin out there somewhere because I don't recall ever seeing him before and we're kind of left hanging with Damian sneaking him gear.
Anyway, overall it was a good book though a bit violent (what, in a Batman book?) or yucky (especially in what's implied happened to Sonny and even more if a life of things like that turned him into Joker, though he got his revenge in an unpleasant way. Side note: how would Joker react if he knew that Batman was the son of the lady he got kidnapped trying to help? I don't know if that makes it better or worse, I haven't read the latest stuff in the comics, maybe he does know that now. He must know who Alfred is at least since Alfred totally saved them during the shooting... I don't know, and this being pre-reboot it may be meaningless now.). The art was nice as always and it's really nice to have read three volumes with the same artist instead of having things change every couple issues.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 27, 2013
OK, so I've read Part 1, and now Part 3, and I think Part 2 will be soon. While I enjoyed a good part of this, (such as the bits about old Gotham with the Elliots, Waynes, Zatanas, and the mafia) there just seemed to be a bit of a let down with how they wound things up. That and the first 2 stories collected in this edition are almost completely useless to the story line. That being said, it was still decent, but surprisingly featured very little of the Batman family...that may be a good or bad thing depending on your own POV. One thing I did really like was the representation of Alfred; the way he really should be. Well done.
Worth a read, but probably start with the other parts first.
Worth a read, but probably start with the other parts first.
February 27, 2024
Annnnnnd, I've finally finished Paul Dini's Batman run. (To the extent that Streets of Gotham WAS a Batman book. It was mostly written around Batman, really.
House of Hush started with a two-parter about a former henchwoman who fixes up secret lairs for Gotham's costumed criminals. She's hired by a pretentious "director" with delusions of adequacy who wants to build a house full of traps in which to film the death of Batman. It's not going to work and she knows it, but the money is good, so she sticks around until she learns the director plans to kill her too, at which point she alters the plan.
It's fun enough. Feels like a BtAS episode in a way. One of the ones where Batman's in the background.
The main story though? House of Hush? Like, what the hell? Okay there's a guy who uses bedbugs to hypnotize sleeping people to do his bidding. But nothing really happens with that. Also Hush is still wearing Bruce Wayne's face but the Bat Family mostly keeps him in check, but he fucks around on the periphery and advocates for the release of criminals from Arkham Asylum to sow chaos, including a serial killer with no skin who kills people and wears their faces. But that doesn't work. Anyway no-face killer lady escapes right after that and causes a riot, so Alfred is driving Hush/Bruce home when he gets T-Boned by an old mobster on a vendetta run who also shoots Bruce/Hush in the head but it doesn't take, so the old mobster kidnaps Hush/Bruce and then exposits backstory at him about how he hates Martha Wayne until Hush breaks free, beats the piss out of the mobster and his henchmen, and reveals the truth about himself. Now they are all in cahoots together. Batman and Catwoman are hanging out for plot reasons when they are again attacked by the bedbug guy, who never shows up again in this story (or hopefully any other story I read). The interlude ends with Paul Dini reminding everyone that he ships Batman/Zatanna but editorial won't let him pull the trigger on it. Anyway the mob guy and Hush are cahooting and we learn how much they all hate the Wayne family because of the past and their stories all tie together, and also with a villain named Dr. Death who does poisons but dresses like Wesley Dodds and is not nearly as interesting as Cheshire, and there's also a fat mobster in the past who is heavily implied to be a child rapist but whose nephew or something is one of the mobsters in the present day. Hush takes over the conspiracy and, as Bruce, tricks his assistant into letting all the bad guys into Wayne Tower and then keeps him as a hostage even though Dr. Death wants to kill him because of course he does. All the bad guys immediately double cross each other and the old mobster accidentally gets super strength and bad skin because that's what an unknown mix of poisons, explosives, and apparently Clorox do to you in the comics and also real life. Hush then realized, too late, that Bruce's assistant was actually the skinless serial killer woman and she ties him up and cuts off his face to wear. Batman shows up just in time to save Hush's life, which I find very annoying, and everything wraps up with a bow. Nobody believes Hush about Bruce being Batman, and since he doesn't have a face anymore he's back to wearing the bandage mask like Jim Lee drew him in the original Hush series even though like 6 different people wore the bandages because Hush wasn't supposed to be a supervillain persona but a red herring for Tommy and the Riddler because what the fucking fuck did anyone actually read Hush or did they all just look at the pretty pictures!?! The point is that Hush sucks and Tommy Elliott is not nearly as competent as he thinks he is and the story lampshades this over and over again and he should be killed off and forgotten.
