Reviewer: John Babos
Story Title: “Devil’s Work”, part 3: A Family Matter
Written by: Judd Winick
Pencils by: Tom Raney
Inks by: Scott Hanna
Colors by: Gina Going
Letters by: Comicraft
Assoc. Editor: Lysa Hawkins
Editor: Eddie Berganza
Publisher: DC Comics
The Outsiders continue to tangle with a souped up Shazam rogue Sabbac in the form of a Russian mobster turned demon.
Guest stars galore are on hand. Black Lightning, in his 1970’s threads, battles alongside his daughter, and current Outsider, Thunder (although he sported a very new and different costume in the pages of Superman/Batman – you’d figure since the Outsiders and S/B share the same editor there would be some consistency with their pages – alas, is not the case). All the while, Captain Marvel Jr. stops by to tangle with his arch-foe Sabbac… now the nefarious…Gregor! I’ll be honest. I’m not a big fan of this reinterpretation of Sabbac, but this new “Gregor” shows some promise. He’s witty, mean and vulgar.
On an aside, that “vulgarity” is brought to you by the letter “J” in the form of writer Judd Winick. He continues to push the envelope with this non-comics code approved title by spewing profane slang from Gregor and the Outsiders in the pitch of battle. Did it add to the story? No. Do kids hear worse nowadays? Absolutely, but why do we need the words b*t*h and wh*re in our comics? The attempt to make comics “real” seems to have become an exercise on who can raise the profanity bar higher. I’ve had very mixed views of Winick over the years, but for the most part I’ve enjoyed his Outsiders work. What still irks me is that his view of “edgy” seems to mean peppering this book with profanity just short of using the word f*ck. I’m not a prude by any measure, but I can’t help but feel that these “real” and “edgy” moments are forced, unnecessary, and more shock-focused than story-focused. Winick can script well when he gets comfortable on a book. Many other parts of this issue show that.
Anyhow, while I also wasn’t a big fan of another comics story revolving around shutting the mouth of hell and forcing back the demons escaping into our world, the inter-character moments and development really made up for a weak plot.
Of particular interest to me were not the moments between Captain Marvel Jr. and Gregor (since I’m a huge Shazam fan), but actually the moments between Black Lightning and his daughter Thunder. BL reluctantly gets back into the hero game and his daughter sees that side of him for the first time. She was so young in his heroic heyday that she only saw pictures or video. Seeing him in action solidifies her resolve to be a heroine, while BL continues to plead with her – the road he traveled and the one the Outsiders and her are on only leads to loneliness and pain. A few good deeds, sure. But, personal sacrifice and heaps of pain. These father-daughter moments were really well done.
Also, sadly, many of the other Outsiders, particularly Nightwing, Jade, and “Metamorpho“, are woefully under-used in this issue. I also don’t understand why Winick wanted to add Huntress to the mix, for a convalescing Arsenal, when she is relegated to a handful of panels. The ensemble nature of this title was definately missing in real meaningful ways.
However, penciler Tom Raney continues to deliver dynamic super hero action and poignant moments like those between BL and Thunder. Raney’s Captain Marvel Jr. is powerful and has me longing for this under-used Shazam’er to join a title regularly – maybe the Outsiders or the Teen Titans?
The art on the issues’s closing panels between U.S. President Pete Ross (former prez Lex Luthor flipped out in the pages of S/B and is on the lam – reminiscent of LL’s Silver Age characterization) and Jefferson Pierce (BL’s alias) really delivered the emotion of this DCU-changing moment. Pete is really presidential and Jefferson gets back closer to his Tony Isabella-scribbled roots (after some poor characterization of BL in the pages of Green Arrow by… you guessed it… Judd Winick).
Overall, this issue was a mixed bag, but it was a fun read.
