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unladylike's review against another edition
1.0
Yikes. I checked this out because it's listed as a volume in the same era of this series, but the creative team changed out between volumes 7 and 8, and Bryan Hill changes the focus and character voices so much for the worse, I had to drop it a few issues in.
I'd like to know and care about Static Shock more, and Black Lightning as well, but this is far from being a compelling introduction to those characters on the page (I've previously only seen them in the animated and live action DC universe).
I'd like to know and care about Static Shock more, and Black Lightning as well, but this is far from being a compelling introduction to those characters on the page (I've previously only seen them in the animated and live action DC universe).
thebaronrob's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
kevinowenkelly's review against another edition
1.0
tl;dr: A paper thin, absurd, and wildly contradictory filler arc to introduce The Outsiders. Easy skip unless you're interested in the new Batman and the Outsiders series. There's a great one-off issue in the back for a spooky, 90's-ish Decon Blackfire story.
This one is clearly a filler arc, and while there's nothing inherently wrong with filler arcs in general, even as far as filler arcs go this one is incredibly weak.
As evidenced by the title, it's primary purpose is to revive Batman's 'Outsiders' team to kick off the new 'Batman and the Outsiders' series, but the book itself does an incredibly poor job giving us any reason why he's doing it. He gives the generic 'threats that have to be handled outside official channels' line, but doesn't really even give any build up to what those might be other than a generic international black market for powerful weapons, which seems pretty passe at this point.
And there's a particular sense of whiplash and double think that comes with this team building exercise. Fresh off Tynion's great run on Detective Comics, Batman has decided to shut down the highly effective Batfamily team that had formed, only to decide that... he really needs a team he can rely on? And one that happens to pull from that highly effective team that he already trusted but disbanded? That after learning teamwork and other skills from a mentor like Batwoman, what these people really need is... a mentor and team leader, like Black Lightning? (Not ragging on Black Lightning, who is a highlight of the book; just the circuitous reasoning behind it all)
This confusion is further compounded by the fact that the book clearly has no idea how to write a story around any of this, introducing a paper thin villain by the name of Karma whose history is created through a really dubious and absurd flashback scene, and whose credentials have all the subtlety of a Dragonball villain who defeats all the strongest people in the universe 5 minutes after being introduced just to show how powerful they are. Rather than seeming dangerous, they just come across as arbitrary, and this villain has that kind of setup without even seeming all that powerful to begin with, just further undermining the entire premise of him as a threat.
And so Batman's response to this underwhelming threat, in this book about him already realizing he needs a team, is the classic "I have to do this alone, it's too dangerous." It's ridiculous. The villain never feels like nearly that much of a threat to warrant such an overreaction, and especially not a reaction so contrary to the entire point of the book, and particularly not after he already got over this type of hangup (not for the first time) so recently, in the same book, in the very preceding run.
Phew. Ok. Rant over. I don't think anyone really needs to read this unless they're interested in jumping into the Batman and the Outsiders run that's just started, but for those that do, there's a pretty great battle in a church that you'll have to look forward to, and there's a random extra issue at the end with a spooky Demon Blackfire story that's actually really great. Fantastic art in that last issue, and a writing style that felt a lot more like the more noirish self-narration you saw in the 80's and 90's.
This one is clearly a filler arc, and while there's nothing inherently wrong with filler arcs in general, even as far as filler arcs go this one is incredibly weak.
As evidenced by the title, it's primary purpose is to revive Batman's 'Outsiders' team to kick off the new 'Batman and the Outsiders' series, but the book itself does an incredibly poor job giving us any reason why he's doing it. He gives the generic 'threats that have to be handled outside official channels' line, but doesn't really even give any build up to what those might be other than a generic international black market for powerful weapons, which seems pretty passe at this point.
And there's a particular sense of whiplash and double think that comes with this team building exercise. Fresh off Tynion's great run on Detective Comics, Batman has decided to shut down the highly effective Batfamily team that had formed, only to decide that... he really needs a team he can rely on? And one that happens to pull from that highly effective team that he already trusted but disbanded? That after learning teamwork and other skills from a mentor like Batwoman, what these people really need is... a mentor and team leader, like Black Lightning? (Not ragging on Black Lightning, who is a highlight of the book; just the circuitous reasoning behind it all)
This confusion is further compounded by the fact that the book clearly has no idea how to write a story around any of this, introducing a paper thin villain by the name of Karma whose history is created through a really dubious and absurd flashback scene
Spoiler
in which Batman apparently sadistically doused the guy in Scarecrow fear toxin before letting an army of bats feast on his face (seriously, what the fuck?)And so Batman's response to this underwhelming threat, in this book about him already realizing he needs a team, is the classic "I have to do this alone, it's too dangerous." It's ridiculous. The villain never feels like nearly that much of a threat to warrant such an overreaction, and especially not a reaction so contrary to the entire point of the book, and particularly not after he already got over this type of hangup (not for the first time) so recently, in the same book, in the very preceding run.
