Longbox Junk - The Huntress

Apologies to readers of Longbox Junk for the delay between entries recently.  I work as the night manager of a hotel that gets EXTREMELY busy in the summer months, so I have less time to spend on comic books until school gets back in (I do these entries during my spare time at work).

THAT SAID. . .

Welcome to another Longbox Junk "Rescue Review"!  Those who have been reading a while know what this is about, for those who are new (WELCOME!), these are reviews I wrote under contract for a very well known comic site (that shall remain nameless) years ago. 

The site is less concerned with comics themselves and more with comic-related pop culture (mostly movies and T.V. shows) these days, so I've decided to "rescue" some of my work from their dusty archives and re-present them here at Longbox Junk (and to answer the question a few people have asked. . .yes, I got permission first.  They couldn't care less).

ANYWAY. . .

The comics at hand are sort of a strange thing.  They feature Huntress. . .a pretty popular supporting character in the "Batman Family" of comics (meaning comics that sort of orbit around Batman), but it's a version of Huntress that really hadn't been seen before or since. 

Huntress has always been an interesting character to me. . .sort of on the fringes of the Bat-Books as a slightly more violent member of the "family" than other, more familiar characters. . .but even so, Huntress still toed Batman's "Hero Line" of PG-13 "Kick 'em in the face, but no killing".

Her roots are in organized crime as the only survivor of a mafia family turned vigilante bent on taking down organized crime in Gotham.  I always saw her as sort of a female "Punisher-Lite", and that was pretty much how she was used in her own short-lived (19 issue) series. 

But in THIS series, DC fully embraced the darkest and most violent aspects of the character and went full-on "Mature Audiences" with a version of Huntress that is much less a fringe member of the Bat-Family and more of a deadly vigilante that would be right at home with Marvel's Punisher in his most violent moments. . .and then placed that unusual version of the character in a gritty, neo-noir crime story.

Let's take a look, shall we? We shall!

ORIGINAL INTRO:

Gritted teeth! Belts and pouches! Internal narration! Gigantic weapons! It must be the 90's!

This mini seems to have been part of DC's effort to "grim and gritty" things up a bit during the 90's. This version of The Huntress is less "Birds of Prey" superhero and more "Punisher" violent antihero. I'm not sure where it fits into DC continuity, but it looks like it's fairly early in Huntress' career. . .almost like a "Year One" story.  Let's do this!

On a re-read, I pretty much agree with the original review, so except for some pictures, a new intro and conclusion, and a bit of polish, I haven't changed things much from when it was first written.

THE HUNTRESS

DC (1994)

SCRIPTS: Chuck Dixon

PENCILS: Michael Netzer

COVERS: Michael Netzer

ISSUE 1

DARKER STILL

I really liked this first issue. The writer really gets into Helena's head with first-person thought captions narrating the story as she begins to work her way toward "The Smiling Man", who was one of the men responsible for the death of her entire family.

Standout moments were Helena's base. . .an empty building in the city wired for sound so it seems to be occupied, and a brief scene where it shows her struggling to maintain her secret identity as a teacher while jumping at every sound and touch.

This is a pretty dark and brutal comic, compared to other versions of The Huntress I've seen.

The art is also dark and brutal. DC found a pretty good Frank Miller copycat to do this book. Sometimes the art is a little hard to follow, but it pretty well captures the chaotic nature of The Huntress.

One thing I didn't like was how DC thought they just HAD to throw in a supervillain (Redzone. An armored powerhouse mercenary). Almost like they didn't trust their new Lady Punisher's story to stand on its own against the human darkness of organized crime that is her true enemy here. Other than that, a very strong start.

ISSUE 2

BREAKING COVER

Another great issue. If anything, more dark and brutal than the first. The Huntress' identity is compromised by a heartless cop and she finds herself pretty much forced to work with him in exchange for the identity of the man she's hunting.

There was a lot of what is the worst part of this series in this issue. . .the supervillain Redzone. Plus there's a side story about a small-time crook that breaks into Helena's base and is caught in a trap that doesn't seem to have much of a purpose beyond padding what is an extremely simple story about The Huntress working her way up a chain of lowlifes toward her target.

