Coming Full Circle

Outsiders (Volume 3) #50
Written by Tony Bedard
Art by Matthew Clark and Ron Randall

Well here we come to the final issue of the Outsiders. It looks like Batman has taken complete control of the team now and the series will relaunch as Batman and the Outsiders, which I am very excited for. This issue was great. Much better then anything Winick ever did with this series. It doesn’t feel like a final issue, but it shouldn’t since the relaunch is just around the corner. I don’t know much abotu the Suicide Squad so there appearence here kinda threw me off but I did the research and now they interest me. I can’t wait to see what the new team does. I loved Catwoman’s final line in this issue, totally in-character. I also like the idea that Batman needs a team of heroes pretending to be villains. One thing I didn’t buy was the idea that people recognize Grace as an Amazon just by looking at her. Not realistic but whatever. Great end to a series and can’t wait for the relaunch.

Supergirl 18 - 20

Supergirl (Volume 5) #18
Written by Joe Kelly
Art by Alé Garza and Adam Archer

Well, the doppelganger wasn’t Linda Danvers, it was Dark Angel trying to mess with Supergirl’s mind. It seems the monitors wanna make sure Supergirl “belongs” on our earth and isn’t an anomaly. I liked how what Dark Angel was saying was similar to the complains current fans have about this Supergirl. That was a nice touch by Kelly and I think he made his point in the end by proving this Supergirl is here to stay.

Supergirl (Volume 5) #19
Written by Joe Kelly
Art by Alé Garza

Supergirl flies across the country making amends with the people she has hurt. Beginning with Boomerang and ending with Superman. In this way, Joe Kelly caps off his run perfectly. I really feel like this is a new era for the character and she is going to be a lot less angsty now. Joe Kelly’s run, while confusing sometimes, he did the best he could with what he was given. I applaud him for that. Great issue.

Supergirl (Volume 5) #20
Written by Tony Bedard
Art by Renato Guede

Tony Bedard begins his fill-in arc by crossing over with Amazons Attack. Now that turned me off reading this at first but after cracking it open, I was amazed at how well-done it was. This was definitely the best issue of this series yet. Supergirl is more likeable than ever, which makes sense after the previous issue, and she is drawn anotimically correct and not anorexic. We get inside her mind and she doesn’t seem like a total bitch. I loved it! Plus seeing the civilian side of Amazons Attack was refreshing. There was also nice use of Supergirl’s powers with the Super-Breath and her weakness against magic. A very good start for Bedard.

I Am Ready For Batman And The Outsiders

Outsiders (Volume 3) #49
Written by Judd Winick and Greg Rucka
Art by Matthew Clark and Ron Randall

This is the final part of the Checkmate/Outsiders crossover that began here and continued here ,here, here, and here.
This was an action-packed finale to what was a suprisingly well done crossover. Outsiders is a hit or miss for me but this was a hit. I even like the idea that this series is ending and relaunching as Batman and the Outsiders. I love the original Batman and the Outsiders series so I can’t wait. Yes, I miss Halo (Too bad she won’t be back). There were a lot of great one-liners in this issue including Grace telling the Checkmate Agent about Batman warming up to people and the conversation at the end between Batman and Nightwing. I think it is totally in character for Dick to want to leave now and I liked how he says he actually doesn’t like being in the Outsiders anymore. Dick liked the Titans and the Outsider are not the titans. I look forward to the next issue, which is the final one before the relaunch.

Egg Fu’s Torture Fun

Checkmate (Volume 2) #15
Written by Greg Rucka and Judd Winick
Art by Joe Bennett

This is part four of the Checkmate/Outsiders crossover that began here and continued here ,here, and here. The best part of this issue has to have been the very end where Batman says “I don’t work for the Security Council”. That is so bats and I ate it up like candy! Rucka and Winick continue this crossover really well, we get to see Egg Fu who disgustingly tortures Boomerang and Sasha Bordeax just because he wants to know how they work! Not for any good reason! That is awesome. Egg Fu is one scary bastard but at the same time I can’t wait to see him when I pick up a comic. I can’t wait to see him hopefully get his ass handed to him next issue. Probably by the Dark Knight himself.

Eggs And EMPs

Outsiders (Volume 3) #48
Written by Judd Winick and Greg Rucka
Art and Cover by Matthew Clark

This is part four of the Checkmate/Outsiders crossover that began here and continued here and here. This was probably my favorite part of this crossover to date. I have a feeling that Rucka had more to do with the writing of this issue than Winick and that is probably why. The cliffhanger ending was so exciting, especially for any fan of 52. I was wondering when they were going to bring in those familiar faces (Or really just one big giant yellow egg-face) and I am glad they did. Both teams work together really well this issue ignoring the fact that Nightwing, Sasha, and Boomerang get captured. I like that finally Sasha’s status as partially OMAC is finally mentioned. I don’t remember it being brought up in any issue of Checkmate to date. The whole EMP thing with Nightwing was pretty cool. I really enjoyed this.

Gray

Checkmate (Volume 2) #14
Written by Greg Rucka and Judd Winick
Art by Joe Bennett

This is part 3 of the Outsiders/Checkmate that began here and continued here. The interaction between the two teams is still a lot of fun. I have to say that the Checkmate parts of this crossover are better than the Outsiders parts. Probably because the art is a lot better. I am not such a big fan of the cover of this issue though, kinda bland. My favorite moments probably were between Sasha and Nightwing, being a Batman fan I love to hear them talk about Bruce together. The entire mission seems a little screwed up by the end of this issue and it looks like the one doing the screwer is Amanda Waller. What a bitch she is. But you gotta love her. She is the most gray of any DCU character.

