A Sense of Doubt blog post #3694 - Batman - HUSH 2 - Reviews - Comic Book Sunday for 2503.30

A Sense of Doubt blog post #3694 - Batman - HUSH 2 - Reviews - Comic Book Sunday for 2503.30

I read this issue -- Batman #158 [Legacy 923] Hush-2 pt.1 -- soon after it came out as it's one of the comics in my subscription out here in Vancouver/Portland, so I don't have to wait for the arrival of my shipment from Michigan.

I was not impressed with it.

And so in my planned weekend relaxation couch reading time, I re-read the original Hush.

It seems to me that the principal strength of the original was the igniting of the Batman-Catwoman romance for real: "I kissed her," Batman repeats multiple times.

The story well emphasizes the romantic hero that Batman represents with not just Catwoman but Talia Al Ghul, Poison Ivy, Lois Lane (with whom he flirts), and to a lesser extent Harley Quinn. Batman is the great unrequited lover, someone just in reach of many interested women and yet out of reach. His cover stories for late nights, Bruce Wayne's womanizing, are rarely true stories, and though Bruce Wayne has had a few non-costumed lovers (Vickie Vale, Vesper Fairchild, Jezebel Jet, among others), mostly these women with whom he is romancing all night long are fictions to explain Bruce Wayne's absence at places where he is expected (and sometimes explaining his injuries).

SEE HERE: https://screenrant.com/best-batman-love-interests-dc-comics-history/

Prior to Hush in 2002, Batman had flirted with Catwoman, there was sexual tension, but nothing ever happened. Similarly, he had been controlled by Poison Ivy and her plants, but he had always escaped; we were not to believe that Poison Ivy had romantic aspirations with Batman. And even Bruce Wayne had a thing with Harley Quinn for a time (see the link above) but that was a different universe.

Hush did several things with the Batman mythos that had not been done before or had not been done in much depth or developed in much complexity.

Before Hush, we knew very little of Bruce Wayne's childhood years, especially BEFORE his parents were killed. The iconic story of the movie night out to see Zorro, and the tragic murders that he witnessed and yet escaped being the third victim were the central story and very little else was known. Here, Loeb/Lee/Williams introduces childhood best friend Tommy Elliot, which seemed more back story than anything, an explanation for introducing a surgeon who saves his life after he is fatally wounded. Not sure when I tumbled that Tommy Elliot was Hush and that the story line was named for the secret villain who would from then on be known as Hush. But in my re-read, I knew, so I cannot trace if the "reveal" held until it was delivered or if I guessed sooner. After all, I first read it 23 years ago.

But the introduction of a new villain with a complex history was significant, and it was a draw to new and old readers. Who was Hush? What was he after?

Anytime, Poison Ivy uses her powers to mind control and compel people to do her bidding, I am there for it. That story trope is extremely alluring, and I love it. It even works with Catwoman, but it really worked great with Superman. And here, we get to see Batman use his kryptonite ring and fight Superman, which has always been a fan favorite moment.

Other characters were part of some master plot by the unknown villain involving Killer Croc, the Riddler, Scarecrow, Clayface, and the Joker. Many other characters make excellent cameos, such as the aforementioned Talia Al Ghul, her father, Robin (Tim Drake), Leslie Thompkins, Nightwing, Oracle, Huntress, Lex Luthor, Lois Lane, and more.

From the launch, the original Hush integrated into the current DC universe of the time seamlessly and featured an all-star cast, a great mystery, and the romantic bombshell of not just Batman kissing Catwoman, but the start of a relationship in which he reveals his identity, especially after a tense and sexy opera performance in which Bruce Wayne sits with Selina Kyle. He know who she is; she doesn't know who he is.

Loeb was one of the hottest writers in the industry, and Jim Lee was arguably THE artist in the industry, especially after his run on X-Men. And as the forward for the Hush hardcover reminds us, he holds the record for the most copies of a single comic ever sold (up to 2003) at 8.2 million! The Internet tells me that this record holds today, still.

Hush has become one of Batman's most iconic villains of all time, and the Bat-Cat romance is still playing out in the current comics. 

And so, there was great anticipation for Hush-2 with original team of Jeff Loeb, Jim Lee, Scott Williams, and Alex Sinclair.

And then I read the first issue.

And it was so contrived!

Even Jim Lee's art did not seem nearly as sharp and eye-popping as it did in 2002-03.

I happen to agree with the reviews I posted below.

