DC Comics reviews for the week of 5/8/19

Batman and The Outsiders #1

Bryan Hill was responsible for the last exceptional Detective Comics arc prior to current writer Peter J. Tomasi coming on board. Hill largely used that arc to set up the groundwork for a new Outsiders series. It’s taken longer than expected, but the first issue of Batman and the Outsiders proved worth the wait.

Hill makes it clear early on that Batman will have a presence in the book, but he is not the driving force of the title. The focus is mainly on Black Lightning, Katana, Signal and Orphan.

The team is a lot more grounded than previous incarnations. Hopefully Hill has plans to include some hero powerhouses like a Geo-Force, Halo or Metamorpho for some variety in the action scenes.

Black Lightning has to decide if The Outsiders are a team of discarded Batman allies in search of purpose. Each member is dealing with some recent trauma making this a tough time for Batman to come calling with a mission. The team has to find a missing meta before an assassin finishes the job they started earlier.

Hill does a solid job setting up the team dynamics, personality clashes and pairings in just the first issue. It should be fun seeing how he explores the various personalities going forward.

Dexter Soy provides the art for the series and Hill couldn’t have been partnered with a better option than the former Red Hood and The Outlaws artist. He’s got a strong noir sense of storytelling that works very well with street level characters. Veronica Gandini’s colors are a highlight with a strong sense of brightening the darkness with power effects and lighting.

I had high hopes for this book and wasn’t disappointed. This has the makings of another monthly must-get from the Batman books.

Rating: 8 out of 10