A review by sydnapped
Red Hood: The Lost Days by Judd Winick
5.0
Let me just pick my heart up off the floor.
You see, here you are shown the formerly dead second Robin, who had been brutally beaten with a crowbar by The Joker and left to die, as a now resurrected Jason Todd, go from a zombie-like vagrant to taken under wing by a (imo) RUTHLESS Talia al Ghul, encouraged on a path of training that will eventually lead to his becoming of the uber-vigilant, highly skilled terrorist - the Red Hood.
But while this story fills in what happened to Jason after coming back from the dead and being discovered by Ra’s al Ghul, but before he comes back to Gotham, "The Lost Days" also explores how mentally tortured he is during this time.
This street boy turned man is just so broken, conflicted and in a lot of emotional pain after first surviving his sociopathic, manipulating mentor only to be severely let down by him when his death was not avenged, to now being manipulated and trained by Talia who's agenda is to use him to do something to Bruce.
I must admit that I developed a better appreciation for Jason Todd as Robin in hindsight, after he came back from the dead, resurrected with the identity of the new Red Hood, and I am always sympathizing with this version of Jason, getting a sense of how much Bruce really meant to this kid, despite his reprehensible behaviour of manipulating and exploiting the child. Now there's really added depth to Jason as Robin II, and you clearly see just how messed up he is over the betrayal and "loss" of his beloved mentor.
In this storyline, i really was invested in Jason's portrayal, his character was intensely interesting, and though he ultimately becomes selfish and deadly, my heart hurt for him, and that's because Winick had a perfect understanding of Jason Todd, I think the way he was meant to be.
In "The Lost Days" you plainly see how this deeply affected young man develops the qualities of an "antihero" and comes to be the character he is now; and one of my most favourites in the Bat 'verse.
When I first watched Batman: Under the Red Hood, also written by Judd Winick, I was *BLOWN* away, and it still has that effect on me! Just, amazing. I think this writer did GREAT with this story of Jason's lost years and how he struggled so much, explaining how he's become a fallen superhero, much like Morrison's take in essentially making him a Batman that was willing to fight fire with fire.
I also liked how Winick showed pieces of the complicated relationship between Ra’s and Talia and how Batman acutely affects them.
And the ARTWORK, damn, that is pretty terrific, too!
I absolutely *LOVED* "The Lost Days"! There's a lot of action, too; we see Jason train in new ways that Bruce wouldn't have offered and how he hones his new lethal skills, stands against corruption, and learns to apply his IDEALS.
There's also some angst in seeing how tragic the situation that was his life as a whole really was. He is what circumstances beyond his control have made him. With this story I can't understand how anyone could accept Jason as simply a bad guy in conflict with the Bat family.
Overall I think Lost Days had GREAT character development and compelling storytelling. It comes down to revenge, rebellion, and watching a struggling soul come into its element on the way to face the pain.
P.S. Pretty sure Gerard Way sang about this exact situation back in 2004 ;)
As described in my picture paste-up:
