Batman: Hush! Modern Classic or Mediocre Myth?

I was thinking of some of my favorite modern Batman stories and while there are many, I was thinking of one in particular that deserves analysis. Batman: Hush, as published in issue #608–619 in October 2002 until September 2003, is very polarizing. The story arc was written by Jeph Loeb with art by Jim Lee. Scott Williams did the inking chores and Alex Sinclair was the colorist.  

These days it seems that the Batman Hush storyline is derided more than it is praised due to Loeb increasingly being seen as a hack writer by many fans. It wasn’t always this way. When Hush first came out it was extremely well received, due in no small part to the slick artwork of Jim Lee, whose rendition of Batman began to appear on Batman merchandise outside of the comic books.

It is often said that Batman Hush is just an excuse to get many of Batman’s best known villains together in a single storyline [the same has been said lately with Loeb’s wonderful Long Halloween series] and that the identity reveal of the Jason Todd-Robin character at the end is a cheat. While that may or may not be true depending on your interpretation, there is a very decent mystery here.

Loeb and Lee manage to introduce a new villain in the Thomas Elliot/Hush character and add a new wrinkle to Bruce Wayne’s past in the process. We also get wonderful appearances from guest stars, including Superman. Unfortunately this is the only real story of note to feature Hush as no other writer, including the wonderful Paul Dini in his Hush Money story, can seem to get a handle on the character.

Despite those recent unfavorable reviews of Hush, a lot of original fans of this story hold it up as one of the best stories of the early 2000s era Batman comics and I can agree. The story is engaging and Jim Lee’s art is some of the best Batman art since the late 80’s and early 1990's when giants like Norm Breyfogle, Jim Aparo, Alan Davis and Dave Cockrum drew the character. Hush was a shot in the arm for Batman comics at the time as late 90's comics were often mediocre. The only thing to be aware of is that you should avoid the Hush Returns storyline or anything else that tried to resurrect Hush, as those stories are inferior.

In 2019, an animated film was released that updated the story for a Post-New 52 world. It's not a great adaptation as it waters down the lengthy story and sets it in the modern context of the New 52 era. 

Hush will forever be one of the first stories I recommend to new Batman fans as a gateway into Batman comics because it's very accessible.  I rate this 5 out of 5 stars. Have you read it? What's your opinion?