The Insiders

After the cliffhanger ending to the third TPB of Outsiders (Wanted), this crossover book is a must-read. The teams' interaction is written effortlessly by both writers, who are clearly relishing the chance to play with each other's toys as it were, using the new dynamics to let both teams shine. Judd Winick is uniquely gifted at writing the human side of superheroes, and this collection features one issue that allows the Outsiders a quiet moment of reflection and mourning. These are the moments that make this series so compelling and Winick one of my favorite writers.

This was actually a pretty good crossover as far as crossovers go anyway. The Titans and the Outsiders both have a member betray them. They art is awesome and the writing is pretty good. If you like either series pick it up and read it you will enjoy it.

Obviously a crossover story between the two teams. Each team has a member who has been turned against them. Indigo, in the case of the Outsiders, has Brainiac problems. Superboy, in the case of the Titans, has Luthor problems. Taken by surprise, they need to regroup and deal with this. Trying to stop a Superboy is not very easy to do without dying.

Out of curiosity, I picked up a current issue of Teen Titans (issue 17, I think) and was impressed by the ease with which I could figure out who was who, without having to go back and recollect the entire series of books. That made me pretty happy. I've been collecting that title and the Outsiders ever since. This story arc begins with Superboy (Conner Kent) deciding to reveal the secret of his parentage with the rest of the team. Turns out that he was cloned by Cadmus Labs from DNA taken from Superman and Lex Luthor. Who knew. (I'm still trying to wrap my head around how they managed to clone him from DNA from, well, two males...where is the female chromosome, hmm?) Meanwhile, over at the Outsiders headquarters, Indigo (a blue-skinned humanoid robot, who knew) starts acting funny right after they receive the signal from the Titans that Conner has gone rogue. All of the sudden...Indigo is glowing with strange, pink circuitry and announcing "I am Brainiac 8! I am your destruction!" I was hooked from that point on. I know I'm encapsulating the plot too simply, but again, I'm a dedicated Marvel reader, and I am still getting to know DC's characters. Humor me. I read the "Light" story arc in single issues in Teen Titans before buying this, so I had already begun to like that series. When I picked up the first individual issue of this arc, and it had the lead-in page in the back saying to buy the next "Outsiders" issue, I initially groaned about having to buy another title to see what happened next. Initially. Now I regularly collect Outsiders, too. I loved the artwork. I love Judd Winick as a writer, particularly the Juniper Lee cartoon on Cartoon Network. His humor is snappy and he has a nice flair for dialogue, since he makes conversations sound like something you would overhear at the coffee shop instead of inflated and "superhero-ly." The inks in the issues of the Outsiders in this TPB are dark and threatening, which fits. It reminds me of old issues of Marvel's "New Mutants" when Bill Sienciewicz was still the principal artist. The villains are well-defined and rise to the occasion, they're pretty evil. Lex Luthor reminds you of why you love to hate him. Brainiac is back, once again trying to conquer humanity (at least as far as I can tell; but he's definitely evil). I love the intergroup friendships, and the whole concept of all the "sidekicks" from popular DC duos forming their own team(s). I also like the aspect of the Outsiders "passing the torch" to the younger Titans team, including all of the personal risks and potentially endangering their lives. The problem with taking the Outsiders and Titans titles from this story arc and printing them in one TPB is that it is not seamless. You have the Titans issues, written for a slightly younger audience, sandwiched between the snarkier, grittier Outsiders issues. This creates slight holes and a WIDE gap in the style of dialogue as you read from one chapter to the next. This story offers fre

I've been following Winick's run on "Outsiders" since the beginning, and I had to get this after the cliffhanger in Vol. 3. I was giving Winick one more chance to "wow" me after being a little disappointed with the writing in #3. To my surprise, this book works. Maybe collaborating with DC heavyweight Geoff Johns did the trick. There is a ton of action, releasing built-up tension from both books. Traitors are found in both super-groups! This is a classic comic book plot device (some may call it a cliche, but hey, this ain't Shakespeare folks). The story also has a nice feeling of winding down, showing the characters' emotional reactions to the major events they just lived through. All of the pencillers on this book do a bang-up job, especially Matthew Clark. He has a clean style that never feels cartoon-y. I'll be on the lookout for more of his work. I really enjoyed "Insiders." So Mr. Judd Winick, you've got me for at least one more volume of "Outsiders." Don't blow it!