Those Forgotten And Some Best Left Forgotten: Reviewing ‘Outsiders’ #6

Right now, some overworked fictional organization is very busy repairing the vast number of fourth walls that media keeps breaking. Through mystical means, Batwoman and Luke Fox’s team has found their own way to break a wall and see what is beyond it.

Open the door and dive into the spaces between with Outsiders #6 from Collin Kelly, Jackson Lanzing, Robert Carey, Valentina Taddeo, and Tom Napolitano.

This entire run has made no secret that it was built off of things related to The Authority, a series from Warren Ellis and Bryan Hitch. Previous issues were written like fun one-off adventures that had threads building to something. Any Authority bits were smaller or woven into the story in ways that didn’t shout out too much.

This one though ends with a blaring direct tie to that series.

Which, as someone who never read a lick of Authority stories, did very little for me. I very well could have read the story now to see the ties, but that’s not going to happen. Chiefly because of the fact that Ellis had over 60 individuals come forward in 2020 accusing him of various levels of sexual misconduct. It was all brushed over by the man with a typical industry “sorry, not sorry” style response, and by all reports he hasn’t wanted for work in the time since. Even if the bigger publishers are still — for the moment — staying away from him.

His work though, not so much, as there is an The Authority film in the works for the new DC Film Universe.

Look, I get it. We creatives are inspired by things that we have read, watched, listened to, or consumed in any other fashion. Often those things came at a formative time in our lives and, given the chance, we would jump to play in that particular sandbox (or sprinkle its vibes in our own works). Doesn’t make it any less dicey to be revisiting the work of someone that has been revealed to be beyond the industry preferred term of “problematic.”

As a story, it’s fine. Overall, this space where characters that were wiped away by reboots, relaunches, the various crises, etc. is an intriguing one. Giving a universal poke to how comics often tosses various toys away rather than putting them back into the toybox.

It’s all rendered so well by Carey, who has a very detailed and powerful style. It fits in that space that feels very superhero-ish but also maintains a more grounded energy beyond the capes. Framing plays a major part in making things move and feel hefty, allowing for some very creative visuals. Letting the panels shift and slide around in size and shape, pulling the audience in deeper or shoving them back.

All of the sort of dreamy, out of the universe elements are well used, bringing the right tone to the story. Placing things in that sort of 1950s aesthetic makes a lot of sense for the idea of things of the past being forgotten. Yet, it also feels limiting because it’s a visual choice we’ve seen far too often in these types of stories.

Color tones shift from very light welcoming hues for this space and the darker shadows that dance around, bringing depth. Some flares of more vibrant heroic tones pop up as Taddeo moves through the story. A sharpness can be felt with all the colors as they strike and do what they came to do, leaving quite an impact.

Lucius Fox is our narrator, and the man is going through a lot. We feel that in the way that Napolitano delivers the lettering, especially in the captions. A lighter color comes with those boxes, fitting for Fox and what he’s going through. A heaviness resonates with each bit of lettering on the page, keeping the character’s voices powerful and anchored.

In the end, I do like what is being done here, but the fact that it’s leaning heavier now into Ellis’ work doesn’t sit that well. I won’t judge the last handful of issues to come from this fact, but it’s not going to be something easily forgotten or moved beyond.

Outsiders #6 is now available from DC Comics.