The writing seems stuck in 2002 and seems plotted by someone who has not kept up with Batman since.

I have to say that last year about this time I dropped Batman from my comics subscription. I had to save money due to loss of income, and I was thoroughly under-whelmed by Chip Zdarksy's run. Don't get me wrong. I like a lot of Zdarsky's work. But the Batman stuff dragged on and on and leaned into the obsessive Batman while neglecting Bruce Wayne, which is a mistake too many Batman writers have made.

Batman is more than an obsessive, paranoid Dark Knight of his own personal brand of justice as summed so succinctly in a line from The Dark Knight Returns: 

The grim and gritty Dark Knight that Miller so popularly redefined in the late 1980s and creators have been chasing ever since to jump on that band wagon and ignore what makes the Batman-Bruce Wayne character work: relationships.

One of the smartest things DC has ever done is the comic Batman Family (and Superman Family).

Granted, the main characters are the main event. Far more fans, especially occasional fans, name Batman as their favorite hero over Superman. Though Deadpool and Wolverine have gained enormous popularity, Batman is probably the single most popular superhero character (and the best known) in all of comics.

The Internet says Spider-Man as of a poll in 2024, but that's mostly based on the movies. Another poll taken at a date unknown names Batman.

Even if clickbait Internet sites disagree, Batman is surely top five, if not number one.

FROM WATCH MOJO

• #8: Green Lantern. ...
• #7: Captain America. ...
• #6: Wonder Woman. ...
• #5: Iron Man. ...
• #4: Wolverine. ...
• #3: Superman. ...
• #2: Spider-Man. ...
• #1: Batman. It was a tough decision, but taking the top spot is the Dark Knight.

But there's different audiences.

Many audiences of casual fans, mostly fans of movies, just want that spine-shattering Batman of grim and grit. They care less about his relationship with Robin, Catwoman, and Poison Ivy. They want to see him do hardcore cool shit as  the Dark Knight, extreme violence in the name of justice, frightening encounters with the psychotic Joker in shadowy Gotham alleys or abandoned circuses rather then see Bruce Wayne flirt with Lois Lane to get information while Superman in his Clark Kent alter ego fumbles with pens and spills coffee all over Lane's desk.

But for long time fans, they hunger for more. They want the relationships. And the relationships do not exist without Bruce Wayne, Batman's "human" side.

Bruce Wayne is who keeps Batman from being a psychotic violence machine. And Batman needs Bruce Wayne to go places and do things Batman cannot.

For years, hardcore Batman fans (those who read all the comics) yearned for Batman to recognize Dick Grayson as his SON and not just a "ward" for whom he was a guardian in a perplexing decision by the publishers, probably harking back to a time (1940 after all) when single men did not "adopt" young boys without being branded as homosexuals (then seen as a sexual deviance by the culture at large) at best and sexual abusers at worst.

So when recent creators have Batman call Dick his son (and Jason, and Tim), when they have Dick and Barbara Gordon finally consummate their long-standing flirtations and it's not a one-nighter, it's a committed relationship, when Bruce Wayne gathers the entire "family" together for Thanksgiving dinner or to mourn the death of dear old Alfred, these are the things long-time fans live for, these are the things that sell comics, these are the moments that show that the creators know the history, know the characters, and pay off on that history in these special moments.

I recently read DCeased, the zombie series, written by Tom Taylor, and he had so many of these moments packed into that series as well as being responsible for many of these character-relationship moments I just mentioned in the actual canon of Batman mythology.

And though DC chose not to have Batman and Catwoman get married in the main universe (though they have in other universes), the story persists and the romance is real and the character interactions are manna on which the long-time fans feed, as I described here:

Sunday, December 31, 2023

A Sense of Doubt blog post #3239 - Batman 36-37 - Back to the Tradition - COMIC BOOK SUNDAY FOR NYE 2023

Two of my favorite Batman comics EVER.

It's not just a Batman show. What makes it all work is the supporting cast. It's all soap opera, which runs on the fuel of large casts.

IT'S ALL ABOUT THE FAMILY.

This new Batman comic does try to pull on some of the large cast, much like the original Hush, but it starts in a way that suggests that nothing has happened to Batman in the last 23 years of our time (shorter in his time). The story makes no attempt to connect to recent events, which though Zdarsky's run I found hard to follow, Batman just survived a major crisis of identity as well as losing his fortune and manor (though then maybe got them back? I am not sure).

