Clownhunter is one of the newest additions to the Bat-Family in DC Comics, and his perfect mentor is Red Hood. Bao Pham is a teenager from Gotham City who witnessed his parents' murder by the Joker, setting him on a course of vengeance characteristic of the Batman mythos. And while the character is set to be mentored by Ghost-Maker, there are a number of reasons why Clownhunter and Red Hood would be DC's next great Dynamic Duo, one of which lies in the art of comics lettering.
Besides his unique, punk rock-inspired costume, what differentiates Clownhunter from other members of the Bat-Family is that his dialogue and narration are all lettered in lowercase. That is, unlike virtually any other character in DC Comics, Clownhunter's words on the page aren't capitalized, lending an informal tone to his thoughts and speech that goes against common lettering practices in superhero comics. And while Clownhunter is the only member of the Bat-Family who is currently lettered this way, he isn't the first, as Jason Todd's Robin was also lettered in lowercase.
In 1988's Batman #415, by Jim Starlin, Jim Aparo, Mike DeCarlo, Adrienne Roy, and Agustin Mas, Jason Todd's Robin defies Batman's orders to stay out of harm's way, tracking down Scarecrow all on his own. Observing Scarecrow work in his lab, Jason's narration is lettered in lowercase, albeit with specific words capitalized for emphasis. This is an unusual creative choice, as none of the other Robins have had their narration lettered this way. Considering that Clownhunter and Red Hood already have similar goals as vigilantes, this lettering commonality unites them even further as two stubbornly independent heroes whose commitment to their cause puts them in danger.
The similarities between Clownhunter and Jason Todd's lettering places the former on a better path than Red Hood, as Clownhunter's lowercase lettering reminds readers that he is a child in a hyper-violent situation. On the other hand, Jason Todd's Robin was failed by Batman because his mentor never addressed the residual trauma his adopted son had previously experienced, nor did he ever think twice about bringing a child to violent crime scenes. Considering that Jason's dialogue was in uppercase, it's clear that he was expected to be seen with the same formality as adult vigilantes, while Clownhunter's consistent lowercase lettering makes his youth and inexperience an inescapable part of his story. For this reason, Clownhunter presents the chance for Jason Todd to be the mentor he never had when he was Robin.
Clownhunter and Red Hood both had their lives irreversibly changed by the Joker's violence, a fact that they could address by teaming up with each other. But beyond this fact, the creative choices that went into each character's lettering supports their collaboration, calling attention to the roles that children play in Batman-related stories. It is clear that Red Hood has no shortage of advice to give to a young vigilante like Clownhunter, experience that can be traced back several decades in comics history.