Inside the Outsiders

When Batman and the Outsiders debuted in the 1980s, it quickly became one of my favorite comics to read every month. The concept was brilliant: take a superhero that is well-established and everyone loves, have him leave the Justice League where he's been forever and was a charter member, and then have him start his own superteam with a bunch of misfits and unknowns. Not only did we get more Batman every month (besides his regular self-titled book and Detective Comics), but now we got to become involved with these minor characters that had interesting backgrounds and storylines of their own: Geo-Force, Katana, Halo, Black Lightning, and Metamorpho. The friendship between Katana and Halo was unique in that they had such different personalities, and the tie between the Outsiders' Geo-Force and Teen Titans' Terra was fantastically engineered. Later, the team is joined by the mysterious Looker who stirs things up between the team members, especially between Halo and Katana when she horns in on their friendship by befriending the innocent Halo.

After Batman leaves the team, though, the Outsiders became less interesting to me. Not because of Batman's departure so much as the writing and stories seemed to plummet. Not surprisingly, the book was cancelled soon after. Revivals of the Outsiders were attempted over the years, but never with Batman. In fact, once, Nightwing (from the Teen Titans, and the former Robin) became their leader with a totally new group of Outsiders. I wasn't reading comics during this period, so I can't really comment on the revivals.

However, when DC Comics decided to revive the Batman and the Outsiders concept in 2007, I thought, "Yea!" Sadly, it's been kind of lame, with the worst blow being Batman leaving the team AGAIN, this time because he "died." I continued reading the series, though, because...well, I don't know. I guess I'm a bit nostalgic, and I just felt sorry for them.

Having just read Outsiders 23-25, though, I have to say that they're getting back on track. We begin to see more of their individual personalities and character interactions again. It also doesn't hurt that the events in these issues tie in with DC's crossover Blackest Night event and feature the (dead) Terra coming back to haunt Geo-Force and play with his emotions. These are the Outsiders I know and love.

The prospect of DC Comics' Senior Vice President/Executive Editor Dan Didio taking over the writing duties with the next issue (issue #26) intrigues me, especially since it looks like he's having Superman join the team. This concept harkens back to the days when the original Outsiders were created ("take a superhero that is well-established and everyone loves, have him leave the Justice League where he's been forever and was a charter member, and then have him start his own superteam"). Let's hope he can deliver and make the Outsiders one of my favorites again!

P.S. just please take the Creeper off the roster. He is one of the most annoying characters in the DC Universe. Thank you.

Congrats, Matt Camp!

It's great to see that DC Comics is using Matt Camp again for a regular series. With Supergirl #47, he rejoins the DC family. After the Infinity Inc. reboot was cancelled, I was sad to see his stunning art disappear from DC Comics titles. Congrats, Matt!

Titans...Together?

The New Teen Titans was my favorite comic book in the '80s. I loved everything about it -- the stories by Marv Wolfman, the art by George Perez, the relatable characters, the character development, the relationships between the characters, the villains, and on and on. So when DC Comics decided to band the original team back together in 2008 into a new Titans comic, I was all for it. Many said that it was just DC trying to capitalize on nostalgia without providing any substance to the comic or giving it much marketing. And they were right.

The first year of issues rehashed several storylines that I felt I had read and re-read several times before like "Raven's Demonic Father Trigon Tries to Take Over the World" and "Jericho Gone Bad. Again. For, like, the 12th time. No, really. Those Titans are such SUCKERS." Sigh...I felt duped. And taken advantage of. And I felt that the Titans had been wronged. How could DC Comics treat their bread-and-butter from the '80s so horribly?