But look how it starts:

"It seems like yesterday"?

Is that Loeb's way of saying that he's ignoring all the Batman developments of the last 23 years?

And then that's emphasized by Batman claiming that he was called to this scene by THEN Captain Jim Gordon, so not even Commissioner Gordon (which I think he was in 2002)  and not now as he is no longer even with the police force as seen in recent comics in which he was charged with murder while working as a private detective.

And Joker's clown goons dumping Joker smiling piranha, "poison" piranha, into the Gotham water reservoir.

Really?

Staring at the first page, I was actually wondering if this really was written by Jeff Loeb. But on faith for a writer who I know is talented, I keep reading.

Okay, this is now but reminds Batman of then?

Joker repeating an old crime?

No context. No connection to recent events. And something really uninteresting as a narrative hook.

Wha...?

Joker clocks Batman in the cowl with a crow bar?

And calls him "Bat-Brain"? Have we been transported to 1966?

And the lame explanation for Batman getting knocked into the piranha-infested water in which he is bitten through is KEVLAR SUIT to bleed and go unconscious is that the protection systems that either tear gas or electrocute assailants who attempt to remove his cowl -- tech first introduced in the original Hush -- malfunctioned because the Joker, PURPOSEFULLY, hit the cowl just right with the crow bar.

And he got the drop on Batman coming out of the back of the truck that Batman did not look in? Did not check his six?

This gaff on Batman's part mirrors comments in the reviews below for things he does later in the comic, stupid things Batman would not do.

Plot-contrivances.

Did Jim Lee draw the bleeding and unconscious Batman in the water surrounded by piranha first, and so Loeb had to write Batman into that situation and chose a really stupid way to do it?

Batman is not stupid. And so my suspension of disbelief is blown.

The writing is clipped and aping that grim and gritty Dark Knight of no personality and no humanity made famous by Miller, when it worked and gave Batman depth because it was in contrast to how he had been and it had not been done before.

But here, now, with all the hype, it just falls flat.

The story improves somewhat with the introduction of Hush's henchman or ally (no context yet and that's okay) to capture the Joker, and we see Hush observing.

Lee's art up to this point is not as impressive as the original Hush, and its origin memories and take down of a Chilean Mercenary to save a boy.

This ally, whose name is apparently "Silence," looks like something out of John Byrne comic.

Also, in the lead up to the title page, some of the renderings of the Joker as he attacks Batman are so void of detail it's hard to believe that Lee drew them.

For me, Lee's art locks in on the next page with his signature line work and variations on traditional multi-panel pages (here six) in a scene in which Batgirl and Nightwing identify that Batman is in jeopardy.

Cut back to Batman where a woman has pulled him out of the water, and we are back to the very sexy teases of the original Hush. Lee's art work is at its best here.

Even though semi-conscious Batman mistakes the dripping wet woman for Selina, we soon learn it is Talia Al Ghul who has been tailing Batman because she cannot abide the father of their child dying. Um... so she is always tailing him? Really?

Or it's just coincidence since she came to visit Damian.

But the writing here is awful.

The narration from Batman's mind is banal at best and completely unnecessary at worst.

He really would think who she is just to let the reader know?

Why would he think the Joker has been taken and she would know? Or is he asking if the Joker is still an active threat?

Cut to Hush torturing the Joker, which some reviewers liked, but I think is more gratuitous extreme violence showcasing that these creators are serious with the toys in the Batman toy chest and may break some of them. And we have no idea why Hush is torturing the Joker to death.

Cut back to the Bat Cave, Batman has donned an older suit with the yellow logo as he repairs the one the piranha demolished and as he muses on how that all happened.

It's more back-fill plot contrivance to explain how he needed saving by Talia and almost drowned but not how he failed to check the truck and so the Joker hit him in the head with a crow bar. 

That's just stupid.

And then Batman does another stupid thing as one of the reviewers below critiques.

A huge overreaction. Batman is reeling and behaving like an amateur. Not like Batman.

And again the writing is just... bad.

Back to an abandoned circus. Really?

Are there any abandoned amusement park/circuses outside cities in the U.S.?

Batman finds the Joker near-death and realizes that Hush has returned.

Yawn.

Could this be more lame?

Critic consensus via COMIC BOOK ROUND UP (links below) was 7/10 and user rating was 6.6/10.

I share the two worst reviews below that are 4.5 and 4 out of ten respectively.

