Jim Lee and Jeph Loeb returning to Batman for "Hush 2"

Over 20 years ago now, Jim Lee and Jeph Loeb came together to bring us Batman: Hush. Running from Batman #608-619, the Hush storyline instantly became a huge hit with fans. A perennial best-seller, it showed off some of Batman's most popular villains as well as the brand new villain "Hush" (AKA Thomas Elliot), all beautifully drawn by Jim Lee. Since that time, Lee has gone from artist to Co-Publisher to President and Chief Creative Officer at DC Comics, but now returns to Batman with Jeph Loeb once more to write the sequel to their landmark story.

Saturday at New York Comic Con, after jokingly mentioning that rumors you hear online are "always right", Lee revealed that he and Loeb would be returning to the Batman title starting in March 2025 with Batman #158. Along with inker Scott Williams and colorist Alex Sinclair, they will be telling the next chapter of the Hush saga in a six-issue story. It will be set in the present day and will affect modern continuity, just as the original Hush did decades ago. As for details on the story, he only warned that they couldn't promise "that everyone will make it out alive."

Gallery

While the initial story has only six issues, Lee promised that a second six-issue story would be coming "later" and that it would "resolve the Hush saga once and for all." Fans will be able to find a 4-page preview for the story in the pages of Justice League Unlimited #1, out Nov 27.

To celebrate the announcement of the project, DC is also offering a "H2SH" t-shirt with Jim Lee art for 52 hours.

The shirt is on the DC Shop and is listed for $37.

Stay tuned for more Batman News coverage of NYCC, including interviews, news, and panels.

36 comments

Sara

October 19, 2024

I hope this means Tommy dies. Such a stupid character.

But with the way DC's been treating Jason, I'm more worried about his fate. They won't even give him his good costume back for this. He's still wearing that ugly hoodie. They hate him. He only appears in stories anymore to be tortured and humiliated, then compensated with some lame saves-the-day heroism.

Those t-shirts they're wearing are in competition with the new IDW logo for the "Somebody got paid for this?!" reward for bad graphic design.

Mingthemerciless
October 19, 2024
Theres just something desperate and lazy about pulling Loeb and Lee out of mothballs for Hush 2. Its not a story that needs a sequel. Jason is alive and we ve seen Tommy Elliot pop up numerous times since Hush.
1. Sara
  October 19, 2024
  I really like some of the things Loeb has done, but he's one of the worst for either retconning other writers' good work or writing stories that have to be retconned piece meal due to his bad choices. Tommy's such a one note villain, and he's so derivative of Black Mask and Two-Face, that I can't even think what new thing Loeb could do with him except kill him permanently. Hush was one of the first big lame Mastermind villains that are practically the only kind of antagonist anyone "creates" anymore.
  Judd Winick himself had to do the retconning to make his Red Hood stories fit with Loeb's accidental reintroduction of Jason. Winick just sort of phoned it in.
  1. Mingthemerciless
    October 19, 2024
    If Jason had to come back it should have been THE point of the HUSH with all the confusion and emotional impact that would have on both Bruce and Jason but Loeb treated it like a novelty before giving us Tommy "Im jealous of Bruce" Elliot.
    i think thats where Winnick was left with the clean up.
    Regardless Hush doesnt need a sequel because too much has happened since. That ship sailed.
    1. Robin MB
      October 20, 2024
      Someone on a Discord group I'm in suggested it would have been better if Jason was Hush. I thought that would have worked but that would mean no Red Hood
    2. Madeleine
      October 20, 2024
      I've seen that opinion before. It would mean no Red Hood but it could also have meant that Jason wasn't trapped in an identity that loudly insists upon the Joker's role in his life, death, and second life... "Red Hood," a discarded Joker identity, is a more interesting monicker and costume for Jason to assume than Hush but it's also a more problematic one from several angles. I wouldn't be very sorry if someone came up with something to replace it if it helped Jason to break away from Joker-dominated stories.
      Maybe Tommy can die and Jason can become the new Hush...
    3. Robin MB
      October 20, 2024
      Yeah a villian Jason Hush would have been cooler
    4. Papa Grande ( formerly deevo)
      October 20, 2024
      It's probably the best thing Winnick has ever done. That said Jason never seemed as Uber competent or dangerous since then. Or at least with different writers.

Popc247365

October 19, 2024

H2sh....REALLY?

Jackson Luken
October 19, 2024
I imagine that's just a design for the shirts and not the title of the comic.
1. jrvc
  October 20, 2024
  hope so!

