The Hood: The Saga of Parker Robbins

by Brian K. Vaughan, Rick Remender (Writer), Jeff Parker (Writer)

With great power...comes great opportunity. With a pregnant girlfriend, a demanding mistress and an institutionalized mother to care for, Parker Robbins can barely make ends meet. So when the smalltime crook finds mystical apparel that grants him strange powers, he decides to forgo organized crime for the more prestigious and financially rewarding world of costumed villainy. Is the Marvel Universe ready to meet…the Hood?! Norman Osborn sure is ― and when his Dark Reign begins, Parker has a major role to play as a tough-talking crime boss organizing NYC’s super villains ― while wheeling and dealing with the likes of Loki and Doctor Doom! But what price is Parker paying for his rapid climb up the ladder of infamy? And what terrible secret lies behind the source of his powers? Collecting THE HOOD #1-6, DARK THE HOOD #1-5 and material from DARK THE CABAL.

Genres: Graphic Novels, Comics

296 pages, Paperback

Published June 6, 2023

About the author

Brian K. Vaughan is the writer and co-creator of comic-book series including SAGA, PAPER GIRLS, Y THE LAST MAN, RUNAWAYS, and most recently, BARRIER, a digital comic with artist Marcos Martin about immigration, available from their pay-what-you-want site www.PanelSyndicate.com

BKV's work has been recognized at the Eisner, Harvey, Hugo, Shuster, Eagle, and British Fantasy Awards. He sometimes writes for film and television in Los Angeles, where he lives with his family and their dogs Hamburger and Milkshake.

Reviews

[Joey Nardinelli · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not entirely sure what possessed me to grab this from the library other than it was a new acquisition and written by Bryan K Vaughan (at least for the first half). I think if the writing had been consistent and not rebooted midway through, the origins of a villainous anti-hero like Parker would have been more viable. The idea of his being manipulated by a demonic entity is also pretty interesting, though it being Dormammu feels a bit silly and in many ways, this feels so weirdly parallel to other Marvel characters, namely Moon Knight. Parker has to be interesting as a character though since his powers and story aren’t all that compelling, and coupled with the early aught’s need to be provocative via what I’ll reductively term “shitty language” just leaves me pretty lukewarm at best for this whole volume.

[Matt Sautman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ableist language from a 2000’s era attempt to be edgy makes this book harder to recommend, but Brian K. Vaughn manages to write a formidable anti-villain who is clearly not heroic in anyway but possesses motivations that make the Hood feel far more grounded than one would expect from a criminal with demonic clothes. The book is implicitly a counterpoint to Spider-Man’s early stories, showing what happens when great power comes without responsibility.

[Kelly K · Rating 2 out of 5]

I get that Parker was supposed to be unlikable (and he very much was, along with pretty much everyone else in this book) but yeesh. I liked the gritty nature of this comic compendium but it was just meh for me.

[Craig · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Hood's an interesting, though not particularly compelling, character. I liked the Vaughan story, though the other material here, written by Rick Remender and Jeff Parker, isn't that great. Two fairly-long miniseries both illustrated by Kyle Hotz? Count me in for that.