The art is still Miller-tastic in the way that only the 90's could be. As much as I don't think an armored supervillain belongs in this gritty organized crime story, at least the artist makes him look like a bad@$$.

Overall, a great second issue.  Fair Warning: Batman is featured on the cover, but is only on a couple of pages inside as part of a flashback to how Helena became The Huntress. . .

ISSUE 3

THE HARD PLACE

In the buildup to the final issue of what has been a pretty damn good mini, Huntress discovers that Redzone thinks she killed his brother. He has it all wrong, but doesn't give her time to tell him the truth.

Huntress also finds out that Holz (the crooked cop blackmailing her with her secret identity) has known where the "Smiling Man" she's been hunting has been the whole time and he's been using her like a chump to get closer to the big boss, Tony Bressi. The confrontation is some great neo-noir writing.

This issue was mostly fighting. . .with Redzone and with Bressi's thugs. There was some interesting scenes of Huntress on stakeout, but most of this one was setup for what is sure to be a dark and violent finish.

Didn't really like this one as much as the previous issues. Once again, the armored supervillain just doesn't belong in this simple story of revenge and betrayal.

ISSUE 4

Maelstrom

Almost everybody dies. Nobody wins. No happy ending.

Redzone confronts Huntress and dies trying to get revenge on the wrong person. Holz saves Huntress from Redzone and dies for nothing. "The Smiling Man" is caught in the crossfire and dies, denying Huntress her revenge.

Like I said. . .nobody wins. Except the reader. The reader wins. I'm sort of sad that this gritty, neo-noir version of Huntress only lasted 4 issues.  I really think they were on to something good here.

CONCLUSION

Supervillain nonsense aside, I really wish DC had stayed with this gritty "Lady Punisher" version of The Huntress. It would have made a great Vertigo title, in my humble opinion.

I have to say that this is a great little hidden gem. It made me ask the question, "Why the hell is there a supervillain in my gritty crime story?", but other than that, a pretty damn good read.

BONUS: I didn't notice this before, but the covers together form one big picture. Nice!

Overall, I highly recommend this mini for anyone who might enjoy a dark superhero-flavored  neo noir crime story.  The art is a bit "love it or hate it", but in my humble opinion, this is probably the best Huntress story I've read.

2019 CONCLUSION UPDATE

On a re-read of this series while scanning covers etc. for this "Rescue" of the original review, I still stand by my original humble opinion of this being probably the best Huntress story I've read.  

It's somewhat surprising to me that this story exists at all.  It takes a pretty mainstream character and drops her WAY down into the darkness of addiction to violence and PTSD, and THEN Chuck Dixon breaks the superhero mold and gives us an ending where nobody wins.  The Huntress in this series is a mental wreck, and even when she finally has the chance for her revenge, nothing changes. 

Yeah, Huntress is wearing a purple bikini.  Yeah, Batman makes a cameo.  Yeah, there's an armored supervillian.  But underneath the trappings of superhero comic expectations, there's a dark and gritty neo-noir organized crime story about revenge, betrayal, and the emptiness in the heart of a broken woman.

I acknowledged the 90's-Tastic Frank Miller-inspired artwork in the original review as being a bit "love it or hate it" in nature, but on a re-read I think that this series wouldn't have the same feel without it, and that the dark, strange artwork is the perfect compliment to the dark and brutal nature of the story. 

 One thing that I noticed on the re-read that I DIDN'T acknowledge in the original review is the fantastic coloring!  I really have to give credit to Pat Garrahy on colors.  Take a look at even the few pages I scanned above. . .the pops of color against the dark, heavy inks and backgrounds REALLY bring the art to life.

Overall, I found this short series to be a surprisingly good read.  The art may be a little hard on the eyes for those who prefer more "traditional" comic art, but I really enjoyed the unusual version of The Huntress presented here and find it a shame that DC didn't keep going with it.

Up Next. . .

More Longbox Junk!

With an advance apology for the inevitable summertime delays. . .

Be there or be square!