COMIC BOOK REVIEW - Red Hood and The Outlaws: The Starfire
During the ‘Titans’ TV show panel at DC Fandome this year, they announced that Jason Todd would become the Red Hood in the third season of the show. The second Robin has amassed a lot of popularity in the last few years, and part of it probably has to do with this comic series. Having Jason team up with Roy Harper and Starfire, the 2011 reboot sees them becoming a sort of adventuring group of vigilantes.
‘The Starfire’ is essentially made up of one main story, which has several one-shots dispersed amongst it. The first part of the novel sees Jason chase up some business in Gotham, which then sees him get involved in protecting Mr Freeze in the ‘Night of the Talons’. Following that, the story focuses on Starfire, as she, and the Outlaws, are transported onto a ship from her home planet, Tamaran. Tamaran is under attack from an alien force known as ‘The Blight’, and together with her friends and her estranged sister, they set out to liberate her people.
I guess the whole point of a team book is that it focuses on the characters individually, and this novel really sets out to put Starfire front and centre. I have to say Starfire’s reinvention in the New 52 was probably one of the most divisive, and personally, I felt it may have been too extreme, but this novel almost bought it back to a reasonable level.
The artwork, done mostly by Kenneth Rocafort is beautiful. I am a massive fan of his intricate style and I felt the covers were phenomenal. It was hard to pick one for this review. Overall, I think a step in the right direction for some characters and a genuinely decent book!
Favourite Panel:
Oh man, this cracked me up!
Favourite Characters:
In this novel, it has to be Starfire. She’s a warrior princess who really steps up to protect her people and earn closure on her past.
Rating:
Story Arc: 12/20
Character Development: 14/20
Artwork: 16/20
Enjoyability: 13/20
Re-readability: 12/20
Overall: 67/100
Level: Intermediate