DC’s current Outsiders comic has come to an end. Outsiders #11 from writers Jackson Lanzing and Collin Kelly, artist Robert Carey, colorist Valentina Taddeo, and letterer Tom Napolitano is an oversized conclusion to the comic this team started almost a year ago. We say goodbye to not only the team, but the cast of characters as well.
The issue starts with Jakita Wagner facing off against the Carrier, a powerful being that fights to keep the timeline intact. She stops Wagner from completing her plan, and in doing so, takes the Outsiders from each of their respective endings Jakita has set for them in order to bring them together once more and face off against Jakita.
WRITING
Lanzing and Kelly work together seamlessly here. Every word feels like it’s from one mind; this duo really understands one another. It feels like they speak through Carrier in this. They’re the ones telling Wagner that she’s wrong. That these worlds shouldn’t end and that no one should be destined to any one thing. They quite literally provide the Outsiders with a blank page, and the freedom to explore the unknown and not be bound to any predetermined end they may have.
Batwoman and both Luke and Lucius Fox all have their own parts to play, but Lanzing and Kelly do well in giving them autonomy. They act for themselves. They work together, but each character still works and strives towards what they want and need as individuals. Each character’s ending share the idea that they’re fitting, but don’t feel quite right—like their story isn’t over yet. And so when the Carrier pulls them out, their connection feels complete. They feel like they really control themselves, that there is no writer behind them. That’s the best thing a writer can do for any character.
ART
Carey does great work this issue, especially with his paneling. Everything feels carefully placed and exactly where it belongs. However, when Carrier tries to bring the Outsiders together, she turns to shards and then those shards become the panels. They’re messy and rigid; they’re not set in stone. They’re ever-changing, and that’s important to the message Lanzing and Kelly pose. And then the team bursts through those shards, no longer confined to those boxes.
Not only that, but Carey produces some gorgeous backgrounds. Everything is detailed, but there isn’t too much. There’s enough to tell you where these characters are, like when they’re standing on a building with others behind them, but not so much that it crowds the page. Carey is really good at making the world feel just as important as the characters.
COLORS
Taddeo’s colors are immaculate here. She not only gives personality to the characters through their shading and shadows, but she assists in making Carey’s environments feel impactful and rich—specifically the library where the majority of the issue takes place. It’s this sort of ethereal silver that almost engulfs the characters near the beginning. As the cast gains their autonomy later though, it morphs to exist around them instead. They’re well defined, with the colored background less detailed than it was before. The coloring just adds to what makes the character work of this issue so great.
LETTERS
Napolitano’s approach to lettering this series has remained engaging the entire way through. The shift from regular text boxes to the narration in the written brown box style is amazing every time, especially when it’s used to further explain and cement the emotions of the characters as it does in this issue. It feels like it comes from a higher plane than the rest of the comic, more detached. Because of that, it feels like the words carry more weight. It was a really smart choice.
CONCLUSION
This team has created a beautiful story about destiny and loss for almost a year now, and they really stuck the landing well here. Every character gets the ending they deserve, as well as a new beginning. Diving into Planetary stuff through the series was definitely a bold choice from the team, but they handled it with care, and this issue is no exception to that. Lanzing, Kelly, Carey, Taddeo, and Napolitano should be proud to have worked on such a meaningful story regarding fate, as well as how you should face it.