Robin MB

October 19, 2024

If this was old Loeb maybe I'd care but he's fundamentally not the same anymore and I can't say I blame him after the tragedy

Papa Grande ( formerly deevo)
October 20, 2024
Of course respect and condolences for Loeb. I thought that it had happened before he wrote that story.
1. Robin MB
  October 23, 2024
  Hush was before. It was Ultimates 3 and Ultimatum that were written just after that.
  1. Papa Grande ( formerly deevo)
    October 23, 2024
    Oh yes, there was a serious change in quality between those stories unfortunately. Feeling really bad for him.

Victor Fuentes

October 19, 2024

Mmmm.. for only six issues (and then returning in the future for another batch) of Loeb & Lee.... I think I prefered another writer.... or even that Zdarsky continues.
My question is who can take the title after Zdarsky and then Loeb? Mmmm.... maybe an absolute writer: Aaron, Ewing, Lemire...?

Robin MB
October 20, 2024
Oh if it's Ewing I am down. I've loved everything he's done
1. Victor Fuentes
  October 21, 2024
  Ah! After today post of Ram V.... maybe Ram V will take the Batman title in the middle of the two parts of the Loeb/Lee run???
  There are a few writers get the "upgrade" from Tec to Batman.
  1. Robin MB
    October 22, 2024
    Oh I don't really use social media, what did he post?
    1. Jackson Luken
      October 22, 2024
      Only that he's working on a "secret Batman project"

Kaingerc

October 20, 2024

first a sequel to 'Long Halloween' and now this?!
DC are really banking on name recognition for people to buy their comics, aren't they?!

sld
October 20, 2024
First *another* sequel to 'Long Halloween' and now this.
It's not like anything else they've been doing has been working better for them. Sad, really.
Want to bet H2SH (hurts my brain to type that) becomes a crossover event with other Bat books, derailing everything for months?
1. Papa Grande ( formerly deevo)
  October 20, 2024
  I really hope it doesn't come to that. This was a fantastic classic story and it would be a shame if it got screwed up. My only hope is that at least the original creators are at the helm and not one of these newer, self-involved writers who don't seem to get characterization or really care about continuity
2. thee Patriot
  October 20, 2024
  Maybe next they can do the Contagion story line or No Man's Land storyline :)

Mesmeric Atlas

October 20, 2024

Hush and Crossgen Comics reignited my enthusiasm for the medium. So, yes, I am up for it!

jrvc

October 20, 2024

welll, why not? I love Lee's art and Loeb has written some of my fave Batman stories, and I cherish the first Hush book. Hope it's good!

Papa Grande ( formerly deevo)
October 20, 2024
That would be a huge win for DC Comics. They need to rack up more of those.

Papa Grande ( formerly deevo)

October 20, 2024

THIS certainly has my attention. I wonder if they'll ever figure out a way to just bring back Alfred?

Rafeal
October 29, 2024
Wondering the same.. he should come back asap.
1. Papa Grande ( formerly deevo)
  October 29, 2024
  At this point I'd accept any excuse...like Mephisto/Spider-man level excuse to bring back Alfred. It just doesn't work without the only guy who knew Bruce before the shots...like Sherlock without Watson or Kirk without Spock.
  1. Rafeal
    October 30, 2024
    Exactly. The impact of him not been there is worn out and they moved on but the hole he left is so big. I just don't like the idea of killing either bruce or someone close over and over again. They should just had him return in shadow wars for real. He is my favorite member in the batfamily. They should just downsize the family and bring him back. Batman works best solo just with alfred and oracle and the occasional help from the family.
    1. Papa Grande ( formerly deevo)
      October 30, 2024
      Have to agree there. Tom King needed to make a big shock mess so the fools in Editorial allowed it to happen. They have options. There is a living clone of Alfred introduced in All-Star, lazarus pits, time travel, imposter actors ( they used that to ressurect Aunt May in the 90s). I enjoy that Batman has a family, but Batman works alone or maybe ocassionaly with Robin. Every popular adapation of Batman uses this formula ( and ALWAYS takes advantage of Alfred...even in the darker Absolute Universe). I don't know why they aren't using common sense. Instead you have Batman getting his hand lopped off, being chased by another psycho toaster, bopped around the multiverse, made a fool of by Catwoman, emulating a webcomic family book and it goes on and on...I am certain the fans by and large want Alfred back. These days just giving the fans what they want seems to be revolutionary for comic publishers these days.
    2. Rafeal
      October 30, 2024
      Wouldn't mind a flashpoint kind of event that resets all the garbage done to batman and dc the last 10 years. That way we can undo the bad stuff and get alfred back. The best stories are when he is alone and alfred trying to talk so sense to him. The whole bat family thing is just not it. The occasional team up with dick or damian that's fine but I and many fans want batman to be bruce with alfred and a grounded bruce with the manor, batcave and money intact and including all the classics like arkham asylum, blackgate, the rogues etc. Everything that made batman awesome in the first place

AnonymousHero

October 22, 2024

Not really necessary to do IMO. I have Hush and the comic Batman: Hush Returns. So why is it necessary to do Hush 2? What is there left to say about it? Hush did what it needed to do when it first came out. Now they're attempting to milk a cow past its prime.

