First off, I need to admit that I jumped into the issue without reading the last month’s Red Hood issue that started the storyline.  But this issue itself is split across a few fronts.  On one hand, you are getting flashbacks of the Outlaws, namely venom-enhanced Red Hood, attempting to take down a terrorist cell, where you get a recap of Starfire severely burning Roy.  We also get some glimpses of the drug addled and drug hunting Starfire.  The main portion of the plot, at least chronologically, is Oliver Queen showing up at the hospital to help Roy, in essence claiming that he will be bringing him home.
Positives
Lobdell may catch a lot of flack for his writing of the Teen Titans, but he does get Red Hood a lot better than most writers.  His monologues, long as they may be, do a solid job of capturing Jason’s voice.  I was also quite impressed by how well Starfire’s “drug trip” sequence was conveyed.  That may or may not be a direct result of there being only six speech bubbles total on the three pages given to her “drug trip”.  I did like the shot of Jason with all the venom near the end.
Negatives
Lobdell uses inner monologue to catch readers up to a definite fault.  I was actually annoyed by just how much it felt like he was recapping, and I hadn’t even read the parts he was recapping.  It got tedious fast.  In the same vein, there are just way too much inner monologue.  Across the six opening Red Hood pages, there were 43 monologue boxes.  No matter how well you nail an inner monologue, less is more.
Aside from the blonde hair, Oliver looks nothing like he does over in Green Arrow or in JLU. Â The difference is blatant to an aggravating degree. Â Putting a blonde guy in a suit does not make him Oliver Queen. Â If a character is a regular, sure make your own design. Â But cameos should have some similarities to at least on
e other concurrent version.
By the end of the issue, I was left realizing just how much almost happened.  We almost established if Roy was leaving.  We almost established something about Starfire and her current state, other than wanting drugs.  And we sent Red Hood to go hunt for someone.
The Verdict
Red Hood and the Outlaws #36 is an uneventful, overwritten installment featuring a lot of drugs, but not a lot of events.
