Officer Hettinger Continues His Descent into Addiction and Corruption in THE BLACK HOOD #2

I finally picked up my copy of THE BLACK HOOD #2, the first title in Archie Comics' new Dark Circle line of comic books. I really enjoyed issue #1. We met Officer Gregory Hettinger, a Pittsburgh cop who interrupted a fight between the previous Black Hood and a bunch of thugs. Officer Hettinger managed to kill the Black Hood, but not before getting half of his face shot off. What followed was a dark story of one man's descent into depression and prescription drug addiction. He began stealing drugs from street criminals and then basking in the high while wearing the Black Hood's bloodied mask.

Nice guy, eh?

By the way...

This blog entry contains spoilers. If you don't want to know what happens in THE BLACK HOOD #2, then stop reading now. You have been warned.

I'm back...

I mentioned last time that Hettinger was much more sympathetic in his book than I'd previously envisioned from the preview interviews. He's much less sympathetic in Issue #2.

Hettinger spent much of this issue beating up and shooting drug dealers and then basking in his high. It didn't matter if he was wearing his mask or his badge. He was pretty hardcore. Of course, it makes it difficult to maintain a secret identity when you're the only cop with a massively scarred face. That said, I'm not sure if people have linked Hettinger and the Black Hood together yet.


Some big kingpin starts pulling strings amongst the crooked cops at the top of the police force and amongst his operatives to destroy Hettinger. This leads to a bit of collaboration, which ultimately leads to the very public arrest of Greg Hettinger... and his private vow of revenge against his enemies.


In case you think otherwise, I really like THE BLACK HOOD. We were never promised a warm and cuddly superhero when this title was originally announced. But it's still jarring to adjust to a title character who wears a blood-stained mask and beats up other junkies in order to steal their drugs.

I can't wait to see what happens next!

"The Bullet's Kiss Part Two" is written by Duane Swierczynski, penciled/inked by Michael Gaydos, lettered by Rachel Deering, and colored by Kelly Fitzpatrick.