Bluntly speaking, a book has never needed to end as much as Outsiders. Writing duo Lanzing and Kelly began this series with an implied maxim of reviving Wildstorm’s Planetary with a twist. Of course, this meant that fans of the traditional Outsiders would have to find something to love within the Wildstorm/Century Baby of the week structure. As Outsiders arrives at its long conclusion, readers will hope to finally understand the point of all of this. Let’s explore this further below!
Don’t Like It? You Do Better!
Previously, the Outsiders desperately try to prevent former teammate Jakita “Drummer” Wagner from forcing the multiverse to end. Fortunately, the personified Carrier ship switches sides to reverse the fate of the multiverse. Despite how esoteric that sounds, the basic idea is that the Outsiders get a second chance at fighting back. In addition, the book continously dabbles in meta commentary about the book and the nature of comic stories in general. For one, the story itself represents the dismay of ending stories by embodying the loss as characters and settings within that world. Although, the book doesn’t explain or elaborate any character motivations clearly.
The main idea seems to surround the existential notion of being the “author of your own story.” Part of the overall metaphor calls out anyone upset with how things are going to tell your own stories. Curiously, Jakita registers all of existence as a cosmic library where all stories live. Initially, Drummer chooses the passive route and tries to control the story, but eventually gives up and tries to destroy it all. Arguably, the Outsiders end up becoming active participants in their futures by choosing to write, destroy, or read the stories available. This includes the entire eleven issue saga that has played out thus far. Even though, the irony of asking for Jakita to “prove her point” without the writers proving anything about storytelling is enormous.
Alternate Endings
Throughout this final issue, Lanzing and Kelly explore possible endings to each of the Outsiders stories as they are currently. Firstly, thirty-seven years into the future, Luke Fox has embraced his need to control the unknown and becomes “The Outsider.” Apart from dispatching Batmen to do his dirty work handling incursions, Luke ends up jaded and paranoid like his father. In fact, he actually starts to resemble his father visually. As for his father, Lucius’ illness may catch up to him eight years in the future. Likewise, Kate Kane’s unlikely end occurs in a devastating rooftop battle with evil Duke Thomas six months from now. Ultimately, Carrier decides to intervene and forcibly reunite the Outsiders in hopes of saving reality.
The style and craftsmanship of Robert Carey’s artwork is still a weak link. Character faces are disturbing, his line weight makes his gestures feel stiff, and his perspective is often off. On a positive note, despite the inconsistent quality of the art, the best of it feels cinematic. Each of the Outsider’s vignettes of indoor, outdoor, and single room settings carry their own individual ambiance. Yet, at times the settings in the book do feel underdeveloped and empty. Not to mention, the stiffness of Carey’s figures hurts the framing of his action sequences. Also, the book features a fair amount of odd panels like Carrier kissing Batwoman just because it could.
Recommended If…
- You love Wildstorm Comics.
- You’re willing to see Outsiders through to the end.
- Taking life day by day without a care in the world.
Overall
Outsiders mostly turned out to be a backdoor Planetary ending. Lanzing and Kelly underwrite their Bat-family protagonists to shoehorn any and everything they love about Wildstorm Comics into this book. Overall, I can’t blame them for trying to write for the book they wanted to write, but I condemn them not being so good at writing what they want. By the end of the series, the writing duo squeeze all the fun out of superheroics in favor of a X-Files style drama that ends up going nowhere fast. Nevertheless, Outsiders lays on meta commentary about the nature of endings and imply that stories will live as long as there are readers willing to pick them up. So, maybe this book wasn’t great or ends up setting up other Wildstorm spin-offs, but it will always have space to continue in the hearts of those who pick it up.
P.S. And yes, it doesn’t matter if no one likes your story or you can’t figure out how to end it! What matters is actually finding a passion for what you want to write, and trying your best. Honestly, I would absolutely love to write an Outsiders story as a vehicle for things I care about as well, but I won’t spend what little time I have with the characters telling the readers to do better. So, for every writer reading this, write the next one like it’s your last one. For those starting their writing journey, the advice still applies. The stories may never end, but your control over them will almost certainly have a time limit.
Score: 4.5/10
English (US) · 