I also shared the concluding blurb of a review giving this comic an 8.6/10. Um... NOPE.

On the occasional though inconsistent strength of Lee's art, I give it a 3.9/10.

Of course, I am a comic book nerd, so I will keep reading, though I may not catch all the cross-over issues until they are available in the DC Universe subscription or when collected if I choose to buy the  volume.

Will there be big narrative moments like the Catwoman-Batman kiss, like Poison Ivy controlling Superman and Batman has to beat him up, like Batman seriously injured and saved by his childhood friend and surgeon interspersed with memories of their friendship as children?

I have serious doubts that anything like that will be featured in this money-grab series.

On a side-note, I had worried that I had lost my critical edge and that I just liked everything.

Um.... NOPE.

Thanks for tuning in.

Scroll on for the reviews I mentioned.

COPY PASTE THIS LINK if it does not take you to reviews page:

https://comicbookroundup.com/comic-books/reviews/dc-comics/batman-(2016)/158

Here's a non-hyperlink version:

https://comicbookroundup.com/comic-books/reviews/dc-comics/batman-(2016)/158



https://www.comicbookrevolution.com/batman-158-hush-review/

Batman #158 “Hush 2” Review

By Kevin Lainez / March 26, 2025

20+ years later and Batman: Hush has become an iconic storyline for a franchise filled with legendary comic book stories. That said, I never expect us to get an official sequel from the Jeph Loeb and Jim Lee epic. Not because of us possibly never seeing this creative team again, but rather due to having already had many follow-up stories since the original Hush storyline. That includes great stories like Heart of Hush and House of Hush that acted as direct sequels. With so many follow-up stories that have taken place it does create the question as to what Loeb and Lee can do with a Hush sequel? Let’s find out with the start of this Hush 2 storyline in Batman #158.

CREATIVE TEAM

Writer: Jeph Loeb

Artist: Jim Lee

Inker: Scott Williams

Colorist: Alex Sinclair

Letterer: Richard Starkings

BATMAN #158 SOLICITATION

“THE HOTLY ANTICIPATED SEQUEL TO THE SMASH-HIT STORYLINE! Jeph Loeb! Jim Lee! An all-new epic saga begins here. Hush returns!” – DC Comics

REVIEW

If Batman #158 accomplishes nothing else it accomplished being a comic that does feel like a direct follow up of 2002’s Batman: Hush storyline. The emphasis is really on this comic book, for better or worse, reading like something out of 2002. While I am all for nostalgia, and go back to read stories from various decades, the narrative approach Jeph Loeb and Jim Lee take makes the start of this Hush sequel stuck in the past. There’s never a point that this felt like Hush’s return is what is next for both the lead villain and the Batman franchise as a whole.

The biggest thing that is noticeable out of the gate is how Loeb’s writing style has not evolved. It is the same Loeb writing style from decades ago. That could have a certain charm if done right but Loeb just does not do that. The reason Loeb isn’t able to hit a good balance between nostalgia and progressing forward is that Batman never sounds right. Both in Bruce Wayne’s inner monologue and dialogue, Loeb’s writing at all times comes across as that once he has not read a new comic since finishing writing Batman #619 in 2003.

There are many examples of Loeb’s stuck in his ways. The opening sets that tone with how Batman goes about explaining what appears to be Joker using an old plan. The entire writing of the inner monologue just feels like forced exposition. That then continues with how Loeb has Bruce explain to the reader who Talia al Ghul is. There is absolutely no flow to the writing because of the narrative choices taken.

That unfortunately continues whenever Batman is on screen and Loeb writes his inner monologue. Every single thing that is said in the inner monologue boxes feels forced.

Not helping things whatsoever is that when Oracle and Nightwing tell Bruce that their comms are compromised what is his response? Angrily lock things down and go after Joker without thinking twice. The whole rush to find Joker makes Batman just look stupid as he is not actually thinking things through. Which circles back to how he was easily defeated by Joker at the beginning of the issue through a sneak attack. There are just so many errors that Bruce makes that leave you confused if this is the Dark Knight.

Joker is equally written in the most generic way possible. Though there isn’t much to his presentation as he gets captured by Hush’s new partner, Silence. But what we do get in terms of Joker in this issue is what is expected when giving someone the Joker character to write for the first time without any sort of knowledge.

