“The Lost City of Cannon”
Writers: Jackson Lanzing and Collin Kelly
Artist: Robert Carey
Color Artist: Valentina Taddeo
Letterer: Tom Napolitano
Review by James Attias
Outsiders #9 takes us on a trip to where universes live or die, and where chaos fights order. Let’s break the fourth wall and jump in!
Guns Don’t Kill Universes, Canons Do
This issue (and the entire series) has been very meta, so with the announcement coming out from DC that this title will end after a double-sized 11th issue, these numerous wild, ground-laying short stories will need to find an end somehow, as I’m worried the seeds were planted with a longer run in mind.
So, our story takes us to the lost city of Cannon. Why? I hear you ask… well, it seems this story has now taken a very literal turn into a reboot of a universe and altering the “canon”.
I have to say I’m not the biggest fan of this form of storytelling. I like to think that when a universe gets rebooted, we simply move to a different branch of the multiverse and everything that came before still exists, we just don’t get to see it as much (or at all) anymore. The idea of a giant cannon, the size of a city, that can destroy a universe/reality feels a bit hammy to me… and that’s saying something.
Drumming on
The art and letters in this issue weren’t the best either as they were somewhat taxing on my eyes, even though I’m a seasoned comic reader. The long prose storytelling coming from The Drummer’s own journal took up valuable space on the page and could have been cut down.
The art on the other hand gave us Lucius Fox as the most active old man ever, a Michael B Jordan Luke Fox, and an Ozzy Osborne Drummer. There was a consolation prize of Dr. Fate looking really cool… but the rest was a bit all over the place.
Conclusion
I can see what Outsiders #9 was trying to do, but it just wasn’t my cup of Meta-tea. Hopefully, the final two issues will take us in a different direction.
Images Courtesy of DC Entertainment
