Red Hood and the Outlaws Annual #1

Writer: Scott Lobdell

Artist: Tyler Kirkham

Colourist: Arif Prianto

Letterer: Taylor Esposito

This is Annuals Week, and a lot of the Annuals we've been getting in Rebirth have had a lot to offer. The better ones seem to be the single-story issues that have one artist, such as Superman Annual #1 by Peter Tomasi, Patrick Gleason, and Jorge Jimenez. This Annual follows in that tradition, and we get Tyler Kirkham as the main artist, written by Scott Lobdell. This was a fantastic issue.

I love a good Red Hood and Nightwing team up. To my recollection, the last time we see them interact was in Batman: I Am Bane by Tom King and David Finch, but they interacted out of costume and it was too brief. Here we re-establish their connection and their relationship. They're essentially brothers, and it's one step further into him being fully integrated into the Batfamily, as I think Jason has gotten the short end of the stick when it comes to being featured with these characters. To receive recognition from both Batman and Nightwing is awesome for Jason.

I liked the story, which featured the Outlaws and Nightwing infiltrating a circus that might have some nefarious things going on under the surface. We all know about Nightwing's connection to the surface and Lobdell recognises this, but he doesn't bog it down with sad scenes and instead the characters embrace each other and the community of the circus, which were the best scenes of the issue for me.

I'm in a constant state of forgetting that Tyler Kirkham is one of the best artists out there. The last time I saw his work was in Action Comics: Men of Steel, and I love his renditions of these characters. We need Kirkham on an ongoing, and I wouldn't mind seeing Kirkham on this book if Dexter Soy wanted a break. Characters' physiques are ever so slightly exaggerated, which is his style and it works for me.

In a fun, simple story, we get reminded of the character's relationships to one another, particularly that of Jason and Dick. I loved the simple conversation scenes, which provided some of the best character moments of the series yet.