Phew. Ok. Rant over. I don't think anyone really needs to read this unless they're interested in jumping into the Batman and the Outsiders run that's just started, but for those that do, there's a pretty great battle in a church that you'll have to look forward to, and there's a random extra issue at the end with a spooky Demon Blackfire story that's actually really great. Fantastic art in that last issue, and a writing style that felt a lot more like the more noirish self-narration you saw in the 80's and 90's.
aabaileyauthor's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
lotoblanco's review against another edition
mysterious
reflective
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, War, Violence, Blood, Torture, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis
rashthedoctor's review against another edition
3.0
[Read as Single Issues]
Well , it was okay I guess .
Bryan Hill takes over the detective comics duties from James Tynion IV , after what was a successful run , Hill maintains the status quo from the Tynion run and proceeds to bring in a new villain - Karma, with artificial metahuman abilities such as mind reading and increase physical strength and agility . The initial issues deal with Batman figuring out who Karma actually is and what his motivations are , while the latter issues see him dealing with Karma and forming a new team - The outsiders .
Overall , I though for a Batman book , Batman does appear too weak and irrelevant for my liking , the interactions between Black Lightning and characters like Barbara or Bruce felt weird as hell but the art was stunning , the plot was quick paced .
Overall , an average outcome .
Well , it was okay I guess .
Bryan Hill takes over the detective comics duties from James Tynion IV , after what was a successful run , Hill maintains the status quo from the Tynion run and proceeds to bring in a new villain - Karma, with artificial metahuman abilities such as mind reading and increase physical strength and agility . The initial issues deal with Batman figuring out who Karma actually is and what his motivations are , while the latter issues see him dealing with Karma and forming a new team - The outsiders .
Overall , I though for a Batman book , Batman does appear too weak and irrelevant for my liking , the interactions between Black Lightning and characters like Barbara or Bruce felt weird as hell but the art was stunning , the plot was quick paced .
Overall , an average outcome .
iffer's review against another edition
2.0
This was fine. I mean, it's hard to read a Detective Comics collection that I dislike, and it was nice to read about Black Lightning a little bit. This collection made me realize that I've been taking James Tynion's writing finesse for granted. The script in this installment felt clunky. Plus, the bad kids, intentionally or unintentionally were portrayed as bratty teenagers, which along with Bruce's heavy-fisted (pun intended) angst, ended up getting on my nerves. The art was also not up to snuff in comparison to the previous arcs.
sodope's review against another edition
5.0
**Warning: this text may contain spoilers** really loved this arc, is full of action and a pretty cool art.
On the Outside: A new villain appears in Gotham, trying to take revenge for the things Batman did to him. Bruce knows he met this guy called (Karma) a few years ago, and he'll need help from The Signal, Cassandra and Black Lighting, at the end of the arc, Bruce will help Pierce with his school as a sign of gratitude, he will also be the head of The Outsiders.
On the Outside: A new villain appears in Gotham, trying to take revenge for the things Batman did to him. Bruce knows he met this guy called (Karma) a few years ago, and he'll need help from The Signal, Cassandra and Black Lighting, at the end of the arc, Bruce will help Pierce with his school as a sign of gratitude, he will also be the head of The Outsiders.
19lindsey89's review against another edition
3.0
This volume was fine. Just fine. It didn’t really feel like a continuation of the last volume. The team has been gutted. I’m really confused by Duke. He’s not consistently around enough for me to get a read on him. He just kind of appears for a few issues here, a few issues there. I don’t like it.
But, DC, frankly I’m sick of reading the same plot. Give these characters some growth. Give them room to develop depth.
But we’ve seen this plot before. As recently as volume 3 of the main Batman series. But I couldn’t get over how much this reminded me of Death of the Family from the New 52 run.
The main thing that needs to die:
Batman: I work alone.
Batman’s 30 kids: We do not believe you.
There has never been a man who works alone less. Can we let Batman have that revelation and move on?
But, DC, frankly I’m sick of reading the same plot. Give these characters some growth. Give them room to develop depth.
But we’ve seen this plot before. As recently as volume 3 of the main Batman series. But I couldn’t get over how much this reminded me of Death of the Family from the New 52 run.
The main thing that needs to die:
Batman: I work alone.
Batman’s 30 kids: We do not believe you.
There has never been a man who works alone less. Can we let Batman have that revelation and move on?
angelwolf45's review against another edition
4.0
I really enjoyed this graphic novel.
This is about Batman and how he oversees a team that he creates. He has someone else leading this team. Batman has Black Lightning, Jefferson, takes this team under his leadership after all that has happened.
I loved how Batman dealt with what Karma was saying and put someone else as leader but was there for them when they needed him.
I liked how the characters were still trying to be a team and learn to be one with a different leader.
I really enjoyed this novel and cant wait to see more about the outsiders.
This is about Batman and how he oversees a team that he creates. He has someone else leading this team. Batman has Black Lightning, Jefferson, takes this team under his leadership after all that has happened.
I loved how Batman dealt with what Karma was saying and put someone else as leader but was there for them when they needed him.
I liked how the characters were still trying to be a team and learn to be one with a different leader.
I really enjoyed this novel and cant wait to see more about the outsiders.