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darthsquidious's review
5.0
This one was hard to get through. There's a lot of dark stuff going on. Not super villain dark but real world dark. Trigger warnings for mentions of rape, sexual abuse, and abuse.
ladydewinter's review
4.0
I'm really liking the Outsiders. I admit I was feeling a little sceptical when reading the preface to the first volume, about this being "more grown-up, edgier, darker"... because that sort of thing can backfire.
Well, this didn't. It's an interesting team dynamic, the characters are all believable, and, well, there is Nightwing. And in this volume there is a lot of Nightwing-interacting-with-Batman, which is very possibly my favourite thing in the world right now, especially when Alfred makes an appearance as well.
Well, this didn't. It's an interesting team dynamic, the characters are all believable, and, well, there is Nightwing. And in this volume there is a lot of Nightwing-interacting-with-Batman, which is very possibly my favourite thing in the world right now, especially when Alfred makes an appearance as well.
captwinghead's review
5.0
In my opinion, this is the best of this series so far! The character work for Roy, Dick, and Grace was honestly astounding to me. Every so often, I’ll read a volume of a team book that so perfectly understands how to give a few members of the team complex characterization and still keep it interesting.
Grace Choi has been my fave since I started this series. I’m so in love with a woman of color that doesn’t exist to be sexualized. She towers over everyone and she could kick everyone’s ass. On top of that, she does have emotions. Usually, female characters are presented 3 ways: cheerleader/damsel, sexpot, fighter with no emotion. Grace is none of those so kudos to Winick for giving us a well rounded, well fleshed out character. I fell for Grace even more in this book and we get a better understanding of why she does this job.
Granted, I was fresh off reading a Marvel book before I picked this up and I had to readjust again to the fact that DC discusses darker crimes. I don’t think I’ve read a Marvel arc where the Avengers take down a child sex trafficking ring. It’s a very dark storyline and the fact that Grace suffered at the hands of this monster was heartbreaking. I have to hand it to Winick: he told this story in a respectful manner. Tanner’s crimes were taken seriously, the victims were never sexualized or condescended to. At the end of this arc, this is about Grace and her finding peace (or attempting to). This is a storyline that didn’t use sexual assault of a main character to fuel manpain.
Sure, Lian was also taken in the process and that brings pain to Roy but the overwhelming majority of this story is focused on Grace.
Roy. I’ve come to love this guy so, so much. His job here seems to be pushing Dick to be more of the guy he used to be and trying to keep the team together. He’s trying so hard and it’s compelling. I’m really rooting for him and I’m looking up what to read to learn more about him because he leads an interesting life.
Dick. Poor dickiebird. He is the darkest I’ve ever seen in this book and it makes me wonder what he’d be like if Jason Todd had seen him like this. I know Jason shows up in later issues but this Dick is so harsh. His fight with Roy was shocking. The fact that he threw Roy’s heroin addiction in his face was astounding. He’s so resigned to just being there and not getting close to anyone and it’s a far cry from Dick in other books. That being said: I kind of loved it.
It’s so interesting because Dick is the bright beacon in the Batfamily. The only character that gives him a run for his money for shiny and happiest is Stephanie. Seriously, they’re like the lone Abercrombie fans in a family of goths. After losing Donna, Dick continues to treat the Outsiders like coworkers he hates being around and it’s lead to Jefferson Pierce believing Dick can’t be trusted to protect his daughter.
The conversation with Bruce was one of the best I’ve ever read! Winick‘s take on their relationship was fascinating and felt really real to me. I adored it! Especially Alfred trying to keep it civil. The conclusion, namely Bruce telling Dick not to trust him, was just amazing. Dick’s unbalanced and I’m interested to see what happens next.
So, that’s kind of it. Nothing with the other characters is super worth mentioning.
But honestly, this was just bloody fantastic and I highly recommend it.
Grace Choi has been my fave since I started this series. I’m so in love with a woman of color that doesn’t exist to be sexualized. She towers over everyone and she could kick everyone’s ass. On top of that, she does have emotions. Usually, female characters are presented 3 ways: cheerleader/damsel, sexpot, fighter with no emotion. Grace is none of those so kudos to Winick for giving us a well rounded, well fleshed out character. I fell for Grace even more in this book and we get a better understanding of why she does this job.