Oh, because I forgot, somewhere earlier in the story Damian bought a warehouse and a motorcycle for the vigilante "Abuse," who is a child who can hulk himself up into an adult body because of some weird experiments the Scarecrow did to him with Venom. They brought Zsasz down together in the last TPB and are friendly now. And we never saw him again. Hopefully.
So, yeah. Having finally finished Paul Dini's in-continuity Batman run, I am left with one thought: Why, in this years-long run by the lead writer of the most beloved Batman cartoon of all time, is there so much violence-like really grisly violence-done specifically to children? What the fuck, Paul?
House of Hush started with a two-parter about a former henchwoman who fixes up secret lairs for Gotham's costumed criminals. She's hired by a pretentious "director" with delusions of adequacy who wants to build a house full of traps in which to film the death of Batman. It's not going to work and she knows it, but the money is good, so she sticks around until she learns the director plans to kill her too, at which point she alters the plan.
It's fun enough. Feels like a BtAS episode in a way. One of the ones where Batman's in the background.
The main story though? House of Hush? Like, what the hell? Okay there's a guy who uses bedbugs to hypnotize sleeping people to do his bidding. But nothing really happens with that. Also Hush is still wearing Bruce Wayne's face but the Bat Family mostly keeps him in check, but he fucks around on the periphery and advocates for the release of criminals from Arkham Asylum to sow chaos, including a serial killer with no skin who kills people and wears their faces. But that doesn't work. Anyway no-face killer lady escapes right after that and causes a riot, so Alfred is driving Hush/Bruce home when he gets T-Boned by an old mobster on a vendetta run who also shoots Bruce/Hush in the head but it doesn't take, so the old mobster kidnaps Hush/Bruce and then exposits backstory at him about how he hates Martha Wayne until Hush breaks free, beats the piss out of the mobster and his henchmen, and reveals the truth about himself. Now they are all in cahoots together. Batman and Catwoman are hanging out for plot reasons when they are again attacked by the bedbug guy, who never shows up again in this story (or hopefully any other story I read). The interlude ends with Paul Dini reminding everyone that he ships Batman/Zatanna but editorial won't let him pull the trigger on it. Anyway the mob guy and Hush are cahooting and we learn how much they all hate the Wayne family because of the past and their stories all tie together, and also with a villain named Dr. Death who does poisons but dresses like Wesley Dodds and is not nearly as interesting as Cheshire, and there's also a fat mobster in the past who is heavily implied to be a child rapist but whose nephew or something is one of the mobsters in the present day. Hush takes over the conspiracy and, as Bruce, tricks his assistant into letting all the bad guys into Wayne Tower and then keeps him as a hostage even though Dr. Death wants to kill him because of course he does. All the bad guys immediately double cross each other and the old mobster accidentally gets super strength and bad skin because that's what an unknown mix of poisons, explosives, and apparently Clorox do to you in the comics and also real life. Hush then realized, too late, that Bruce's assistant was actually the skinless serial killer woman and she ties him up and cuts off his face to wear. Batman shows up just in time to save Hush's life, which I find very annoying, and everything wraps up with a bow. Nobody believes Hush about Bruce being Batman, and since he doesn't have a face anymore he's back to wearing the bandage mask like Jim Lee drew him in the original Hush series even though like 6 different people wore the bandages because Hush wasn't supposed to be a supervillain persona but a red herring for Tommy and the Riddler because what the fucking fuck did anyone actually read Hush or did they all just look at the pretty pictures!?! The point is that Hush sucks and Tommy Elliott is not nearly as competent as he thinks he is and the story lampshades this over and over again and he should be killed off and forgotten.
Oh, because I forgot, somewhere earlier in the story Damian bought a warehouse and a motorcycle for the vigilante "Abuse," who is a child who can hulk himself up into an adult body because of some weird experiments the Scarecrow did to him with Venom. They brought Zsasz down together in the last TPB and are friendly now. And we never saw him again. Hopefully.
So, yeah. Having finally finished Paul Dini's in-continuity Batman run, I am left with one thought: Why, in this years-long run by the lead writer of the most beloved Batman cartoon of all time, is there so much violence-like really grisly violence-done specifically to children? What the fuck, Paul?
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 14, 2024
Batman Streets of Gotham: The House of Hush is the final volume in Paul Dini’s story arch centered around Thomas Elliott aka Hush. Serving as a compilation volume, the contents of the graphic novel include Streets of Gotham issues #12 to #14, which follows the escapades of the Architect and her work in constructing lairs for many of Gotham’s rogue gallery. It also includes issues #16 to #21, which primarily follows the final arc in the Hush storyline as he sought to bring about his final revenge on Bruce Wayne and the Bat-Family. Paul Dini’s got a long, illustrious career in writing for both the comic and the larger media of Batman including the animated television show and the Arkham video games. Accompanying Dini’s writing approach, was the illustrative contributions of Dustin Nguyen who brings to this story a very unique and angular artistic interpretation.
