Outsiders

The Convergence books have the unenviable task of reintroducing old status quos, upending those status quos, introducing new status quos, then upending those upended status quos to introduce a fight. Mark Andreyko and Carlos D’Anda’s “Convergence: Batman and The Outsiders” #1 is one of the books that manages to handle that balance well, creating an issue that walks a line between ’80s and modern tones, which gives readers a glimpse at what these characters are doing now and how they’ve handled a Gotham City completely cut off from the world. Andreyko uses the dome as a reflection of each character and how it amplifies certain aspects of their personality. He jumps straight to the year anniversary of the dome, dispensing with the introduction of the construct, which helps the plot move forward quickly. This issue feels like a reunion on an old TV show special as the writer does a great job giving each character ample page time, forcing them to reevaluate their place in the world. F

Originally cancelled to clear publishing space for the “Flashpoint” titles (or so we’ve been told) this title now appears to be one of the first of the lame duck titles folding before the onslaught of a rebooted DC Universe. As such, that makes it the perfect time to reflect on team history, right? Normally, I’d agree, save the reflection in this issue comes at the expense of delivering a story that is worth the cover price. There are only ten pages that tell the story to be told in this issue, and Didio chooses to tell those stories with dialog boxes rather than through action or dialog. Plotlines and complications are shrugged off and Batman is set up as the greatest peace negotiator since Jimmy Carter. The other pages of the book are essentially “DC Universe” origins snippets, or maybe even cutting room floor tidbits from an “Outsiders: Secret Files & Origins” book that just never happened. While Philip Tan snatched the spotlight for a number of the more impactful pages, Ron

“The Outsiders” #39 feels like a comic not of its time. I’m not entirely sure if that’s a compliment or not, because some parts of the comic work and others do not. As a basic concept, the idea of two groups of Outsiders fighting one another is a strong, classic concept. It reminds me of old annuals where superhero teams were split in two and forced to fight lest a cosmic foe destroy the Earth. Those were always fun comics and a chance to see how your favorite heroes measure up against one another in a fight. Bringing that idea to this issue of “The Outsiders” should have made for an entertaining comic, but it’s dismissed so quickly that the prospect of superheroes fighting one another is nothing more than a tease. On one side are the Outsiders led by Geo-Force and, on the other, is the group led by Black Lightning. They’re fighting to influence/end the war in Markovia — exactly why isn’t made clear here and that lack of a reason is why the fighting stops so quickly with peace quickl

It’s been a long time since I took a look at “Outsiders,” so it seemed like as good a time as any to peek in and see what Dan DiDio and Philip Tan have done to this slightly marginal team of characters. After all, if you don’t have any of the “big guns” in your team book, the chance of getting away with big and bold stories is much greater, right? Unfortunately, what I found waiting for me was a big mess. It opens with what feels like a slight parody, as if someone re-dialoged the page to include lines like, “I don’t understand any of this,” and “I’m just as confused as you are.” But after dealing with a handful of pages that serve as awkward epilogue to another issue (“Hey, that person you were looking for? I heard she died a few months ago, sorry.”), the book suddenly shifts over to the Creeper. That’s where the book could’ve gotten interesting; with the focus on a single character, it could have allowed DiDio and Tan to provide a strong remaining two-thirds of an issue. Instead we

I left this book sometime during or slightly after the “Blackest Night” tie-in issues; it’s hard for me to remember when specifically, as the stories aren’t exactly memorable. I’d like to say the same for this issue, but this issue was bad enough to burn an imprint onto my short-term memory. So let’s get the good things out of the way: Pantazis’ colors are phenomenal. This book is all over the map, from a reconstituting Halo to a stomping Chemo. The range of hues and effects utilized in this book certainly gave Pantazis a challenge, and he rose up to exceed expectations. And that’s it. Didio’s story bounces all over the place, from the Metamorpho/Chemo bit that launches the story to Markovia, where Geo-Force is wringing his hands and twirling his virtual mustache to some weird demonic/succubus chick (who has a pet dog/tribute to DC’s Publicity Manager, Alex Segura, in tow) who attacks Jack Ryder for his seed. That’d be a fine enough plot if any of the characters had any depth about t