Customer Reviews

Batman & Huntress: A Cry for Blood

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is the book that made me a Huntress fan.

It really is a very good book and definitely proves that Greg Rucka is currently one of the best writers in comic books today. I love it so much I pick it up time and time again to read. I disagree and think that his best writing is in mainstream comics as opposed to independents because there are certain topics which have to be handled carefully and requires much more fines, than simply using the bull in the China shop approach. He is one of the best things that ever happened to DC comics.

Helena Bertinelli is the daughter of a former mob boss who witnessed the execution of her entire family before her eyes as a child. Now all grown up she has embarked on a one woman quest to wipe out the mob in Gotham. She gets framed for a murder and has to figure out who did it. In the process she finds out something very shocking about herself as well as why she survived the massacre on her family.

In the usual Rucka fashion he looks into the demons and what drives Helena/Huntress. And forces her to examine herself, and what she is running away from. One of the reasons I love Rucka's treatment of the character is that she is nuanced. Other writers often portray her simply as an angry woman with a chip on her shoulder. But Greg Rucka doesn't. But Rucka shows her to be much more than that. Which is great since people are not that simplistic. The common stereotype of Huntress is that she's "crazy". Nothing could be further from the truth. Helena Bertinelli is a very sane, intelligent and lucid woman-her problem is that she has a little problem with anger. And as the story progresses you see why she is so angry. Not only as a result of her life experience. But as a way of sheltering her heart from being hurt. When you look at it Huntress and Batman are essentially two sides of the same coin. The only difference is that Batman implodes his anger and she explodes it.

Huntress secretly craves the approval of Batman (who inspired her) and longs to be a part of his inner circle. But not at the cost of betraying who she is. She senses that Batman & co. do not approve of her---and she wants to be accepted for who she is. There is also the simple fact that Huntress and Batman do not get along because they have the exact same personality, and get on each others nerves. Watching them interact is often amusing as they fight almost like an old married couple.

Unlike other comic book heroines whom I like (such as the X-men's Storm, Psylocke and Emma Frost or the Wildcats Zealot) Huntress is not the kind of woman I would like to be. She is the kind of woman I am right now. She's flawed but has a very good heart and tries to do what is right in her own way. She also has a strong sense of pride and self-respect which drive her. This all makes her much easier to relate to.

I would also like to mention the dialogue in this book, it is much more every day and realistic. Such as the back and forth banter (flirtation) between Huntress and the Question.

What Rucka does with Huntress in this book is awe-inspiring. This surely is one of the best stories in the Batman books and is destined to be a classic.

.
Batman is a classic hero, one of the best.

Huntress is an anti-hero, also one of the best.

And Greg Rucka...well, he's the best. The best writer working in mainstream comics, that is, as well as a damn fine writer of suspense fiction. I've always loved Batman and the Huntress, but Rucka was the reason I picked this up.

It's a tale of realistic gangsters, not supervillains. It has in-depth characters with complex motivations and emotions. It also has one of the best little-known DC heroes, The Question, a man with no face who walks the mean streets looking for answers to...well, to everything, always ready with a bit of kung fu when needed.

I saw one of the other reviews compare this to "The Long Halloween." Frankly, I think TLH is radically overrated, and a hodgepodge of vignettes with mostly no actual connection. It also lacks humanity, by which I mean it doesn't present any characters in a way that makes you really care what happens to them. Interesting, yes. Great, uh-uh.

This book is far better than "The Long Halloween." But hey, it's Greg Rucka. And as good as Jeph Loeb is, he's not on Rucka's level, not yet.

This book needs more recognition. This is as good as Loeb and Sale's Batman books (The Long Halloween, Dark Victory, Haunted Knight, buy these!). However, this isn't REALLY a Batman book, he's a minor supporting character.

Huntress is front and center here. We get a great crime story and her origin story too. Rucka's writing has a great forward motion to it, you want to keep reading. The artwork is nice too, a classic style, not overly stylized or cartoon-y.

This is great background material for future Huntress appearances in the DC Universe. Check out the latest Birds of Prey TPB "Sensei and Student" - the best BoP book so far, Gail Simone has rescued that title. Also check out the Nightwing/Huntress book - this book got a lot of bad press because the two main characters sleep together. Who cares?!? It's still a great book.

Back to this book...
My one complaint is the presence of The Question, a pretty dull character. Rucka did his best to make something of him.

Still, a fun/gritty/character-driven/action-packed read. BUY IT!!!

The Huntress is a character who lost her history. In the 70s she was created as the daughter of the original Batman and Catwoman, all grown up and ready to fight crime on her own.

But in the 80s her origin was erased to clear away alternate versions of Batman and clean up history. Now she is the daughter of a mafia don. Her family was wiped out before her eyes and now she seeks to avenge her family and destroy the mob.

In this volume the Huntress has been framed for murder and must escape the police and Batman to clear her name and finally solve the murder of her family. She teams up with the Question, a minor DC crime-fighter, who tries to teach her to control her rage and her desire for revenge.

Rucka does a great job with the characters. The Huntress' interaction with Batman and his cast, for once, involves more than Batman scowling at her. The Question is charming, annoying and funny. Nightwing is shameless flirt.

In the final chapter she has to choose between revenge and justice and, surprisingly for a mainstream comic, chooses revenge.

A Cry for Blood manages to retell her origin, shed new light on the character and tell a good story. It is far better than the recent Huntress Year One and is probably the character's finest story.