The volume opens up by covering a small opening narrative following The Architect. A self-proclaimed constructor for hire, The Architect’s narrative follows her as she tries to seek successful work in Gotham building obscure and thematic lairs for its line of super villains. After a few failed enterprises, she get’s a promising contract from movie producer who wishes to set a trap and film the demise of the Batman. While initially a low-stake endeavor, The Architect soon learns the producer plans to leave no loose ends behind after filming wraps and she and Batman end up teaming up to take down the producer and put a quick end to his grim production. Following on from this opener, the remaining portion of the comic follows Thomas Elliot/Hush as he continues to inhabit his present disguise of Bruce Wayne in his mission to destroy the Wayne name and further his own criminal interests. This subtly layered plan comes under threat however when an old-age criminal called Judson Pierce sets out to kill Bruce Wayne as revenge for something his mother and father did to him in the past.
I will admit on a personal level, it was an odd choice for me to pick this graphic novel up when it primarily focused on the final segments of a large-scale storyline. But that being said, the structure of this volume is made weak considering the notable irrelevance of the Architect storyline. It’s a very separate story which has little to no bearing on the Hush narrative and its placement in this book feel superfluous at best. The real meat of this story comes from the Hush narrative however, and despite coming into it with little context of the larger plot, this final arc is structured well enough to be easy to follow. I like how Hush’s ability to surgically alter his face has put him in arguably his biggest seat of power, in the role of his most hated rival. Living the life of Bruce Wayne is shown to not be so easy for Hush however and I like how the narrative shows the sensitive balancing act Hush has to play to keep the performance up with his allies and enemies. The introduction of Judson Pierce serves to tie Hush and Batman’s past together in some enlightening ways. It’s interesting to see more of the era of Thomas and Martha Wayne as it portrays a more grounded Gotham, one where mafia and criminal gangs ran the streets as apposed to the larger-than-life characters of Bruce Wayne’s era.
Dustin Nguyen does a really nice job visualizing Paul Dini’s narrative. His choice of colour and angular lines gives this interpretation of Batman a very unique flair. I really like Nguyen’s character design in this story. Every character is uniquely proportioned and constructed in a way that they leave a firm impression on whatever panel they are on, whether they are the center of focus or not. Ngyuyen’s artistic style proved to be quite popular it seems as he has illustrated a great number of DC comic in recent years.
Overall, The House of Hush is an interesting slice into the world of Batman and his fight against Hush. While its opening narrative fails to have much relevance in the larger plot, the main storyline that unfolds is captivating in its own right. It’s a nicely layered story which showcases the more grounded villain ensemble of Gotham.
The volume opens up by covering a small opening narrative following The Architect. A self-proclaimed constructor for hire, The Architect’s narrative follows her as she tries to seek successful work in Gotham building obscure and thematic lairs for its line of super villains. After a few failed enterprises, she get’s a promising contract from movie producer who wishes to set a trap and film the demise of the Batman. While initially a low-stake endeavor, The Architect soon learns the producer plans to leave no loose ends behind after filming wraps and she and Batman end up teaming up to take down the producer and put a quick end to his grim production. Following on from this opener, the remaining portion of the comic follows Thomas Elliot/Hush as he continues to inhabit his present disguise of Bruce Wayne in his mission to destroy the Wayne name and further his own criminal interests. This subtly layered plan comes under threat however when an old-age criminal called Judson Pierce sets out to kill Bruce Wayne as revenge for something his mother and father did to him in the past.
I will admit on a personal level, it was an odd choice for me to pick this graphic novel up when it primarily focused on the final segments of a large-scale storyline. But that being said, the structure of this volume is made weak considering the notable irrelevance of the Architect storyline. It’s a very separate story which has little to no bearing on the Hush narrative and its placement in this book feel superfluous at best. The real meat of this story comes from the Hush narrative however, and despite coming into it with little context of the larger plot, this final arc is structured well enough to be easy to follow. I like how Hush’s ability to surgically alter his face has put him in arguably his biggest seat of power, in the role of his most hated rival. Living the life of Bruce Wayne is shown to not be so easy for Hush however and I like how the narrative shows the sensitive balancing act Hush has to play to keep the performance up with his allies and enemies. The introduction of Judson Pierce serves to tie Hush and Batman’s past together in some enlightening ways. It’s interesting to see more of the era of Thomas and Martha Wayne as it portrays a more grounded Gotham, one where mafia and criminal gangs ran the streets as apposed to the larger-than-life characters of Bruce Wayne’s era.