The only slight positive that there is when it comes to Loeb’s writing is that he does accomplish getting Hush back to being a menacing villain. What Hush does to torture is very well done. Though this is more credit to Jim Lee’s artwork than it is Loeb’s writing. Because it Loeb gets very repetitive quickly with how Hush taunts Joker.

This all leads to Batman #619 feeling like it was a 10-page prelude chapter that was stretched to 20-pages. The content is just not here to feel like a true kick off to the next big Batman storyline. This is just an average at best start to what is just “another Batman story.”

Because of how below average the writing is Jim Lee’s artwork throughout this comic book is not at the level you expect. There is a lot of the classic Lee art style here. But there is something lacking when it comes to certain details that are expected from Lee. That said, the artwork is still very good. And Lee’s artwork does get progressively better with each passing page. The last few pages in particular is more of what is expected from a Jim Lee drawn comic book.

FINAL THOUGHTS

Batman #158 is not the exciting kickoff to the Hush sequel that was expected. Jeph Loeb’s writing is so stuck in the past that he goes with the most basic approach with how characters are presented. This comic book reads like Loeb is letting his name and the fact this is a sequel to a iconic story to carry narrative. This lack of refinement in the writing impacts even Jim Lee’s artwork that is not as detailed or dynamic as it has been. With so many quality comics right now, both within the DC Universe and Absolute Universe, this Hush sequel fails to present itself as the premiere story all Batman fans should be reading.

Story Rating: 2 Night Girls out of 10

Art Rating: 7 Night Girls out of 10

Overall Rating: 4.5 Night Girls out of 10

https://thebatmanuniverse.net/batman-158-comic-book-review/

Batman #158
Written By: Jeph Loeb
Art and Main Cover: Jim Lee
Variant Covers: Jim Lee, J. Scott Campbell, Gabriele Dell’Otto, Dan Mora, Tony S. Daniel, Sean Murphy, Lee Bermejo, Simone Di Meo
Page Count: 32 pages
Release Date: March 26, 2025

 

This comic book review contains spoilers 

 

The Story  

Batman #158 finds the Joker on the loose again, repeating old tricks like poisoning Gotham’s reservoir and filling it with laughing fish. When the Joker kicks Batman into the lake, Batman activates his cowl’s electrifying failsafe to kill the deadly fish before Talia Al Ghul rescues him. Meanwhile, a hulking figure named “Silence” and none other than Hush himself kidnap the Joker. Hush tortures him by forcing a nightmarish dental device into his mouth, strapping him to a spinning wheel of death, and hurling knives at him like a circus performer—except every blade lands.  

Back in the cave, Batman discovers that someone has compromised his suit’s circuitry and the Bat-family’s communication signal. He warns Nightwing and Batgirl (Barbara) before cutting contact. Using forensic traces from the Joker’s shoe, Batman tracks him to an old fairground—one longtime readers may recognize. There, he finds the Joker still tied to the wheel, surrounded by television screens projecting his past atrocities. Batman knows only one person could orchestrate this: his old childhood friend, Thomas Elliot.  

 

Why THIS story? 

The first comic I ever read was Batman #608. I was around six years old, and it completely captured my imagination, sparking a lifelong passion for the art form. I’m not alone—since its publication, the original Batman: Hush storyline has become one of the best-selling and most highly regarded Batman stories of all time. Yes, it has its detractors, especially in recent years, but no one can deny its impact on the industry or its ability to captivate thousands of young fans like myself.  

Flash forward to last October, when DC announced that after 23 years, the original creative team of Jeph Loeb and Jim Lee would reunite for a direct sequel.  

The response was… muted. Jeph Loeb and Jim Lee are comic book royalty, and any project from them should generate excitement. But why this story? Why now? Loeb has stayed busy with his recent Long Halloween revival, but as DC’s president and chief creative officer, Jim Lee hasn’t done interior Batman work in years. The last notable example I can recall is a backup story in Detective Comics #1000, and before that, All-Star Batman in the mid-2000s. It’s been a long road to this moment, so I hoped they had a story worth telling—not just a marketing ploy to slap big names on a cover and coast on nostalgia.  

It’s odd that a Hush sequel beginning in Batman #158 would bring them back together, considering how self-contained the original felt—and how many sequels (Heart of Hush, for one) have already followed it. But despite my reservations, I wanted to keep an open mind. These are some of my favorite creators, after all.  

