Being a Batman comic fan who has read a number of Batman arcs, it is utter shame for me not to have read the Death in the Family storyline. All I knew was that Jason Todd who was then the Boy Wonder died at the hands of the Joker. So minus that, I've only read three Batman stories with him in it: Hush (he was kinda in it), Scott Snyder's New 52 Batman and this, Under the Hood.
If there's one word I can say about this arc written by Judd Winick, it is balanced. Under the Hood Vol. 1 has the right amount of action, drama, dialogue and interesting characters that kept me engaged and entertained. Just to show you some comparison, with say Hush. Sure it was a great story with tons of action and interesting plot points. The problem is, it is saturated with so much characters that many of them were not really given the appropriate amount of screen time. It felt dense many times that Hush required a more focused reading than usual to fully absorb it. Under the Hood on the other hand unfolds itself in a more casual way, allowing the readers to sit back and slouch in couches while still enjoying reading it.
Another thing I enjoyed with this volume is the way they have made use of lower-tiered/less known characters enjoyable to see, there's Amazo who is there for the actions, Onyx and Black Mask who was the story's one of the two main antagonists and comic relief. Oh yes, Under the Hood has a couple of funny moments, just enough to counter the emotional weight it carries. Such a weight becomes heavier at the end, where the sure, full of ego, calculated Batman starts to have feelings of doubt, and maybe even self-blame.
Under the Hood is definitely the best Jason Todd story post-Death in the Family. If there is better than this, I would have known it.