Dustin Nguyen does a really nice job visualizing Paul Dini’s narrative. His choice of colour and angular lines gives this interpretation of Batman a very unique flair. I really like Nguyen’s character design in this story. Every character is uniquely proportioned and constructed in a way that they leave a firm impression on whatever panel they are on, whether they are the center of focus or not. Ngyuyen’s artistic style proved to be quite popular it seems as he has illustrated a great number of DC comic in recent years.
Overall, The House of Hush is an interesting slice into the world of Batman and his fight against Hush. While its opening narrative fails to have much relevance in the larger plot, the main storyline that unfolds is captivating in its own right. It’s a nicely layered story which showcases the more grounded villain ensemble of Gotham.
November 15, 2018
Batman: Streets of Gotham is a Batman comic book series that was published by DC Comics. The series stars Dick Grayson as the new Batman, but is told from the perspective from a "street level" with other characters in the lead. Batman: Streets of Gotham: The House of Hush collects nine issues (12–14, 16–21) of the 2009 on-going series.
Batman: Streets of Gotham: The House of Hush consists of two stories "The Carpenter's Tale" and "The House of Hush".
"The Carpenter's Tale" is a two-part story about Jenny Duffy as the Carpenter who was helping The Director, a villain filmmaker who specializes in superhero snuff films, by building his trap sets. However, when he uses her as a test subject, she teams up with Dick Grayson as Batman to take him down. In "The House of Hush", we have Tommy Elliot cracking under the strain of living as Bruce Wayne with all his minders. Therefore, he plans his final, murderous revenge on Dick Grayson and all of Bruce Wayne's friends and allies.
Paul Dini penned most of the trade paperback. With Dustin Nguyen and Derek Fridolfs doing double duty as writers in the story "The Carpenter's Tale" (Batman: Streets of Gotham #12–13). For the most part, it was written rather well and I was glad that the series ended with the story of Thomas Elliot as it serves as two rather good bookends for the series.
Dustin Nguyen penciled the entire trade paperback and because he was the only penciler, the artistic flow of the trade paperback flowed exceptionally well. For the most part, I enjoyed his penciling style – it is a tad cartoonish in some places, but it is rather well penciled.
Overall, Batman: Streets of Gotham is a rather wonderful series. I particularly enjoyed the different points of views of the series. It is rather refreshing to once in a while to read a Batman story from the perspective of someone outside the Batman Family.
All in all, Batman: Streets of Gotham: The House of Hush is a wonderful conclusion for the series, which was a wonderful read.
Batman: Streets of Gotham: The House of Hush consists of two stories "The Carpenter's Tale" and "The House of Hush".
"The Carpenter's Tale" is a two-part story about Jenny Duffy as the Carpenter who was helping The Director, a villain filmmaker who specializes in superhero snuff films, by building his trap sets. However, when he uses her as a test subject, she teams up with Dick Grayson as Batman to take him down. In "The House of Hush", we have Tommy Elliot cracking under the strain of living as Bruce Wayne with all his minders. Therefore, he plans his final, murderous revenge on Dick Grayson and all of Bruce Wayne's friends and allies.
Paul Dini penned most of the trade paperback. With Dustin Nguyen and Derek Fridolfs doing double duty as writers in the story "The Carpenter's Tale" (Batman: Streets of Gotham #12–13). For the most part, it was written rather well and I was glad that the series ended with the story of Thomas Elliot as it serves as two rather good bookends for the series.
Dustin Nguyen penciled the entire trade paperback and because he was the only penciler, the artistic flow of the trade paperback flowed exceptionally well. For the most part, I enjoyed his penciling style – it is a tad cartoonish in some places, but it is rather well penciled.
Overall, Batman: Streets of Gotham is a rather wonderful series. I particularly enjoyed the different points of views of the series. It is rather refreshing to once in a while to read a Batman story from the perspective of someone outside the Batman Family.
All in all, Batman: Streets of Gotham: The House of Hush is a wonderful conclusion for the series, which was a wonderful read.
August 12, 2024
I had hoped this would be good because it was written by Paul Dini and he hasn’t let me down in the past, but this felt a little discombobulated.
I didn’t realize it was party of a “Streets of Gotham” series and assumed it was following in line with the Hush graphic novels but I was very confused about what was going on in some cases (but that’s on me for not realizing this).