 

Analysis

Like Batman #608, Batman #158 mostly teases what’s to come. Hush is back to playing mind games, using the Joker as his pawn. Right away, I get the sense this is aimed at new or old-returning readers rather than monthly regulars. This is a Joker story, no different from countless others we’ve seen before, and Loeb and Lee cram in as much fan service as possible—though it’s all surface-level. We get the laughing fish, the Killing Joke fairgrounds, Jason Todd’s crowbar beating—all just empty nostalgia. It’s unclear how big a role the Joker will play in the wider story, but I hope he’s just a hook to lure readers in and not another excuse for DC’s tired “Why won’t Batman kill the Joker?” dialectic. Or whatever depraved absurdity they’ve used to prop the character up in recent years.

With the caveat that Lee’s work in the original Hush ranks in my top three favorite artist showcases in all of comics, I have to admit I’m disappointed by what we get in Batman #158. The Jim Lee of 2025 is very different from the Jim Lee of 2002. Back then, he was fresh off legendary runs on Chris Claremont’s X-Men and WildC.A.T.s, at the absolute peak of his craft. DC gave him an unprecedented offer to take on their flagship character with their top writer—his first major project for the company. If you haven’t revisited the original Hush in a while and think this new project looks the same, I urge you to flip through those old issues. What Lee accomplished in that 12-issue run was remarkable.  

Now, Lee returns with nothing left to prove. He’s had major successes at every comic publisher, served as DC’s chief creative officer for seven years, and describes this return to Batman as an exercise to “see if [he] still has it.” If that’s the benchmark, then yes, he still has skill—especially considering his workload. This issue looks fine, but it doesn’t recapture the magic of Hush.  

A side-by-side comparison makes the gap obvious. The original Hush endures not just because of Lee’s name or his X-Men-era cross-hatching, but because of its bold, cinematic execution—Scott Williams’ inks, Alex Sinclair’s colors, the page layouts, and even the sound effects elevated it to a level rarely seen in other comics. The lines were clean, the staging was dramatic.  

Batman #158 sees Lee adopting a rougher, sketchier style, channeling Frank Miller more than Neal Adams. It’s not entirely new for him—he experimented with a bulkier, Miller-esque Batman in a pinup for Legends of the Dark Knight #50 back in the ‘90s. Whether or not you like this shift is subjective.  

Even Batman’s “new” suit is just… the old Neal Adams one with the golden oval. Don’t get me wrong, I love that suit, but like DC’s “new” logo, it reflects the company’s current trend for it’s mainline publications: playing it safe. That sums up most of the choices in this issue—safe.  

But regardless of what you think of his Batman, the iconic compositions of the original Hush are simply missing here. The action feels chaotic and disjointed, Sinclair overuses monochrome color, and Williams’ inks amplify the disorder. The whole thing looks rushed—and worst of all, uninspired.  

At least Lee brought back the Bat-beard, so that’s something.

 

Final Thoughts 

One of the most iconic teams in comics has returned, but this first issue doesn’t feel like a story either was burning to tell. It feels tired, like they’re going through the motions. Here’s hoping it’s just a slow start.

https://nerdinitiative.com/2025/03/26/batman-158-a-dynamic-duo-makes-you-say-hush/

OVERALL GRADE: 8.6

Loeb and Lee return to Gotham City with a superb debut installment. Loeb’s writing constructs a layered chess match. Lee, Williams and Sinclair put on an incredible display of storytelling with their art. It covers up some of the foretelling plots. Readers will have much to discuss with this chapter.

Um........ no.




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- Bloggery committed by chris tower - 2503.30 - 10:10

- Days ago: MOM = 3559 days ago & DAD = 214 days ago

- New note - On 1807.06, I ceased daily transmission of my Hey Mom feature after three years of daily conversations. I post Hey Mom blog entries on special occasions. I post the days since ("Days Ago") count on my blog each day, and now I have a second count for Days since my Dad died on August 28, 2024. I am now in the same time zone as Google! So, when I post at 10:10 a.m. PDT to coincide with the time of Mom's death, I am now actually posting late, so it's really 1:10 p.m. EDT. But I will continue to use the time stamp of 10:10 a.m. to remember the time of her death and sometimes 13:40 EDT for the time of Dad's death. The blog entry numbering in the title has changed to reflect total Sense of Doubt posts since I began the blog on 0705.04, which include Hey Mom posts, Daily Bowie posts, and Sense of Doubt posts. Hey Mom posts will still be numbered sequentially. New Hey Mom posts will use the same format as all the other Hey Mom posts; all other posts will feature this format seen here.