When this series was announced, ‘Outsiders’ seemed a bit of a random title, a nod to a well-liked comic series to get people to try it. But with this issue it becomes clear that, actually, Luke Fox, Kate Kane and Drummer are Outsiders.
At least that’s what they become when Lucius Fox’s attempts to unlock the secrets of the Multiverse reap mindblowing rewards.
The construct freaks out the sentient Carrier craft found by Lucius and used by his team to detect the architecture of reality. ‘Continuity paradox detected!’ Lucius, Drummer, Luke and Kate are sucked upward, passing a phrase feared by comic fans everywhere.
As it happens, there are six issues to go, so we readers needn’t worry about that. It’s as confusing as heck to our heroes when they land in one of those Fifties-style towns that pop up regularly in fantastic fiction. Happily, one of the locals, a Mr Carson, is happy to enlighten them.
Is that Azrael, the heavenly hero who filled in for Aquaman in Grant Morrison and Howard Porter’s Justice League? It’s nice to see he’s been upskilled.
If you enjoy Easter eggs involving obscure heroes and heroines, writers Jackson Lanzing and Collin Kelly have the comic for you. An even-handed pair, they even throw in some of their own characters as we take a trip to ‘The Place Between Pages’, outside the DC Universe. This isn’t just a comic written by guys who loved the aforementioned Morrison’s Animal Man series, specifically the ‘Coyote Gospel’ issue created with artist Chas Truog. Nope, this is an often-confusing comic series opening up to reveal what it is, with an enriching of Lucius Fox’s role and a brilliant revelation about one of his three operatives.
Overuse of pretend sweariness aside, Kelly and Lanzing’s script is rather good, with the characters’ reactions to their potential prison believable. They’re aided by another excellent art job from ace storyteller Robert Carey. His environments and characterisations sell what is a very unusual issue, while colourist Valentine Taddeo balances the banality of ‘Gutterville’, with the extradimensional elements that intrude. At the more naturalistic end of things, the shafts of sunlight are especially effective.
And letterer Tom Napolitano lays out the words with his usual skill – I particularly like the aged look of the extracts from Drummer’s handbook.
Carey’s cover illustration, coloured by the talented Adriano Lucas, is a whimsical winner, hinting at the oddities inside.
If you’re a fan of DC continuity nonsense, as I am, you’ll likely lap this up. If you’re a longtime reader looking to see some old faces again, try this comic. If you’ve been following the Outsiders series, this is where things start coming together. I’m certainly heartened that halfway through the series it looks like the creators don’t just have a plan, they’re leaving enough room to enact it.
If you’ve read this issue I’d love to hear what you think of it. Especially if you’re fictional.
Too Dangerous For a Girl 2 
You’re tempting me….
Matthew Lloyd
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Hee
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I’m tempted by this review to actually read this issue because of Martin and his reviews. I do have issues three, four, and five but they’ve been firmly put in the TBR category because of how much I hated issue two and it’s very meanspirited take on the Challengers of the Unkown. That was right up there with the Mission Impossible movie franchise making the TV characters evil and traitors. I might just skip to this issue out of curiosity and then go back to pretending the series doesn’t exist.
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Don’t waste your money on this man. Lanzing and Kelly are so bad
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Bought, read, and not enjoyed?
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This is the worst comic being written right now and I’m not even sure it’s close. Batwoman deserves better than this god awful planetary reboot made by two horrible writers who never read planetary. Not my Jakita. Not my Planetary
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I suspect they have read Planetary, probably twice.
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As with all comics, this one has a tendency to take itself rather too seriously. It is, after all, only a comic. The self-referential irony of the ending is a bit much to take. “Market forces; cancellation”: WTF? But then again, the writers must be getting a bit bored of writing BAM! POW! WHAM!! all the time as superfists fly and superchins get knocked about a bit.
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I’m intrigued by the storyline, but I’m a comics continuity junkie. And thank you for the invitation.
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I’m intrigued by where this will go. I love a good metafictional story and it’s something pretty baked into DC from Earth Prime up, through stuff like Animal Man, that Azzarello Doctor 13 story, Doomsday Clock and more. I hope it’s tied to that issue of Planetary with the person from a fictional universe (the one dedicated to Grant Morrison) as I always felt that had some legs on it. Planetary was metafictional at its heart (the mission statement in the first issue was what other stuff is there out there other than superhero stuff that can build out a universe) so it makes this book feel a bit closer to that one, given that so far the archaeology concept hasn’t really shown up that much.
I kind of like that they use Batman characters but often poke at the idea that there are too many Batman books.
I have been reading the writers Star Trek book which I think they do a fantastic job on. I’m not sure they are really reaching their potential here yet, and perhaps this is because the characters here seem a bit shoehorned into the mission statement of the series that it feels a bit off at times. I imagine that the original premise might not feature both Foxes and Kate, but that commercial pressure dictates. I’d also suspect that there might be an Elijah Snow embargo in an effort not to tick off Ellis but who knows!
Still I’m happy to stick with the experiment much as I have done with other such series in the past and hope that it doesn’t just sink without trace once complete!
Also next issue 7 with the first significant death like Crisis – clearly intentional but I wonder whether it’s deeper than that?
Stu
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I wonder indeed. Thanks for the thoughtful comments, Stu. I wonder who might ah e been in the cast if the Bat-folk weren’t I there… I expect you’re right about them being added for commercial value. Maybe the Challengers were the original choice? Or I could see a few of the Night Force gang being in here. I like this game!
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