I particularly didn’t understand the first part of the story with the carpenter girl and “movie.” Seems like that could have been trimmed away without much of a difference to the story? (I guess I was missing something from the previous books though). The puns were awful and the story felt like a waste of time.
The timeline was also confusing with Dick being Batman sometimes and Bruce coming back after (and why was Thomas Elliot pretending to be Bruce and everyone was going along with it? Again all these types of nitpicks are on me for not realizing it was part of a series other than just being about Hush.)
All my confusion aside, when we got into the actual story and it had some flashbacks to Tommy & Bruce’s parents stories that was more interesting. And I actually felt relieved when actual Bruce/Batman returned - up until that point he isn’t even around!
Oh the whole it didn’t feel like a complete story, though, and like you needed way more context than you got in this book itself and that’s one thing I am not a fan of because it makes it hard to keep up with comics and graphic novels.
I didn’t realize it was party of a “Streets of Gotham” series and assumed it was following in line with the Hush graphic novels but I was very confused about what was going on in some cases (but that’s on me for not realizing this).
I particularly didn’t understand the first part of the story with the carpenter girl and “movie.” Seems like that could have been trimmed away without much of a difference to the story? (I guess I was missing something from the previous books though). The puns were awful and the story felt like a waste of time.
The timeline was also confusing with Dick being Batman sometimes and Bruce coming back after (and why was Thomas Elliot pretending to be Bruce and everyone was going along with it? Again all these types of nitpicks are on me for not realizing it was part of a series other than just being about Hush.)
All my confusion aside, when we got into the actual story and it had some flashbacks to Tommy & Bruce’s parents stories that was more interesting. And I actually felt relieved when actual Bruce/Batman returned - up until that point he isn’t even around!
Oh the whole it didn’t feel like a complete story, though, and like you needed way more context than you got in this book itself and that’s one thing I am not a fan of because it makes it hard to keep up with comics and graphic novels.
April 28, 2019
This was a pretty good end to Dini's run on this title, I guess. There are no fill-ins in this volume; Dini, Nguyen, and Fridolfs are responsible for the whole book. The Nguyen/Fridolfs team is meshing really well here and seems to have really hit their stride.
The first story, with The Carpenter, is fun, and fairly light. I've enjoyed seeing characters like The Carpenter and The Broker in Dini's Batman-related work. It's nice to see someone thinking about the mechanics behind the various clichés and conventions of a typical Batman story, and coming up with interesting stories around them.
The main story in this volume is "House of Hush." There's a lot going on there, plot-wise, with Hush, Bedbug, Dr Death, Catwoman, and a variety of other characters running around. And there's stuff happening in the present, along with flashbacks to the past. Adding to the confusion, Bruce Wayne has returned as Batman, but that's all covered in other books, and is only really a footnote here. But this still works well as a standalone story, for the most part.
The end of the story sets up a few interesting possibilities for the future, but of course the New 52 was launched not long after this, so I'd assume that none of them went anywhere.
The first story, with The Carpenter, is fun, and fairly light. I've enjoyed seeing characters like The Carpenter and The Broker in Dini's Batman-related work. It's nice to see someone thinking about the mechanics behind the various clichés and conventions of a typical Batman story, and coming up with interesting stories around them.
The main story in this volume is "House of Hush." There's a lot going on there, plot-wise, with Hush, Bedbug, Dr Death, Catwoman, and a variety of other characters running around. And there's stuff happening in the present, along with flashbacks to the past. Adding to the confusion, Bruce Wayne has returned as Batman, but that's all covered in other books, and is only really a footnote here. But this still works well as a standalone story, for the most part.
The end of the story sets up a few interesting possibilities for the future, but of course the New 52 was launched not long after this, so I'd assume that none of them went anywhere.
August 9, 2023
4.5 stars, the perfect excuse to give five stars. What can I say, I'm a sucker for comics and caped crusaders done great.
The album includes an inspiring and creative story continuing the Hush Reborn canon. A nice surprise was the story with a 90s touch: a character you get if you cross Home Improvement with Home alone. It's meta and I love it!
The pacing, similar character appearances, face swaps and time jumps are a bit disorienting (considering that some story introduced impostor Martha and Thomas Wayne, might have been another timeline). Though after the jambalayas Brubaker brews, everything's manageable in the realm of the Gotham bat-/comicverse. After all, ten times more consistent, entertaining and thought-provoking than Azzarello & Co., I'm afraid. Prove me wrong, or it's each their own cuppa tea.
