Red Hood and the Outlaws #19

Odd that Red Hood's past was erased in Red Hood #17 but was then given back to him in Red Hood #18 and now needs to be taken away again in Red Hood #19.

Don't get me wrong! I'm all for Jason Todd forgetting his Scott Lobdell years! But this whole thing stinks of poor editing. It seemed like they wanted to Reboot Jason's mind so Lobdell did that issue where everyone was hanging out with Batman at the Summer Batcave and nobody cared about the whole Joker incident anymore and then Jason's mind was wiped. At least that's what The Joker said was going to happen in his hologram threat. But then the next issue, Lobdell needed Jason Todd to have his memories so that he could deal with The Joker some more and then have a memory about apologizing to Batman in Batman Incorporated for something that in no way could have happened yet. I'm sure James Tynion IV doesn't want to touch any of the convoluted bullshit that came before, so it's time to re-erase Jason Todd's mind! Maybe. Maybe he'll just deal with his past and move on. That would be weird though. Serious growth and change in comic book characters is pretty fucking rare.

The first panel of this issue begins with an editorial note to "Find out why Jason left Bruce in Ethiopia in Batman and Red Hood #20." I'm sick of editorial referencing comic books that have yet to come out. I began my commentary on Catwoman #19 yesterday and put it down when it referenced Justice League of America #3. And because I don't pay very close attention to when each comic book comes out, I walked down to Excalibur Comics to find JLA #3. They didn't have it and the owner didn't know it's actually been delayed. I found that out later after walking to Future Dreams. Then to make sure, I looked online and saw it was delayed. Is Justice League of America the first comic to not make deadline? I know I joked about Superman #18 but that one at least came out when it was scheduled even though it was the wrong month.

Anyway, I'm used to this type of editorial note from DC since the Reboot even though it's annoying. So I guess I'll find out about Batman and Red Hood later in Batman and Robin #20. So if Batman and Robin went to Batman and Red Robin and then to Batman and Red Hood, does the next comic have to be Batman and Hood Rat? Then Batman and Mall Rat! Then Batman and Mall Cop!

[[MORE]] Jason Todd's Wayne Private Jet gets boarded in midair so Jason Todd crashes it into the Himalayas to keep the thieves from getting any money. That'll teach 'em! And Bruce won't even notice one missing private jet. It's like tossing pennies into a fountain for him. Starfire and Speedy later find the jet and guess they're hot on Todd's trail. James Tynion IV is already steering this book away from Lobdell's influence by not naming the issue after skewed musical lyrics.

While Speedy and Starfire search for the entrance to the domain of the All-Caste, Essence is busy trying to stop them.

By shoving her black gunk into Speedy's face.

Essence's bad dream only gets Speedy more determined to find Jason Todd. He also wakes up realizing how to find the Acres of All, the All-Caste's demesnes. So he and Kori fly through a mountain and meet a dinosaur. Why wasn't that dinosaur on the cover?! DC could have sold this issue to at least another million kids.

This seems like the kind of dialogue that Scott Lobdell kept trying to write but couldn't quite pull it off. Or maybe he did but I was too distracted by the stupid fucking Narration Box that would have followed.

It's strange being halfway through an issue of Red Hood and the Outlaws with nary a Narration Box to be seen. Here's some of their battle against the dinomonsters.

Speedy, Princess Warrior.

Jason Todd arrives to kill the Boss Dinomonster but he doesn't recognize Kori and Roy. I guess The Joker's dememorization trap didn't work because even when Todd was still on the plane, he remembered Alfred. And he'll probably be his normal self in Batman and Red Hood #20. So now something must have happened here in the Acres of All that took away his memory. Must be that little bald baby man, S'aru, that kept Jason's best memory of Bruce staying in for the night to spend it with Jason while he was sick. That's also probably why that guy was on the cover stealing Red Hood's memories.

Red Hood #17-19 is just a fucking editorial mess. They obviously wanted to have Jason Todd lose his memories. My guess is that once Damian's death sort of stuck itself into the narrative, Lobdell's Requiem issue needed Todd to still have his memories. So now Jason Todd needed two different stories to get him to lose his memories. I don't blame Lobdell or Tynion for this ridiculousness. Fucking editorial. I haven't bitched about them enough lately!

S'aru finishes his thought with, "I'll just take it all!"

Apparently Jason Todd learned nothing from his hallucination of Ducra while in his coma. Hallucination Ducra told him he couldn't let The Joker run his life. So what does Jason Todd do? He goes off to get a new life due to The Joker's taint of his old life. Which is just letting The Joker run his life! At least Jason Todd was allowed to keep language and the ability to walk! I don't know yet if he retained the ability to use a toilet.

Red Hood and the Outlaws #19 Rating: +3 Ranking. The increase in ranking doesn't have anything to do with the story. It was fairly typical of this comic book although the dialogue was executed better. I'm not a fan of erasing all of Jason Todd's memories because now he's not Jason Todd. You may as well just get a new Red Hood the way they got a new Batwing over in that comic book. I'm sure there will be more to the story though, so hopefully it'll play out in an interesting manner. The real reason for the rise in the ranks was NO NARRATION BOXES! Hallelujah! I felt like I should write my own Speedy Narration Boxes and insert them into the comic book. But I don't think I can write crappy enough Narration Boxes to justify the endeavor.