Well this is the perfect storm for me, I like Williamson, I like Red Hood, and I like Next Batman so obviously I was going to pick this up. As a first issue I think it’s off to a decent start and personally I appreciate the art style especially with it being black and white.

As for what’s going on this story takes place a little after The future state red hood two part story but before the end of Dark Detective because he’s broken up with Rose Wilson but Peacekeeper 01 is shown to be alive. So Jason is still on his undercover mission, being a vigilante hunter but secretly trying to infiltrate the magistrate and it opens with Mecha Scarface to add to the Akira vibe, however then something bad happens....a giant explosion goes off in the narrows creating a crater in the form of a bat-symbol and it gets all placed on Jace’s head, in fact Jason’s secret contact even says that Jace was actually involved but that’s all we know, it’s either a set up or an accident.

But either way the hunt is on for Next Batman so the Magistrate deputize Jason and make him Peacekeeper Red tasking him with hunting down Batman and failure is definitely not an option. But Jason has other problems, because the Batfamily is ticked at him and we see Dick, Tim Drake, Stephanie Brown Batgirl, and Duke Thomas with his Black Lightning sword. In other words look like the Bat-family are either unaware of what Jason is truly doing or they are really playing a part but it’s hard to say.

Honestly if you wanted Next Batman, he’s not actually here. This is entirely Jason focused and deals with all the stress he is under with the equivalent of being an undercover cop. You do feel bad for him because he has genuine human emotions including to lives lost in the destruction. I’m also interested to see what happens once Jason collides with Jace.

Other then that I love the art style, it’s very manga style especially with it being in Black and White and I’m a sucker for a good manga art style.

Personally it’s nothing mind blowing but it’s a solid enough start especially if you are aware of the future state series and how they ended.