The album includes an inspiring and creative story continuing the Hush Reborn canon. A nice surprise was the story with a 90s touch: a character you get if you cross Home Improvement with Home alone. It's meta and I love it!
The pacing, similar character appearances, face swaps and time jumps are a bit disorienting (considering that some story introduced impostor Martha and Thomas Wayne, might have been another timeline). Though after the jambalayas Brubaker brews, everything's manageable in the realm of the Gotham bat-/comicverse. After all, ten times more consistent, entertaining and thought-provoking than Azzarello & Co., I'm afraid. Prove me wrong, or it's each their own cuppa tea.
September 1, 2015
'House of Hush' is the sequel to the highly acclaimed storyline 'Heart of Hush' by the same creative team: Paul Dini (writer), Dustin Nguyen (penciller), Derek Fridofs (inker) and John Kalisz (colorist).
This book was very antecipated when it was first published, and for a good reason: 'Heart of Hush' was a brilliant study of Thomas Elliot AKA Hush's character, and not just that, it was one of the best Batman stories I ever read. And, after all, Dini was the main writer of the iconic 'Batman: The Animated Series', the co-creator of the fan-favourite character Harley Quinn and one of the best Bat-writers ever. While 'House of Hush' has it's flaws it's still a pretty solid read and a memorable Batman story.
Hush has been replacing Bruce Wayne since the self-induced surgery that made him look exactly like Bruce (who is still missing). Tommy has been trying to release several low category Bat-villains from Arkham Asylum in order to keep his 'guardians' occupied and plan his escape. Meanwhile, Judson Pierce, an old gangster dying from cancer, is freed from Blackgate Prison and is planning a vendetta of his own against Bruce Wayne. Also, there's another new face in town, an insect-obsessed guy called Bedbug who takes control of people's bodies in their sleep using his bugs to bite them and make them steal for him. Bruce shows up, puts back the Batman cowl on and gets ready to kick some ass.
Troughout the story we are shown flashbacks of Judson Pierce's connection to the Wayne family along with his reasons for hating the Wayne legacy. The flashbacks are, in my opinion, the most interesting part of the story and Dini understands Hush's potential to explore the Waynes in the pre-Batman era. Hush's memories of his family and the Waynes interwine with Judson Pierce's own past, and by the end all is linked in a coherent way that doesn't feel forced. You also have to give Dini the credit for showing Martha Kane (before becoming Mrs. Wayne) has a bad-ass side, which she gets to show here. In fact, Martha is the character that gets more attention in the flasbacks and I fell in love with her. It showed the true potential of Martha as a character and made me wish she would get more opportunities to shine instead of being just a pretty face and having just a line or two in the movies.
But it's in the present where the problems are. Dini simply isn't able to make Bedbug a menacing villain. He's a one-note bad guy. His motivations are never clear, he doesn't have a personality and he doesn't even seem dangerous. He's actually laughable. Even though Nguyen's design tries to make him creepy, it doesn't work because the script makes him so one-dimensional. Also, this book isn't very focused on Hush, even though the title says this is his show. Dini captures his voice perfectly and even makes him quite likeable, but he kind of gets lost in the middle of so many plot threads. And even though he is an expert strategist, his plan has some serious gaps and it doesn't seem as smart or elaborate as the Hush we know would plan. It's pretty basic and not typical of Tommy at all.
The whole thing seems rushed. But we have to be fair: this story was published in 'Batman: Streets of Gotham', which wound up being cancelled, so Dini didn't have much space to fully explore the potential of his story. I'm sure this would have been a lot better if the creative team had been allowed to end the story properly. The Bedbug plot has no resolution whatsoever; the end to the Hush plot is inconclusive, basically just going back to square one; a character absent during the bulk of the story shows up in the end for no reason; and there's a Joker subplot that goes nowhere. Again, you can't hold this against Dini for he had to work with what he was given and he deserves credit for concluding the story in an enjoyable way, flawed as it may be.
Now, the parts Dini really nails besides the flashbacks and Martha Kane's characterization. The relationship between Batman and Catwoman is rendered flawlessly. Dini is perhaps the only author who truly understands the troubled duo's dynamic. The love, hate, resentment and sexual tension is perfectly captured by the creative team, and it's one of the book's highlights. Also, Dini's Batman is a joy to read and is very different from the dark and broody Bat we're tired of, which is refreshing. There's a particularly hilarious moment when Bats takes Penguin's picture that made me laugh out loud. Then you have a cameo by Joker, which is always excellent coming from Dini. His Joker is more of an ultraviolent but extremely funny gangster who looks like a clown. You can hear Mark Hamill's voice whenever Joker talks.
