Outsiders #9 – Jackson Lanzing, Colin Kelly, Writers; Robert Carey, Artist; Annette Taddeo, Colorist
Ray – 9.5/10
Ray: This series is reaching the end of the road in only two more issues, so it’s no surprise that it just gets bigger and bigger in its scope with every issue. Now that it’s been revealed as a full-on sequel to Planetary, Lanzing, Kelly, and Carey are clearly taking the gloves off. With Batwoman on hiatus (see last issue’s western adventure), this issue focuses on the trio of Jakita Wagner, Luke Fox, and Lucius Fox as they enter an ancient battle between the forces of chaos and order – over a mysterious entity known as the Lost City of Cannon. This massive cannon is designed to be the last gun ever fired, ripping through the multiverse itself. But while both sides have kept their powder dry for now, the destiny of the cannon draws closer, and the only question is who will fire it. So into that, the trio of mismatched heroes comes – and is quickly thrown into prison, where they find an even more unlikely ally.
On one side, there’s Doctor Fate, who is determined to keep the cannon locked up and in the hands of Order. And then there’s Klarion, who wants…well, with Klarion it’s never quite clear, but it’ll be chaotic. And into the middle of this comes Luke Fox, who has a very different perspective on what the multiverse needs. If there’s any character who’s taken a level-up from this series, it’s him – I was pretty rough on his lack of character progression since he replaced David Zavimbe in the New 52, because I didn’t see what an MMA fighter in a robot suit really added to the Bat-family. But here, he brings a much-needed dose of normal human perspective to this chaotic cosmic adventure. Carey is an artist I wasn’t familiar with before this, but he brings a different take on Cassaday’s epic scope from the original series. This is not your average DC book, but I’m very glad they took this swing.
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GeekDad received this comic for review purposes.
