Outsiders #14 (December, 1986)
"The Looker Murder Case!"
"Starting Over"
Writer/Editor - Mike W. Barr
Artists - Jim Aparo & Mary Wilshire
Colors - Adrienne Roy
Cover Price: $1.50
Halo... has braces?! Now tell me, what soulless heathen could pass up a story like that?
Not me!
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We open cold with a scene of a man with a knife plunged in his back. The Outsiders are investigating the scene... while Looker is behind bars. We're not there yet, but we will be! But first... something far, far, farrrrr more important. Halo... gets braces!
Tatsu and Gaby walk throughout the mall, with the latter doin' the whole "woe is me" deal that many teen-agers would in the same situation. She refers to herself as "Gaby Doe: Robotgirl", and runs off threatening never to go back to school again. Is she really the only High Schooler with braces?
We shift scenes to the offices of Carl Cramer. He's stolen a photo from Looker's apartment which confirms that she's really the mousy Emily Briggs. He's been hired by a Mr. Dumont... but, he says he doesn't have to tell him anything... so long as Looker "plays ball". This proposition earns him a smack in the face... followed up by some hypnosis. After she leaves, we hear a scream coming from his office.
The next day at Canyon High School... a pair of young ladies try and chat Gaby up... but she ghosts them. We know she's just self-conscious about her brace-facedness, but they're taking it as she's being a stuck-up snob.
That night, Gaby is so distracted that she's forgotten that tonight is her Birthday Party! The Outsiders all show up, gifts in hand, to celebrate. Gaby is still a bit uncomfortable about entertaining... until she sees the stack of presents, which she giddily opens. Just in case you forgot when this book came out... check out her loot!
Before it's time for cake, Rex makes a boneheaded remark about Gaby forgetting all about her metal-mouth. This, naturally, gets her blushy... and she scampers away. Just then, there's a knock at the door. It's an officer, with a warrant to arrest Looker for the murder of Carl Cramer!
Down at the station, the officer deduces that Looker did the deed because... get this, Cramer was building a model ship... a Brigantine... and Looker's real last name is "Briggs", so... they take this as a clue. I'd like to know what Police Academy this guy graduated from... was Steve Guttenberg there? Jeff (Black Lightning) doesn't quite know what to say... but he and Brion agree that the safest place for Looker is behind bars... because, clearly... someone is trying to frame her.
And so, it's time to investigate. Gaby and Tatsu head to Warren Kennels to chat up one Belle Warren. Belle ain't the most hospitable host... and fires a rifle in their direction. When they finally get to question her... she agrees that she has a cause to kill Cramer... and actually she wishes she had... only, somebody got to him first.
Next, Rex heads to the apartment of John Rupert, an Accountant. While Rupert sleeps, Rex goes through his belongings... including a metal box. Upon opening it, an alarm goes off... which wakes its owner. Rex confronts the fella... who, comes clean... about embezzling. Ya see, he once ran with Cramer... but has since gone clean. Even going as far as changing his name to distance himself from his past. Satisfied, Rex leaves.
Finally, Jeff and Brion head to an (all-night?) Discount Watch shop owned by one Phil Melton. Melton confuses the heroes for members of Infinity, Inc. and tells his story. Yeah, he had reason to wanna "off" Cramer... but he didn't do it, see? Not completely convinced, Geo-Force and Black Lightning leave.
Congregating at Cramer's office, the Outsiders tap into Looker's telepathy to fill her in on everything they found out. Allowing her to "see" through their eyes, they ask her to tap into her photographic memory and tell them if she notices anything different. She notes that there had been a ship's bell... only, it's missing now. Everyone (sans Gaby... and me) have figured it out!
We rejoin the team back at the Police Department where they present their case to the officer. If the killer took a "bell"... might it be Belle Warren whodunnit?! Well, no... that'd be too easy, and almost make sense. In fact, it as Phil Melton the Discount Watch King... because, get this, bells are used to tell time on ships. Ay yai yai. Oh, and also... they found some blood evidence linking him to the murder, which will probably hold a bit more water in court than "a tchotchke was missing from his desk".
We wrap up with Looker breathing her first bit of fresh air in 24-hours... and latching onto Brion so they can confront that Dumont guy. Gaby still doesn't wanna go to school... but, whattaya gonna do?
