One son returns from the grave as another enters it. What a fitting ending this has become.
This book collects Batman 645 to 650 and Batman Annual 25 and was again written by Judd Winick continuing the story he started in volume 1. The art duties were carried out by a number of pencillers (3) and inkers (5).
Batman has come to accept that Jason Todd has returned from the dead - if he even was dead as the coffin appears unused. The trouble is that the Red Hood continues to spoil the Black Mask's crime operations with little regard for the lives of the criminals involved. Batman must choose whether or not to help Jason when members of the Society are sent after him. Meanwhile, Jason is holding the Joker hostage as a pawn in a game where he confronts Batman about his moral code.
I loved the bulk of this book, the issues taken from the main series, and the continuing story of Jason Todd's quest for answers as to why Batman has allowed the Joker to continue to live. I am slightly conflicted in the bringing back of characters from the dead. I was collecting the Bat-books back when the Death in the Family story line was running and there is a part of me that does not want the emotional investment that was made at that time discarded for a cheap thrill now. The portion of the story taken from the Batman Annual that explains how Jason is still alive is the weakest part of the book – there is a big Deus ex Machina involved and I never like that. I feel they could have come up with something better and, as they had to use a resurrection pit anyway, maybe Talia and Ra's Al Ghul could have hatched some scheme that would have had the same result. Anyway I did enjoy the two books enormously - I just wish that the companies could commit to killing off characters permanently.
First published on RevolutionSF on Sunday Oct 30, 2011
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