Outsiders #8 – Jackson Lanzing, Colin Kelly, Writers; Robert Carey, Artist; Valentina Taddeo, Colorist
Ray – 9/10
Ray: This series has managed to surprise with every issue, and it doesn’t get more surprising than calling back to not one but two DC heroes who don’t usually show up in main-line DC books anymore. After last issue focused on Jakita Wagner, this issue benches most of the cast and pulls in tight on Batwoman. She’s quit the team, isn’t sure what comes next—and calls up Jenny Crisis, the Century Baby they saved back in London. Jenny warns Kate about a crisis that pulls her to a small western ghost town, where she finds Jinny Hex—and the teen gunslinger is looking much rougher than she did last time, pulling a famous gun, and seemingly determined to keep anyone else out of the small town. But as she and Batwoman face off, it becomes clear that Jinny isn’t the threat—it’s a mysterious phantom that looks suspiciously like Jinny’s most famous ancestor.
So what is Jonah Hex doing here? That’s a strange tale that’s explained in an unusual format—a prose tale illustrated with old-school journal drawings. It explains the tale of a cursed gun that exacts a terrible price for its user—one that Jinny has found herself paying after using the gun to defend herself from a burglar. This isn’t as simple a tale as it first seems, about vengeful spirits. Rather, it’s a mournful modern western that has a lot on its mind about the generational toll of violence. It’s interesting to see Ginny again, and particularly interesting to see the modern legacy of Jonah Hex for the first time since his modern-day sojourn in the New 52. This title has managed to keep me guessing every month, and its ability to pull in anything it wants from across time and space makes it one of the most fascinating books on the stands today. I hope these two writers get to keep things weird as long as they want.
To find reviews of all the DC issues, visit DC This Week.
GeekDad received this comic for review purposes.