Granted, I was fresh off reading a Marvel book before I picked this up and I had to readjust again to the fact that DC discusses darker crimes. I don’t think I’ve read a Marvel arc where the Avengers take down a child sex trafficking ring. It’s a very dark storyline and the fact that Grace suffered at the hands of this monster was heartbreaking. I have to hand it to Winick: he told this story in a respectful manner. Tanner’s crimes were taken seriously, the victims were never sexualized or condescended to. At the end of this arc, this is about Grace and her finding peace (or attempting to). This is a storyline that didn’t use sexual assault of a main character to fuel manpain.
Sure, Lian was also taken in the process and that brings pain to Roy but the overwhelming majority of this story is focused on Grace.
Roy. I’ve come to love this guy so, so much. His job here seems to be pushing Dick to be more of the guy he used to be and trying to keep the team together. He’s trying so hard and it’s compelling. I’m really rooting for him and I’m looking up what to read to learn more about him because he leads an interesting life.
Dick. Poor dickiebird. He is the darkest I’ve ever seen in this book and it makes me wonder what he’d be like if Jason Todd had seen him like this. I know Jason shows up in later issues but this Dick is so harsh. His fight with Roy was shocking. The fact that he threw Roy’s heroin addiction in his face was astounding. He’s so resigned to just being there and not getting close to anyone and it’s a far cry from Dick in other books. That being said: I kind of loved it.
It’s so interesting because Dick is the bright beacon in the Batfamily. The only character that gives him a run for his money for shiny and happiest is Stephanie. Seriously, they’re like the lone Abercrombie fans in a family of goths. After losing Donna, Dick continues to treat the Outsiders like coworkers he hates being around and it’s lead to Jefferson Pierce believing Dick can’t be trusted to protect his daughter.
The conversation with Bruce was one of the best I’ve ever read! Winick‘s take on their relationship was fascinating and felt really real to me. I adored it! Especially Alfred trying to keep it civil. The conclusion, namely Bruce telling Dick not to trust him, was just amazing. Dick’s unbalanced and I’m interested to see what happens next.
So, that’s kind of it. Nothing with the other characters is super worth mentioning.
But honestly, this was just bloody fantastic and I highly recommend it.
chrisvigilante's review
4.0
Upset.
But I'll be okay. let's talk about this. It was a great volume. SO much happens though. It's intense and dark.
There is an arc over three issues dealing with children being kidnapped and trafficked. It was disturbing and really fucked up. I was not prepared. It was handled well, though.
Really can't believe they let it affect Roy in the way it did. Grace's connection to the cause was rough to follow as well.
Then the volume goes on to finding out who has really been giving The Outsiders their intel. Then realizing that there was a traitor in the group. Also super intense.
I'm not okay. Will read on and see where it goes from here.
But I'll be okay. let's talk about this. It was a great volume. SO much happens though. It's intense and dark.
There is an arc over three issues dealing with children being kidnapped and trafficked. It was disturbing and really fucked up. I was not prepared. It was handled well, though.
Really can't believe they let it affect Roy in the way it did. Grace's connection to the cause was rough to follow as well.
Then the volume goes on to finding out who has really been giving The Outsiders their intel. Then realizing that there was a traitor in the group. Also super intense.
I'm not okay. Will read on and see where it goes from here.
nickpalmieri's review
4.0
And here's where everything hits the fan. The previous two volumes were fun, fast-paced action, but here all of the sparse character moments of those books finally come together to reveal their greater significance. This volume is heavily character-based, which is a welcome change of pace, and twist after twist is launched at the reader. A wonderful "centerpiece" to this era of the Outsiders. The art also changes here, from the more realistic style of previous volumes to more stylized, angular pencils with "flatter" coloring. It's a great match for this book and works for different reasons than the more realistic style did, but it absolutely still works. The two major downsides here are the potential cheesiness of having John Walsh and America's Most Wanted appear (??), which I thought was unnecessary but used well enough, and the fact that the major reveal of the nature behind the past missions ties into Villains United and doesn't make sense when you look at this series in a vacuum. But nonetheless, the thesis of the Outsiders is played with and challenged throughout the book, pushing it so far above the previous volumes that these problems don't matter too much. I love this little group of misfits and screw-ups. Next up is the "finale" of sorts to this era, [b:Teen Titans/Outsiders: The Insiders|176105|Teen Titans/Outsiders The Insiders|Geoff Johns|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1308437870s/176105.jpg|170140].
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