Supergirl 14 - 17

Supergirl (Volume 5) #14
Written by Joe Kelly
Art by Ian Churchill and Norm Rapmund

While I hate to see Batgirl play the villain role, this was still a pretty good issue and it was fun to see these two characters together finally; Batgirl and Supergirl that is. Apparently, Power Boy is a freak stalker. That should be interesting. How is Batgirl still alive after that weird Crystal stuff came out of Supergirl’s body and stabbed her. What is that about? I am loving the art as well.

Supergirl (Volume 5) #15
Written by Joe Kelly
Art by Ian Churchill and Norm Rapmund

This was a very good issue. Some have been saying that the portrayal of Supergirl the last few years has been very sexual and even demeaning to women. Joe Kelly proves that is not his intent with this issue. Supergirl is physically abused by Power Boy and Supergirl does not accept that. She even says, “No One Who Says He Loves You Should Ever Hit You Ever”. That was a great line and a great message. This could have been done horribly but Kelly pulls it off with style and grace.

Supergirl (Volume 5) #16
Written by Joe Kelly and Mark Sable
Art and Cover by Alé Garza

After 17 issues, we finally get the reason why Supergirl is being told by her (dead) father to kill Superman. Apparently, when Jor-El opened the portal to the Phantom Zone and started improning criminals there phantoms came onto Krytpon. Zor-El realized this and found out you could only kill them with sunstone. He turned his daughter into a sort of Phantom killer with sunstones inside of her and now. Jor-El is convinced that the Phantoms have gone to earth with Kal-El. That is why he wants Supergirl to kill him? I think that is the jist of it. Is it all just a hallucination of a madman? Are the phantoms real? I have no idea but I am intrigued.

Supergirl (Volume 5) #17
Written by Joe Kelly and Mark Sable
Art by Alé Garza and Marlo Alquiza

Wow I am confused. That doesn’t me I didn’t enjoy this a lot but I am confused. Who is the mysterious Supergirl who appears at the end is it the Pre-Crisis Supergirl? Is it a Supergirl from another Earth in the multiverse? Is it Linda Danvers (Please let it be Linda!). Is this all a dream? I mean if the sun went red and Supergirl has been gone a month wouldn’t we see this reflected in other books. I have a feeling all this will be explained soon and I am coming along for the ride!

Outsiders 45 - 47

Outsiders (Volume 3) #45
Written by Judd Winick
Art by Carlo Barberi

Now, to start off, I did really like this issue. I liked how Roy Harper’s house is so heavily guarded to protect his daughter, I liked how Black Lightning is so noble that he turns himself in for an accidental murder of a pretty bad guy, heck I even liked the budding romance between Grace and Thunder. But is Winick obsessed with Jason Todd and Deathstroke. He uses them in like all of his books and sometimes it seems they are appearing for no reason. Weird.

Outsiders (Volume 3) #46
Written by Judd Winick
Art by Carlo Barberi and Art Thibert

This was another good issue and I look forward to seeing as how this story ends. Unfortunately, it does not take place in this series but in the Outsiders Annual so I will not be reviewing it here. This part of the story was pretty awesome. Grace’s speech was just the best. I love how she calls the rest of the Outsiders self-righteous bastards. This series is a lot better than most people give it credit for.

Outsiders (Volume 3) #47
Written by Judd Winick and Greg Rucka
Art and Cover by Matthew Clark and Art Thibert

This is the second part of the Checkmate/Outsiders crossover that began here. It is one year later again and we are back to the time where Katana’s costume is uglier and Thunder’s is cooler. Oh and I am excited as hell about this storyline now. I did not realize that the Outsiders were recruited by Checkmate to help take out Oolong Island. It is great to hear about the island after 52 and it looks like it is still a haven for mad scientists. There were a lot of great moments in this. Especially the exchanges between Sasha and Nightwing. Nightwing finally figures out just who Sasha is and it is fun to see how they both relate to eachother because of their “batman” past. Can’t wait for the next part of this crossover.

Outsider Hunting

Checkmate (Volume 2) #13
Written by Greg Rucka and Judd Winick
Art by Joe Bennett

And this begins the Checkmate/Outsiders crossover that will run through both titles. DC seems to be doing a lot of inter-title crossover as of late (well, JSA and JLA is the other one) and I like that. I kind of miss them (I know most would disagree with me). And this crossover starts out really well. It was a lot of fun to see how Checkmate goes about catching and trapping the Outsiders and I love how Nightwing is the only member they haven’t caught yet. At first, I was wondering why Nightwing seemed to be so mean to Sasha Bordeaux. I mean he does know her from her days when she hung out with Batman right? But then I remembered that she has gotten plastic surgery (not to mention, she is like what part robot now?) so maybe he doesn’t recognize her. It was also cool to see the Outsiders out of uniform. I am going to have to recommend this.

An Outsiders Flashback

Outsiders (Volume 3) #44
Written by Judd Winick
Art by Ron Randall and Art Thibert

While it really doesn’t seem like a lot happens this issue, it is basically just an introduction to this flashback story arc, it was still a lot of fun. My favorite line from this issue must have been,

Boomerang: I am so drunk
Katana: Me too
Boomerang: And…Kind of Horny
Katana: I will kill you before you could move
Boomerang: Gotcha

That was hilarious. Winick knows how to write some funny stuff. There were some continuity issues though. Why does he say Starfire quit the team? I thought Starfire hadn’t returned from space at this time (As it is shown in 52) Maybe I am wrong and they are referring to her quitting at another time. I don’t know. But it is great to see Shift again, even if it is just temporary. (If only we could get Indigo back!) Anyways, this was a pretty good issue and I look forward to how this story goes.