DC Comics; $4.99

In Batman #158, Jeph Loeb and Jim Lee established that some creators do indeed get to go home once again with the first chapter of their new “Hush 2” storyline. The reader was immediately plunged into the mystery, the action, and the tone of the original “Hush” storyline, which of course began in Batman #608.

The story continues in this issue as Loeb, who is also presently in the middle of the epic Batman: The Long Halloween – The Last Halloween for DC, Lee, inker Scott Williams, colorist Alex Sinclair, and letterer Richard Starkings do everything in their power to forget how many years have passed between the end of the original and the start of this new story.

And oh, they succeed.

Sinclair, whose work is nearly always stunning, shines in particular in the flashback panels on Pages 1-3. His monochromatic, almost watercolor approach to those panels brings out a subtlety not normally associated with the powerful pencils of Lee. The book is beautiful, but the impact of those panels is critical to the story.

Truthfully, I could do without the 9,842,973 variant covers, some of which are quite striking (Andy Kubert and Brad Anderson’s blows me away), but I must admit that I’m captivated by the “Super Treasury” editions. Produced at 11” x 17” – basically original art size – the $14.99 format really shows off the art and design of the issue. The indicia in #159 was not corrected – it’s the same as the regular size issue – but the one in the previous issue read “Batman 158 Giant-Size Special Edition.”

All in all, a really enjoyable issue, one that left me ready for the next one immediately, like all good comic books do.

– J.C. Vaughn