Hard pass.

amphiuma33

October 23, 2024

Snooooore...

Also, "H2SH" is just... incredibly silly. XD

Robin MB

October 23, 2024

I just had a thought. I'm surprised Jim Lee would even want to work with Loeb again what with the bigotry he displayed

Sara
October 19, 2024
I hope this means Tommy dies. Such a stupid character.
But with the way DC's been treating Jason, I'm more worried about his fate. They won't even give him his good costume back for this. He's still wearing that ugly hoodie. They hate him. He only appears in stories anymore to be tortured and humiliated, then compensated with some lame saves-the-day heroism.
Those t-shirts they're wearing are in competition with the new IDW logo for the "Somebody got paid for this?!" reward for bad graphic design.
1. Mingthemerciless
  October 19, 2024
  Theres just something desperate and lazy about pulling Loeb and Lee out of mothballs for Hush 2. Its not a story that needs a sequel. Jason is alive and we ve seen Tommy Elliot pop up numerous times since Hush.
  1. Sara
    October 19, 2024
    I really like some of the things Loeb has done, but he's one of the worst for either retconning other writers' good work or writing stories that have to be retconned piece meal due to his bad choices. Tommy's such a one note villain, and he's so derivative of Black Mask and Two-Face, that I can't even think what new thing Loeb could do with him except kill him permanently. Hush was one of the first big lame Mastermind villains that are practically the only kind of antagonist anyone "creates" anymore.
    Judd Winick himself had to do the retconning to make his Red Hood stories fit with Loeb's accidental reintroduction of Jason. Winick just sort of phoned it in.
    1. Mingthemerciless
      October 19, 2024
      If Jason had to come back it should have been THE point of the HUSH with all the confusion and emotional impact that would have on both Bruce and Jason but Loeb treated it like a novelty before giving us Tommy "Im jealous of Bruce" Elliot.
      i think thats where Winnick was left with the clean up.
      Regardless Hush doesnt need a sequel because too much has happened since. That ship sailed.
      1. Robin MB
        October 20, 2024
        Someone on a Discord group I'm in suggested it would have been better if Jason was Hush. I thought that would have worked but that would mean no Red Hood
      2. Madeleine
        October 20, 2024
        I've seen that opinion before. It would mean no Red Hood but it could also have meant that Jason wasn't trapped in an identity that loudly insists upon the Joker's role in his life, death, and second life... "Red Hood," a discarded Joker identity, is a more interesting monicker and costume for Jason to assume than Hush but it's also a more problematic one from several angles. I wouldn't be very sorry if someone came up with something to replace it if it helped Jason to break away from Joker-dominated stories.
        Maybe Tommy can die and Jason can become the new Hush...
      3. Robin MB
        October 20, 2024
        Yeah a villian Jason Hush would have been cooler
      4. Papa Grande ( formerly deevo)
        October 20, 2024
        It's probably the best thing Winnick has ever done. That said Jason never seemed as Uber competent or dangerous since then. Or at least with different writers.
Popc247365
October 19, 2024
H2sh....REALLY?
1. Jackson Luken
  October 19, 2024
  I imagine that's just a design for the shirts and not the title of the comic.
  1. jrvc
    October 20, 2024
    hope so!
Robin MB
October 19, 2024
If this was old Loeb maybe I'd care but he's fundamentally not the same anymore and I can't say I blame him after the tragedy
1. Papa Grande ( formerly deevo)
  October 20, 2024
  Of course respect and condolences for Loeb. I thought that it had happened before he wrote that story.
  1. Robin MB
    October 23, 2024
    Hush was before. It was Ultimates 3 and Ultimatum that were written just after that.
    1. Papa Grande ( formerly deevo)
      October 23, 2024
      Oh yes, there was a serious change in quality between those stories unfortunately. Feeling really bad for him.
Victor Fuentes
October 19, 2024
Mmmm.. for only six issues (and then returning in the future for another batch) of Loeb & Lee.... I think I prefered another writer.... or even that Zdarsky continues.
My question is who can take the title after Zdarsky and then Loeb? Mmmm.... maybe an absolute writer: Aaron, Ewing, Lemire...?
1. Robin MB
  October 20, 2024
  Oh if it's Ewing I am down. I've loved everything he's done
  1. Victor Fuentes
    October 21, 2024
    Ah! After today post of Ram V.... maybe Ram V will take the Batman title in the middle of the two parts of the Loeb/Lee run???
    There are a few writers get the "upgrade" from Tec to Batman.
    1. Robin MB
      October 22, 2024