Of course I can't review this book without giving the art team the praise it deserves. Dustin Nguyen shines throughout the book, his animated style giving the story a very 'Batman: The Animated Series' feel, with Derek Fridolfs' inks providing heavy shadows which suit Batman's world like a glove. And John Kalisz' colors add some extra energy and atmosphere. The flashbacks are wonderfully illustrated and colored, the highlight being the homage payed to the Golden Age of comics in the penultimate chapter of the book. But the artwork truly shines in the details: facial expressions, poses and texture are carefully rendered by Nguyen and team and it just couldn't be better. I was particularly impressed by the dream-like quality of the last page, and it's a beautiful example of Nguyen and company at the top of their game.
Overall, an enjoyable story with solid characterization suffering from a rushed ending and too many plot threads held together by some of the most stunning artwork you could ask for in a comic
This book was very antecipated when it was first published, and for a good reason: 'Heart of Hush' was a brilliant study of Thomas Elliot AKA Hush's character, and not just that, it was one of the best Batman stories I ever read. And, after all, Dini was the main writer of the iconic 'Batman: The Animated Series', the co-creator of the fan-favourite character Harley Quinn and one of the best Bat-writers ever. While 'House of Hush' has it's flaws it's still a pretty solid read and a memorable Batman story.
Hush has been replacing Bruce Wayne since the self-induced surgery that made him look exactly like Bruce (who is still missing). Tommy has been trying to release several low category Bat-villains from Arkham Asylum in order to keep his 'guardians' occupied and plan his escape. Meanwhile, Judson Pierce, an old gangster dying from cancer, is freed from Blackgate Prison and is planning a vendetta of his own against Bruce Wayne. Also, there's another new face in town, an insect-obsessed guy called Bedbug who takes control of people's bodies in their sleep using his bugs to bite them and make them steal for him. Bruce shows up, puts back the Batman cowl on and gets ready to kick some ass.
Troughout the story we are shown flashbacks of Judson Pierce's connection to the Wayne family along with his reasons for hating the Wayne legacy. The flashbacks are, in my opinion, the most interesting part of the story and Dini understands Hush's potential to explore the Waynes in the pre-Batman era. Hush's memories of his family and the Waynes interwine with Judson Pierce's own past, and by the end all is linked in a coherent way that doesn't feel forced. You also have to give Dini the credit for showing Martha Kane (before becoming Mrs. Wayne) has a bad-ass side, which she gets to show here. In fact, Martha is the character that gets more attention in the flasbacks and I fell in love with her. It showed the true potential of Martha as a character and made me wish she would get more opportunities to shine instead of being just a pretty face and having just a line or two in the movies.
But it's in the present where the problems are. Dini simply isn't able to make Bedbug a menacing villain. He's a one-note bad guy. His motivations are never clear, he doesn't have a personality and he doesn't even seem dangerous. He's actually laughable. Even though Nguyen's design tries to make him creepy, it doesn't work because the script makes him so one-dimensional. Also, this book isn't very focused on Hush, even though the title says this is his show. Dini captures his voice perfectly and even makes him quite likeable, but he kind of gets lost in the middle of so many plot threads. And even though he is an expert strategist, his plan has some serious gaps and it doesn't seem as smart or elaborate as the Hush we know would plan. It's pretty basic and not typical of Tommy at all.
The whole thing seems rushed. But we have to be fair: this story was published in 'Batman: Streets of Gotham', which wound up being cancelled, so Dini didn't have much space to fully explore the potential of his story. I'm sure this would have been a lot better if the creative team had been allowed to end the story properly. The Bedbug plot has no resolution whatsoever; the end to the Hush plot is inconclusive, basically just going back to square one; a character absent during the bulk of the story shows up in the end for no reason; and there's a Joker subplot that goes nowhere. Again, you can't hold this against Dini for he had to work with what he was given and he deserves credit for concluding the story in an enjoyable way, flawed as it may be.
Now, the parts Dini really nails besides the flashbacks and Martha Kane's characterization. The relationship between Batman and Catwoman is rendered flawlessly. Dini is perhaps the only author who truly understands the troubled duo's dynamic. The love, hate, resentment and sexual tension is perfectly captured by the creative team, and it's one of the book's highlights. Also, Dini's Batman is a joy to read and is very different from the dark and broody Bat we're tired of, which is refreshing. There's a particularly hilarious moment when Bats takes Penguin's picture that made me laugh out loud. Then you have a cameo by Joker, which is always excellent coming from Dini. His Joker is more of an ultraviolent but extremely funny gangster who looks like a clown. You can hear Mark Hamill's voice whenever Joker talks.