I enjoyed Cry For Blood. Its a nice little tale, even though Rucka is usually capable of much better. The simple artwork suited the Godfather-like theme of the story which revealse a little more about the Huntress's crime family background. It makes you care a little more for Huntress and makes you undertsand her motivations better.
The Question makes an appearance but his motivation for helping Huntress seems a little vague. Still, the two characters work together very well.
If you are a Batman or Huntress fan, this collection is good to have because it includes developments which have changed the relationship between Huntress and Batman, which were previously improving. It also reveals some of the flaws in Batman's ideology, from the point of view of another person, Huntress.

I like Greg Rucka a lot. I like Batman even more. Here Rucka uses the Batman family as a backdrop for a tired mafia tale using the Huntress as the anti-hero. "The Question", a minor DC character, is thrown in as a foil to move the story along and allow Huntress someone to confide in; much exposition ensues.

The art is solid, if a little uninspired at times. I am not down on the artist at all, but as Batman mafia stories go this pales greatly against Tim Sale/Jeph Loeb's "Long Halloween" or "Dark Victory" epics.

I respect that a 6 issue miniseries only allows so much character and story development (Long Halloween was told over 12 issues). However, other than the Huntress none of the other cast is developed very much (The Question? Who cares). A past relationship between Huntress and Nightwing is alluded to and would have made for a much more interesting subtext.

Greg Rucka does much better work in the recent "Queen & Country" for OniPress, which is now available as both hard and softcover collections ...

I don't really care about the Huntress. Well, I used to not care about her; until I read this story. Before I read this, I percieved the Huntress to be just another murderous vigilante in Gotham City. But this series really fleshes out her character, and adds a mystery to her origin. Greg Rucka is proving to be one of the best Batman writers out there, because his Batman fights with his mind just as much as his fists. The man can sure write an intriguing mystery.
Another reason why I enjoyed it so much was because a favorite character of mine makes his return appearrance. It's none other than the Question, the faceless avenger of Hub City. Denny O' Neil's Question series back in the late 80's is a classic, and Rucka does not dissappoint, making the Question just as cool as he was back then.
Finally, it's hard to not compliment Rick Burchett's excellent artwork. He's the best Batman artist this side of Neal Adams. Many people say his art is too simplistic, but it fits this story perfectly. So do yourself a favor and buy this TP. You won't regret it.

This is the book that made me a Huntress fan. I love the huntress chartecter and this book made a fan of the the huntress so i love this batman book

Helena Bertinelli, the violent vigilante known as the Huntress, is a hard woman to like. Furious, bitter, the daughter of a detroyed Mafia family, she pushes away those who try to help her and those who try to hurt her - often the very same people.

Five months before this story, Helena tried to save Gotham in Batman's absence during the No Man's Land crisis by taking the Batgirl cowl, only to be rejected and manipulated by Batman directly into the Joker's path - and three bullets to the stomach. She survived, but with a very justified grudge against the man who abandoned her in the face of her efforts to conform to his standards.

Now, in a combination of Mafia family politics and film noir, the Huntress is framed for murder, and finds herself at odds with everyone - her family, the law, and Gotham's dysfunctional "family" of crimefighters. A new ally appears in the shape of Vic Sage, the Question - but there's only so far that Helena can allow anyone to help her, and that's not very far.

As a big Huntress fan from Gail Simone's first run on Birds of Prey, I was fascinated to see Huntress's origins handled expertly by Rucka. A further appreciation for the character grew when I realized that Helena grew into the character I love from these dark, tragic, agonizing circumstances. Though today she has friends who she loves, would die for, and would die for her, at this time, she pushes everyone away - and they push right back, not comprehending the pain of her childhood and the betrayal they constantly hand her in their pursuit of "justice."

Though the art is not as flashy as the more recent Rucka star project, Batwoman, Rick Burchett produces beautiful, extremely thoughtful panels and color combinations. Furthermore, I find the storytelling much more coherent and less dependent on current politics, crossover events, and exposited backstory. Telling basically the same story - a young woman who is inspired by Batman to become a dark figure of justice, only to receive betrayal after betrayal, and concluding with disillusionment and heartbreak - I think Huntress: Cry for Blood is the more substantial work because it stands by itself, and engages in more coherent world and story building.

The TPB is a collection of six issues of a mini-series written by Greg Rucka and drawn by Rick Burchett and Terry Beatty. The story is set after the events of No Man's Land and is about Helena being framed for murder as Huntress and having to deal with the Mob and Gotham City PD as well as Batman. The origin aspect is told through flashback as Helena describes her past to a new friend who helps her during her ordeal.

The present day story is well told by Greg Rucka and the artists do a very nice job of not only drawing Helena in and out of her Huntress costume, but also of portraying Batman and his associates as they make their appearances. The flashbacks with their sepia tones are well drawn as well. Rucka's story is about a mob princess who has turned against the mob, but he wisely shows more and tells less and uses the usual cliches to remind readers of the milieu without shoving it in their faces every other panel.

The origin story is equally well told and lacks of the agenda of Huntress: Year One. Helena has nothing to say in Rucka's story about disliking dresses (she wears them often throughout) or resenting the use of male pronouns for God. The massacre of the Bertinellis, Helena's time in Sicily and her return to Gotham are all recounted with Rucka's usual tight and efficient manner.

The art by Burchett and Beatty is excellent. The characters, especially Helena in and out of her Huntress persona, are all well drawn and Gotham is suitably dark and grim where it is called for.

Overall, it's top quality and I recommend it over the more recent Huntress: Year One.