      Oh I don't really use social media, what did he post?
      1. Jackson Luken
        October 22, 2024
        Only that he's working on a "secret Batman project"
Kaingerc
October 20, 2024
first a sequel to 'Long Halloween' and now this?!
DC are really banking on name recognition for people to buy their comics, aren't they?!
1. sld
  October 20, 2024
  First *another* sequel to 'Long Halloween' and now this.
  It's not like anything else they've been doing has been working better for them. Sad, really.
  Want to bet H2SH (hurts my brain to type that) becomes a crossover event with other Bat books, derailing everything for months?
  1. Papa Grande ( formerly deevo)
    October 20, 2024
    I really hope it doesn't come to that. This was a fantastic classic story and it would be a shame if it got screwed up. My only hope is that at least the original creators are at the helm and not one of these newer, self-involved writers who don't seem to get characterization or really care about continuity
  2. thee Patriot
    October 20, 2024
    Maybe next they can do the Contagion story line or No Man's Land storyline :)
Mesmeric Atlas
October 20, 2024
Hush and Crossgen Comics reignited my enthusiasm for the medium. So, yes, I am up for it!
jrvc
October 20, 2024
welll, why not? I love Lee's art and Loeb has written some of my fave Batman stories, and I cherish the first Hush book. Hope it's good!
1. Papa Grande ( formerly deevo)
  October 20, 2024
  That would be a huge win for DC Comics. They need to rack up more of those.
Papa Grande ( formerly deevo)
October 20, 2024
THIS certainly has my attention. I wonder if they'll ever figure out a way to just bring back Alfred?
1. Rafeal
  October 29, 2024
  Wondering the same.. he should come back asap.
  1. Papa Grande ( formerly deevo)
    October 29, 2024
    At this point I'd accept any excuse...like Mephisto/Spider-man level excuse to bring back Alfred. It just doesn't work without the only guy who knew Bruce before the shots...like Sherlock without Watson or Kirk without Spock.
    1. Rafeal
      October 30, 2024
      Exactly. The impact of him not been there is worn out and they moved on but the hole he left is so big. I just don't like the idea of killing either bruce or someone close over and over again. They should just had him return in shadow wars for real. He is my favorite member in the batfamily. They should just downsize the family and bring him back. Batman works best solo just with alfred and oracle and the occasional help from the family.
      1. Papa Grande ( formerly deevo)
        October 30, 2024
        Have to agree there. Tom King needed to make a big shock mess so the fools in Editorial allowed it to happen. They have options. There is a living clone of Alfred introduced in All-Star, lazarus pits, time travel, imposter actors ( they used that to ressurect Aunt May in the 90s). I enjoy that Batman has a family, but Batman works alone or maybe ocassionaly with Robin. Every popular adapation of Batman uses this formula ( and ALWAYS takes advantage of Alfred...even in the darker Absolute Universe). I don't know why they aren't using common sense. Instead you have Batman getting his hand lopped off, being chased by another psycho toaster, bopped around the multiverse, made a fool of by Catwoman, emulating a webcomic family book and it goes on and on...I am certain the fans by and large want Alfred back. These days just giving the fans what they want seems to be revolutionary for comic publishers these days.
      2. Rafeal
        October 30, 2024
        Wouldn't mind a flashpoint kind of event that resets all the garbage done to batman and dc the last 10 years. That way we can undo the bad stuff and get alfred back. The best stories are when he is alone and alfred trying to talk so sense to him. The whole bat family thing is just not it. The occasional team up with dick or damian that's fine but I and many fans want batman to be bruce with alfred and a grounded bruce with the manor, batcave and money intact and including all the classics like arkham asylum, blackgate, the rogues etc. Everything that made batman awesome in the first place
AnonymousHero
October 22, 2024
Not really necessary to do IMO. I have Hush and the comic Batman: Hush Returns. So why is it necessary to do Hush 2? What is there left to say about it? Hush did what it needed to do when it first came out. Now they're attempting to milk a cow past its prime.
Hard pass.
amphiuma33
October 23, 2024
Snooooore...
Also, "H2SH" is just... incredibly silly. XD
Robin MB
October 23, 2024
I just had a thought. I'm surprised Jim Lee would even want to work with Loeb again what with the bigotry he displayed

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Jim Lee and Jeph Loeb returning to Batman for "Hush 2"

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