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I have mixed feelings on Outsiders 20. So far I have really liked Peter Tomasi and Lee Garbett’s run, The Deep. Each issue seemed to have plenty of info, plenty of action, and plenty of surprises. I can’t say that this issue was no good just because it didn’t have any surprises. I guess when you get to the conclusion all the cards are on the table, and it’s just a matter of how you play them.

The Outsiders is a team composed of some of the least popular characters in DC, but Tomasi really brought them up to the best they can be. I said before (and I’m standing by it) that Ousiders: The Deep has been my favorite read for months. Even when I hadn’t gone to the comic shop for three weeks and came home with a fat stack of books, this was the first one that I delved into.

In this issue, we get to see a dope villain team-up with Ra’s al Ghul and Vandal Savage, the two immortal bad asses of the DCU! My one complaint is that we just didn’t get to see enough of them before the end of this arc. Issue 18 ended with a glimpse of Savage while issue 18 had him meeting up with Ra’s. Why couldn’t their plans have been included or at least alluded to in the previous issues? I can’t complain though, because I was pretty distracted in the meantime with the Deathstroke excitement.

I’m not sure if these two plan to continue their work on this title with a new story arc, but god I hope so. Tomasi has really kept me excited with the outsiders month after month, while I couldn’t see anyone drawing these characters other than Mr. Garbett. Few pairs of artists seem to work as well together as these two do, and it would be a shame to see them split up.

Ps- Long live the Creeper!

(4.5/5)

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So it has been a couple of weeks now since I have posted anything here on ACBR, so first let me apologize for my hiatus. Sorry. Now that all of that is out of the way, let’s quickly think about how much has been going on since I have been gone. Today, Detective Comics was released starring Batwoman rather than Batman, Last week, Tim Drake hit the streets in Europe as the brand new Red Robin, Paul Dini has introduced us to two new titles with Batman: Streets of Gotham and Gotham City Sirens, and the new Batman has taken over the title with the same name. So all of that has taken place just over the past few weeks. So as my first review after the hiatus, you might think that I would want to tackle one of those right away.

But by now you have seen the title of this review and noticed that I have decided to start with the slightly more obscure Outsiders. Now the Outsiders are largely a part of the new Bat Family, but many of us may have looked over them lately as all of these new and exciting things have been happening in Gotham lately. Don’t let the fact that “Batman” has been removed from the title cause you to assume that it does not belong in your weekly or monthly list of “must-buys”. Outsiders just may be the best and yet most overlook-able title in production since the end of Final Crisis.

Now I admit that I have let the Outsiders slip below the radar for quite awhile now, but not for a second longer. I am writing this review of the last three issues together just to catch up as quickly as possible and let anyone who is reading this know just how good it is with the least amount of elapsed time.

Tomasi has really produced some entertainment gold here. In a way, I am really glad I let these issue sit around unread so long because if I wasn’t able to read these three issues in a row, I might have lost my mind. The last pages of issues 17 and 18 were so exciting that I nearly ripped the next issue in a rush to find out what happened next. Other than that, there are tons of really neat moments in each and every issue. For the forty-five minutes or so that it took me to read these three issues, I wasn’t bored for a millisecond.

Another thing that Peter Tomasi has done really well with the Outsiders is show us why each and every Outsider is essential without shoving it in our faces. Each member of the team gets a chance to show off their individual talents by taking care of a problem that all of the other member working together might have struggled with. My personal favorite was the Creeper taking care of some intruders to the Haven in issue 19.

But don’t think that the title characters are stealing the show here. While Alfred Pennyworth gets plenty of chances to kick some ass, the villains are the one who are getting me from page to page. This is probably one of the most exciting story arcs in terms of villain team-ups since Batman: Hush. I really want to, but I just decided that I won’t tell you anything and let you find out. There’s at least one more issue left in this arc, so I’ll fill you in when that comes out if you absolutely insist on not buying these.

The art is just as amazing as it was when Tomasi and Garbett started this arc back with issue 15. (Fernando Pasarin and Jeremy Haun took over the pencils with issue 19, but it still looks great.) My favorite sequences are those that take place on the street against a villain that I will leave nameless. Don’t worry, Pasarin and Huan dont drop the ball at all.

I cannot stress enough that issues 15 through 20 absolutely must be on your must-buy list the next time you hit the comic book shop. Sure they probably won’t be collectors items any time soon, but remember that the reason we buy comics in the short run is to have fun and read an awesome story. That is exactly what you are getting here.

(4.5/5)

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