Hopefully. The inclusion of Bane is just a bit of a strange choice considering what he did, though on twitter Rosenberg mentions that it's a story that will 'weaponize the dead'. Which makes me wonder if the dead in question even have a consciousness here or whether they are mindless and are only following orders. Guess we'll know soon enough.
Happy to see the Rebirth outfit (well, a variant of it) shown for an in-continuity story. The pauldrons, the sword and his general bulkiness give him a knight-ish vibe, which I quite like.
Also, the bat logo is back! I don't want to read too much into it (might as well be an artistic choice), but I hope this is a sign that Urban Legends has Bruce and Jason patching things up and Jason back to the Rebirth outfit. It'd be a hype last issue/pages.
The premise is whatever, as I don't care for zombie stories, but I guess it could be fun, especially since this is in-continuity (so, no cheap worldwide apocalypsis) and the team is... interesting.
And as expected, in any case, Jason is likely not getting a book this year. Wonder if they'll keep having him as the poster boy for these minis and event stories in 2022 or if they'll give him an ongoing (solo or team-up).
https://twitter.com/AshcanPress/stat...16096118235136>TASK FORCE Z is a new ongoing book about Red Hood leading some of Gotham's worst. Written by me, art by the brilliant @eddybarrows, @ebercomics, @fxstudiocolor, & helmed by the magical editorial duo of @Paul_Kaminski & Dave "no tweet" Wielgosz. Behold this brutally awesome cover-
>The basic idea behind TASK FORCE Z is "what if we made the Suicide Squad even more @#$*&% up?" So yes it's a story about weaponizing the dead, but it's also about redemption, and second chances, and trying to prove you're more than your worst moments... And also eating people.
>TASK FORCE Z stars Red Hood, Bane, Man-Bat, Arkham Knight, Sundowner, Mr. Bloom, and a few other surprises we're keeping off the internet. This one is brutal but fun, chaotic but character driven, and just generally awesome.
https://twitter.com/AshcanPress/stat...16939735371793
https://twitter.com/AshcanPress/stat...17717938200576
Per Rosenberg Twitter, this IS Jason's book. I still don't see how they plan to keep this one going after the first major arc. I mean, how the hell do you redeem a flesh-eating Zombie?
Finally got some free time.
Gotta say while I seriously dislike the idea of zombies nor I wanted on-going for Jason, I'm pretty interesting in this because I like how crazy it sounds. I'm also glad that it's not a rehash of the outlaws (not that I hated the concept, but 10 years of it was more than enough).
“Any fool can criticize, condemn, and complain but it takes character and self-control to be understanding and forgiving.”
– Dale Carnegie
Man, I'm bummed it's an ongoing because it means Man-Bat will die... and he's great in JLD !
On the plus side:
- It's an ongoing (even if it's going to probably last short)
- It smells like a pulp, an adventure and horror pulp. I love pulps.
- Jason has the old costume. Short of.
- It's a story about redemption, so most probably a lot of heroic moments to come.
- I like Rosenberg writing and trust him to pull a fun book that also deals heavy stuff in between.
- Art most probably fits the mood.
- I also feel like this nook is going to be a sort of Justice League Dark-ish book. So I expect magic somewhere. Also expect Constantine to show up at some point (he knows about the dead, first hand).
- Gives me a strong Evil Death / Army of Darkness vibe. Somehow.
- It seems to be a character-driven book.
On the minus side:
- Eddy Barrows. At least the story fits his style.
- I'm not fond of the team members, but I guess, besides Jason (or even with Jason), they'll change the roster from time to time.
- I'm not big in monster stories*. But then, I do like some monster with zombies stories* and trust the writer. Also, I thin I can make my brother read this book.
I think people in my neighbouring town can see my pleased face.
Last edited by Zaresh; 07-13-2021 at 01:08 PM. Reason: missing words
I trust Rosenberg.
Dexter Soy
Funny you say that, because the way Rosenberg describes the pitch, is pretty much just Outlaws 2.0 with zombies replacing fallen heroes.
The way DC is trying to hype up this book, plus the 1:25 cover and the solicits for the prelude is making me worry that they will go with the twist of having Jason be a Zombie himself.
I've already read Cheer 5 in B:UL. I'm really, really liking this story.
spoilers:end of spoilers
It was a transitional issue, and one building towards the final one; but a really good issue. I loved the flashback, which both hurt and made me feel warm. I loved the present time part too, with Jason doing detective work in a way you would love Bruce or Dick do, but they don't so much nowadays. Street level, face to face, exploring, and conversational based. Like a detective does in a detective story. In a way that was definitely not violence based. I also liked that Barbara was there supporting and caring for him: I hope that carries to other stories.
Also, it's fun how the villain feels somehow, well, realistic I guess. As far as I understand from the story here, the guy is a random guy who was unhappy with his life, and used his wife's work to revenge against the world and also make himself happier (which he doesn't achieve yet, and why he doses with Cheer) and give himself more importance. Like, real life criminals aren much different. But he's still mimicking greater, more cape-like villains. Sil Romero is, in universe, unoriginal; the geniuses are others. He just uses their work and imagery. I think this is very much intended: his surname is Romero, like classic Joker's actor.
And the best of it is, this Cheer guy, isn't even the driving force in this story. Jason's and Bruce rough relationship is.
Art was great. I liked the colour work here a lot, but inks were nice too. Even Barrows were really good. Even lettering was very good. Great work.
Yeah, it was weaker the the previous issue, but this one, I liked it a lot.
I seriously doubt they'll make Jason a zombie. Like, really, really doubt it.
Last edited by Zaresh; 07-13-2021 at 03:57 PM.
I always thought Jason would be a good fit for the Suicide Squad. Its a slam dunk pitch and a big name to draw people in while giving Jason something different to do than make Batman angry.
But its odd that he went from never having been on the squad to being on some form of squad in two series at the same time.
It's the Dynamic Duo! Batman and Robin!... and Red Robin and Red Hood and Nightwing and Batwoman and Batgirl and Orphan and Spoiler and Bluebird and Lark and Gotham Girl and Talon and Batwing and Huntress and Azreal and Flamebird and Batcow?
Since when could just anybody do what we trained to do? It makes it all dumb instead of special. Like it doesn't matter anymore.
-Dick Grayson (Batman Inc.)
I quite liked Urban Legends as well.
Hopefully there's a new status quo for Jason (one that might pave the way for TFZ I guess), and also a fresh start for his relationship with Bruce, which is obviously the heart of the story. I'll be a fool and expect their dynamic to be different from now on. There's only so many times you can pull the same shit over and over again, although DC never ceases to impress so I'm not hopeful.
As for Future State, I also liked it, although I don't find much interest in that future or in the actual storyline.
In any case:
https://twitter.com/JimLee/status/1415144407288881156
jason todd - hush.jpg
I've always loved Hush Jason's design and I'm sad it's never used. If you take the domino mask away/give him a RH helmet, it'd be my favourite design along with Rebirth's, and I love Dexter Soy's Jason.
Whatever happens to Jason is above Rosenberg's paygrade.