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Outsiders
Role Call Part 1 - Opening Offers
1/AUG/2003
Publisher: DC Comics
Writer: Judd Winick
Pencils: Tom Raney
Inks: Scott Hanna
Colors: Gina Going
Letters: John Workman
Price: $2.95 US/R35.00 SA
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Another first issue hits the shelves and this time it’s from
DC Comics. It’s the uprising of a new team of heroes consisting
of some old faces from Teen Titans/Young Justice
and some entirely new characters jump onboard for the all new Outsiders!
Arsenal decides to start up a new super-team and
recruits a bunch of members, but can he convince Nightwing
to help him lead them? Meanwhile a mysterious villain
takes over a cruise ship and starts heading straight for New York
City!
I enjoyed this comic, there has been much speculation about it after
some interesting reviews and opinions were posted on the internet,
but don’t let that dissuade you from giving it a try. First
off the art is great and compliments must be given to Tom
Raney and his team for doing such a great job.
Winnick [Green Lantern, Exiles] does tend to use
a little too much continuity for a first issue and some DCU
[DC Universe] shorthand which might make reading
confusing for those readers that are new to comics. This point was
the major gripe seen on internet message-boards
which brings to light an interesting point that publishers should
look out for, theoretically a first issue in a series should be
accessible to all new readers and pitched at a level they won’t
find confusing or bogged down in history that they have no knowledge
of.
The story itself was nice with a lot of build up
happening in this issue, but that’s expected. A good piece
of action at the beginning certainly helps to get one interested
quickly. The slow down over the middle of the story with Arsenal
recruiting the team was a great read even though the overall pacing
of the issue suffered and left the story feeling a bit disjointed.
The ending was ok, but nothing that great, although a nice enough
hook is left for readers who want to see the new team together in
action for the first time in the next issue.
As mentioned above I felt the artwork was a major part of the success
of this issue. Raney draws some great anatomy and
for a team based comic book the characters are the main focal point
and so it seems the art is a perfect match. His style has a slight
‘cartoonist’ edge which keeps it both
fun and fresh to look at, this of course runs well
with the new teams feel as a whole.
A good start to this series, although not a mind-blowing story it
did the job of introducing the team and had some
fun in the process. The art is fresh and has a
high production feel to it, an enjoyable first issue.
Score 8/10
Reviewed By:Iain Duncan
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Comic Reviews