Of course I can't review this book without giving the art team the praise it deserves. Dustin Nguyen shines throughout the book, his animated style giving the story a very 'Batman: The Animated Series' feel, with Derek Fridolfs' inks providing heavy shadows which suit Batman's world like a glove. And John Kalisz' colors add some extra energy and atmosphere. The flashbacks are wonderfully illustrated and colored, the highlight being the homage payed to the Golden Age of comics in the penultimate chapter of the book. But the artwork truly shines in the details: facial expressions, poses and texture are carefully rendered by Nguyen and team and it just couldn't be better. I was particularly impressed by the dream-like quality of the last page, and it's a beautiful example of Nguyen and company at the top of their game.
Overall, an enjoyable story with solid characterization suffering from a rushed ending and too many plot threads held together by some of the most stunning artwork you could ask for in a comic
January 25, 2024
Uma história repleta de flashbacks, que busca sustentar a trama principal remetendo ao passado de Gotham e as famílias que tinham influência e dominavam a cidade.
Eu acho interessante essa questão das famílias de Gotham terem rixas e as "fofocas" sobre os seus respectivos domínios e influências no submundo, porém achei a história truncada e com leitura massante.
A todo momento, retoma-se o passado para dar sustentação ao Silêncio, mas a trama começou a se misturar com outro mafioso de Gotham,e duas histórias, que já não eram cativantes, se misturam e acabam por tornar a leitura massante.
Eu acho interessante essa questão das famílias de Gotham terem rixas e as "fofocas" sobre os seus respectivos domínios e influências no submundo, porém achei a história truncada e com leitura massante.
A todo momento, retoma-se o passado para dar sustentação ao Silêncio, mas a trama começou a se misturar com outro mafioso de Gotham,e duas histórias, que já não eram cativantes, se misturam e acabam por tornar a leitura massante.
September 23, 2024
The finale to the Hush storyline was a bit of a letdown. Paul Dini pulls a lot of his current creations together with some oddball rogues from the past. It didn't really jive well. Dini's Hush is very interesting but this was so disjointed. There were so many moving pieces that kept flashing back to a time that doesn't really intrigue. It wasn't bad and the conclusion was final enough but the story won't be considered memorable. Dustin Nguyen's art was very good and I am a fan of his Batman, who sadly wasn't very present. Overall, a decent story that could have hit higher notes.
March 21, 2021
I loved everything about this, even the cutsey stroy of The Carpenter at the start, she was so sassy.
The House of Hush was a gangster story that transended generations, showcasing how absolutely vile the criminals of Gotham really are - 'smile and swallow, just like you did last night.' - That line sickened me to my stomach, just vile.
Also the Catwoman scenes were a really sweet touch. I ship them so hard.
The House of Hush was a gangster story that transended generations, showcasing how absolutely vile the criminals of Gotham really are - 'smile and swallow, just like you did last night.' - That line sickened me to my stomach, just vile.
Also the Catwoman scenes were a really sweet touch. I ship them so hard.
February 22, 2023
Not a bad ending to a strong series. I think this title had some scheduling issues which had an effect on the quality, but overall this was an underrated series. A little darker than usual, which made for a good read. The saga of Hush impersonating Bruce Wayne wraps up in quite a gruesome manner. If you're a Batman fan and haven't read this series, its worth checking out.
November 12, 2021
I like the way two stories on two different timelines are told in parallel, but it’s not one of my favourites. The flashback/origin story really carries the book whilst the ‘now’ story seems to be just padding
December 6, 2022
Significantly, *significantly* better than Hush itself, with far more interesting art and writing across the board. If i didn’t know better I’d say this was a deliberate attempt to try and infuse that pretty hokey book with a bit more oomph than it ever deserves
October 11, 2018
In this house we 👏love 👏and 👏protect👏 our 👏mentally 👏ill👏 and disfigured 👏son👏👏👏,Tommy Elliot.
March 26, 2020
Hot take: Paul Dini is a great writer but Hush is a bad character. He could only do so much with this character. Leviathan (Vol. 2) was an excellent read but this suffers due to the poor villain.
December 13, 2021
Lo leí de prestado y más de un lustro después me arrepiento porque ahora es inconseguible.
May 31, 2022
Silencio y El Regreso de Silencio estuvieron bastante bien, pero La Casa de Silencio es algo más flojo. Aún así, es una lectura entretenida, digna del murciélago.
May 14, 2024
Very nice art style. Stories are fine but less consequential than in previous volumes. It was worth reading to see what becomes of these characters, and it complements the Morrison run well.
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