“Monsters of the Unknown”
Writers: Jackson Lanzing and Collin Kelly
Artist: Robert Carey
Color Artist: Valentina Taddeo
Letterer: Tom Napolitano
Review by James Attias
Bats, Mysteries, and More! With a solid first outing, what comes next for Luke, Kate, and The Drummer in Outsiders #2? The Answer… Monsters.
See…Monsters?
When I started reading this issue, with tales of sea monsters I thought “Oh, so this team will be like The Challengers of the Unknown?” and who should pop up 2 pages later?! You guessed it… Batman! Only joking, it was The Challengers, but I had you going for a second there though, didn’t I?
Breaking all the rules, I judged this series by the cover of the first issue, with everyone looking like they were part of a covert ops team, similar to The Authority. Well, boy was I wrong! This issue tells us that this new team of Outsiders are explorers; they want to find mysteries and answer questions.
With Luke Fox’s seemingly limitless bankroll (formerly Mr. Bruce Wayne’s) and The Drummer’s knowledge of all the weird things they come across, it feels like Kate Kane is the everywoman of this book. With her being the most relatable character to the audience.
When this issue started, with Kate telling stories of a monster she encountered when she was a cadet, I was a bit worried they’d be re-writing her to fit the book, it worked quite well here, but let’s not do that too much, please.
Challengers of the Reality TV
So, when did the COTU become a bunch of meathead adrenaline junkies, I asked myself? I always thought of them as a group of 40-year-old men who act like they’re 20 and permanently act like it’s 1953?! Well, we get to see a new team in this story and it was wonderfully written.
The art in this issue was a little dark, but I expect you don’t get much sunlight on the ocean floor, in the middle of a storm in a submarine, so I’ll let that one go. Otherwise, it was very detailed and a great fun visual experience.
Conclusion
This was a step in a different direction, that I wasn’t expecting. Outsiders #2 is an adventure that you won’t be able to put down.
Images Courtesy of DC Entertainment
