Review by Tim Sheridan
Story Title: Detour
Writer: Jen Van Meter
Pencillers: Matthew Clark & Dierich Smith
Inker: Art Thibert
Letterer: Travis Lanham
Colorist: Guy Major
Asst Editor: Rachel Gluckstern
Editor: Joan Hilty
Published by DC Comics
My enjoyment of this book has grown since it started, but I feel as though in the last few months or so, it has been missing something. It spent a lot of time building up to the Titans crossover last year, but since then, it’s been a little weak. This issue is especially weak. It may have to do with the fact that it’s being written by a guest writer and partially a guest artist, but it is lacking.
Outsiders has always been at its strongest when telling the story of this dysfunctional team. And this issue is not really about that at all. Half the team is out in space fighting Starfire’s sister, and the other half is back on earth, kind of doing their own thing.
The Starfire space story is interesting in its own right, but it seems out of place in this book. I’ve never thought of this as a cosmic book in the least. It deals with a plotline from the Rann/Thanagar war, and it’s not terribly accessible, even to those who read that series. It also is pretty much all about Starfire, who I’m not even sure is a member of the Outsiders. And if she is, it’s a pretty recent addition. She hasn’t been around the book long enough for readers to really care about her yet. But it has a few good moments with Shift and Jade, and those are nice.
But ultimately, it just is “to be continued” over in Infinte Crisis, so it seems like this was a wasted issue.
As for the stuff back on Earth, it more or less just seems like a story that is spinning its wheels because it can’t go anywhere before the “One Year Later” shift. Grace is beat up by some of the DCU villains, but it turns out that it was the Arsenal all along. Why? I don’t know. I re-read it a few times, but I still don’t get it. Oh well.
Overall this is a very good book, but this issue is just a weak issue. It happens. I have faith that when Winnick returns, and especially after OYL, it’ll return to the book that I know and love.