After these two failed storylines, Nightwing leaves the team as he becomes the new Batman. It's then that I felt that weird feeling in the pit of my stomach. It's not going to get any better, is it? Surprisingly, I was wrong. In an odd sort of way. With Nightwing out of the picture; Beast Boy (and possibly Raven, too) going to the Teen Titans; and Donna Troy, Cyborg, and Starfire moving to Justice League of America; the Titans comic is now focusing on the breakdown of the team. They're providing single issue stories, with each issue focusing on one character of the disassembling team. These are some of the best Titans stories I've read in years. Their disbanding is the best thing that ever happened to them. It's too bad DC couldn't have put this much energy and creativity into the comic when they weren't sending it into the crapper. I guess it's just as well. We all have to grow up sometime. Those who were your friends when you were young won't always be your friend as an adult. People grow apart. It's about time the Titans did, too.

Superman's Origin Gets A Breath of New Life

Throughout my many, many years of reading comics (from about ages 10-24), I never really got into reading Superman in the comics. I liked him as a character...but his storylines never seemed to interest me. Now getting back into comics as an older adult, it seems that DC Comics has finally given Superman the storylines he's always deserved. I currently read all of his titles, from his self-titled series to Action Comics. They all offer a unique and interesting perspective to the Superman universe.

I've recently picked up the first two issues to DC Comics' new mini-series, Superman: Secret Origin. I wasn't sure how interesting it would be given that I'm already familiar with Superman's origin, life in Smallville, move to Metropolis, etc. Plus, the story's been done before, several times. This one, though, thankfully brings something new to the table, as one would only expect from writer Geoff Johns.

Johns shows Clark Kent as being like any other kid. He delves into Clark's uncertainty of himself and his abilities, his fear of hurting people, his fear of fitting in, his fear of being adopted, and his fear of being from another planet. He's your everyday naive kid with a good heart that doesn't want to hurt other people's feelings. Johns also moves along the storyline at a quick pace so as to not lose readers already familiar with Superman's secret origin. Each issue is a totally new part of Clark's life as a kid. The first issue of the mini-series deals with Clark learning of his extraterrestrial origins, discovering his abilities, and meeting the teenage Lex Luthor at a county fair. The second is Clark's first meeting with the Legion of Superheroes and donning his Superboy persona and costume.

Geoff Johns also adds new information about Clark as an adolescent boy, his first meetings with his friends and foes, and discovering his powers. Case in point: Clark accidentally discovers his heat vision power when he gets excited from Lana Lang kissing him.

In addition to the fantastic writing, there's the art. Gary Frank does a beautiful job bringing the characters of the Superman mythos to life. His rendition of Clark Kent looks exactly like a young Christopher Reeve who, as you know, played Superman in the original Superman movies. (And, if you don't know that, WTF?) It's remarkable. And Clark's facial expressions really complement Johns' comfortable writing style and help to move along the storyline.

Whoever thought they've seen all there is to see about Superman's secret origin should give this new mini-series a try. You'll discover something you never knew before...and get a great storytelling experience. What do you have to lose?

Giant-Size Old Man Logan

The finale of the "Old Man Logan" tale that ran through Wolverine #66-72 was released in a "Giant-Size" comic last week. At $4.99, the only thing giant-sized about it was the price. Knowing how popular the "Old Man Logan" storyline was, Marvel Comics decided to capitalize on that and serve up a regular-sized story with the other half of the issue being images of past covers that we've already seen, and some rough sketches. Big effing deal. To me, that wasn't worth $4.99. I expected a giant-sized story. Boo, Marvel!

The finale focuses on Wolverine's final confrontation with the Hulk family, who are basically a bunch of crazy rednecks like something out of Deliverance. While I was satisfied with the ending, I look forward to this becoming a regular series. It certainly has the potential to be a great ongoing comic. The characters are well fleshed out, the story is fairly simple yet intriguing, and the art is amazing and "dark," as it should be for this particular kind of story.

Unless you're a collector, save your money, though, on the Wolverine: Old Man Logan Giant-Size comic and buy the entire series in hardcover that comes out shortly. Read it from cover to cover and discover a familiar Wolverine that you've never seen before.