Batman and the Outsiders #1
Published and © by Published and © by DC, August 1983
Title: “Wars Ended … Wars Begun!”
Synopsis: Fed up with Justice League regulations, Batman quits the team and heads to Markovia to rescue Lucius Fox.
Writer: Mike W. Barr
Artist: Jim Aparo
Review: As the Bronze Age came to a close, team-up books were out and superteam books were in. Nowhere was that fact more apparent than at DC, where Batman and the Outsiders directly replaced stalwart team-up title The Brave & the Bold in the company’s monthly lineup. Co-creators Mike W. Barr and Jim Aparo field a great mix of characters for The Outsiders, putting together a team that felt both familiar and new. But there was a lot of material to introduce here, and this first half of a two-part origin story feels a little rushed, even by Bronze Age standards.
Grade: B
Second opinion: “Barr and Aparo have set the stage with considerable care and aplomb.” – Kevin McConnell, Amazing Heroes #27, July 15, 1983 … “The varied expressions on the faces of the Justice League – sadness, anger and shock – are testament to Jim Aparo’s range as an artist.” – Nick Jones, “DC Comics Cover Art: 350 of the Greatest Covers in DC’s History,” 2020 … “Not much interesting happens … . Did we really need another superteam book?” – Gene Kehoe, It’s a Fanzine #19, May 1983 … “Aparo is understandably uninspired by Barr’s scripts. … C-” – Gene Kehoe, It’s a Fanzine #20, August 1983
Cool factor: Though not as strong as he once was, Jim Aparo continues to be a masterful artist.
Not-so-cool factor: Baron Bedlam. The first in a menagerie of lame villains that plagued this series.
Notable: This issue includes a “A First Issue Pseudo-Editorial” by Mike W. Barr.
Collector’s note: According to the Grand Comics Database, there is a 75¢ Canadian variant of this issue.
Character quotable: “If I wanted to hurt you, we wouldn’t be talking!” – The Batman, bad ass
Editor’s note: This review was originally published by Comics Bronze Age on January 19, 2010.
