Outsiders #38

The Outsiders is a title that's been "on again, off again" on my pull list for the last year or so. Oftentimes, Judd Winick is spot on with his stories, but every once in a while he just irritates the shit out of me. Take One Year Later (OYL), for example. Now, I don't know how much of it is editorial direction, but why is Winick writing Nightwing, one of my favorite DC characters, to be such a dickhead like his former mentor, the Batman? And why is Nightwing in Africa in this book and at the same time in New York in his solo book (arrrgh, don't get me started on the crappy NW book!)? As much as this irritates me to no end, Winick seems to bring me back with his excellent endings.

In this latest issue, The Outsiders have been tracking down Mallah and the Brain, the two who sold the Jay Garrick clone to the nation of Mali from the previous issues starting off OYL. Not much goes on (although Winick again has Nightwing go Bat-Dick, this time on Boomerang), until the group faces-off at the end against the two villains they were trying to find.

Pop Mhan does some guest pencilling this issue, most likely due to the much deserved rest regular penciller, Matthew Clark, needs after what he went through recently (I hope you get better, Matthew!). Pop's art is OK, but I prefer Matthew's thinner pencils much better.

Daniel Acuna's covers are excellent as always, and this cover is especially good. I really like the layouts he did, especially with the ladder snaking up into the light. This cover makes me wonder if Acuna had recently watched a zombie flick...

Overall, #38 was a good issue, and I hope Matthew returns soon!

8^B

Technorati Tags: Comics Comic Book DC Outsiders Judd Winick Nightwing Mallah Brain Pop Mahn Matthew Clark Daniel Acuna