Though I'm a super-hero fan, I'm also a sucker for a good story from the bad guy point-of-view, whether it's the amiable mobsters of David Chase or Elmore Leonard or the career criminal hero of Richard Stark's novels. The Hood is a comic-book following an unrepentant career crook through his daily life, which takes a bit of an unusual twist when he steals himself some super-powers accidentally. The first issue is a strong offering, fleshing out the lead character to make him, if not likable, at least human enough to relate to, and it features a nice look at the seedier side of the Marvel Universe.
Parker, the lead character, is about as bad as they come. He cheats on his pregnant girlfriend with prostitutes, beats a man to death without a second thought (and steals his clothes) and lies with a casual ease. However, he seems to really love his girlfriend and his mother, he has a loyalty to his friend and while he may always take the easiest path, he doesn't come across as a monster. Vaughan walks a fine line between making the character too despicable to read about and too nice to believe as a crook, and the result is a very interesting protagonist for the series.
In addition, Vaughan offers up interesting insights into the world of these criminals. Their mixture of fear and respect for a costumed criminal who most super-hero readers would think of as second-rate at best gives us a good idea where they are on the food chain, and their reaction to a job offer from HYDRA is a darkly humorous take on how criminals always think there's someone out there worse than they are. I also liked that Parker has a quirk about stealing clothes from his victims, not only because it helps his "origin" make more sense but because it helps define the crueler side of his nature, just as the scenes with his girlfriend or his mother defines his human side.
I first noticed Kyle Hotz with his work on Incredible Hulk, and with his heavy Kelley Jones influence he's a perfect choice for the darkness of this book. Hotz (and Powell) capture the feel of the dark corners of alleys and smoky bars, and his exaggerated, stretched out design for the characters gives most of them a fairly sinister look. There's a distinctive look to go with the book's unusual point-of-view. And Haberlin turns in a phenomenal job on colors, a little brighter than I would have expected but still perfectly in keeping with the darkness and the shadows of the book.
These days, there are a whole lot of comics coming out that look at the criminal point-of-view, and The Hood looks like it could be one of the better ones. The addition of super-powers into the mix gives The Hood something that will help it stand out, and the creative team seems to really complement one another.