We're not done yet, folks... it's backup time... starring Windfall. Who? Well she was a member of the Baron Bedlam's Masters of Disaster alongside her sister New Wave. She's since had a change of heart... and finds herself in a small village in Markovia, the site of one of their earlier raids. She swipes some clothes in order to fit in with the locals...
... and walks right into a young fella named Nikolas who is on his way back from a day of hunting. He claims that there is a bear terrorizing the village, and he was out trying to take care of it. They hit it off immediately, and he invites her to his place so his mother can fill her belly with a hot meal.
We learn here that Nik's father and older brother were killed in the battle with Bedlam... which makes Windfall feel kinda bad. They invite her to spend the night, however, she finds it too difficult to sleep. She suits up and heads out.
She comes upon a group of hunters (including Nikolas)... and gets clobbered in the back of the head with the butt-end of an ax. Before we know it, she's tied up to a stake, and just about to be roasted. Windfall is able to extinguish the flames with her powers... but she knows she won't be able to keep it up.
Just then... that bear shows up! The hunters scamper, knowing that the beast will take care of their little witch problem. Windfall is able to break free, and after a distraction from Nikolas, the bear finds itself impaled on the stake.
We wrap up with Nikolas telling Wendy that it'd be best if she left... next time, he's not sure he'll stick around to help her.
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Okay... this was a "cute" story, I guess. I had fun with it, but can't help but notice how strange and convenient the whole thing was. I mean, the whole mishagoss is predicated on the murdered dude (who apparently loves puzzles!) having a model ship on his desk.
Something I'm confused about... primarily because, coming in (relatively) cold, I lack the context. If people (like the arresting officer) know that Looker's real name is Briggs... than what was Cramer's secret? Just the fact that she looks different as a civilian? I suppose that's enough... but, I'd figure it wouldn't be too difficult to connect the dots if you know her real name. I dunno.
Our three suspects... all had reason to wanna "off" Cramer, which is fair enough. Not sure why the... ya know... Police didn't follow these leads, but whattaya gonna do? I guess they really thought the "brigantine on the desk" was enough to prosecute. So dumb.
As was the conclusion. A bell tchotchke missing from Cramer's desk indicates that the Discount Watch King dun did the deed? The hell? This assumes that Melton even knows that a ship's bell indicates time. Of course, it's all moot since they also have the blood evidence... which, really... is all they needed. Not sure why we needed to confuse things with the knick-knacks.
Also... Halo gets braces. It's these sorta-soapy elements that always keeps me coming back to the Outsiders. It's not quite as soapy as New Teen Titans or the X-Men... but, we do get really neat "civvie" moments like this for the team members. I mean, we also get Gaby's birthday party... which was a lot of fun, and also really brought me back to the late 80's!
One problem I have... and this really goes for all of the early-ish Baxter books. The paper doesn't really do the art any favors. Here, Aparo's work looks more like it would fit in a newspaper strip than a comic book. Not horrible or anything, just not up to the standard set by his non-Baxter work.
The back-up... was what it was. It's the story of reflection... and the concept of redemption, and it made its point. Art here was pretty good... though, I'm sure (like Aparo's) it would have looked better on newsprint.
I appreciated that Nikolas had a sort of crisis of conscience. He remained to help Windfall with the bear... but, wasn't sure he'd "have her back" next time around. Makes perfect sense for a guy who had been affected by her former villainy.
Overall... like I said, a cute issue, but kind of a throwaway. Still worth checking out, in my opinion... especially if you're into some soapy-superheroics. This issue is available digitally.
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Outsiders (vol.2) #17 (April, 1995)
"Sibling Rivalry: The Truth About Terra!"
Writer - Mike W. Barr
Penciller - Paul Pelletier
Inks - Robert Campanella
Letters - Kevin Cunningham
Colors - Gene D'Angelo
Associate Editor - Eddie Berganza
Editor - Kevin Dooley
Cover Price: $1.95
Today we're going to take a look at, what I usually refer to as the "forgotten" volume of Outsiders. I mean, even to this day... I sometimes forget that it even happened! Anytime I come across an issue in the bins (which is, admittedly, pretty often) I'm surprised that it exists. Not sure what it is about it...
Also... we're finally going to solve the riddle that is Terra... the other Terra, that is. I mean, this issue is called "The Truth About Terra!", they wouldn't be lying to us... would they?!
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We open with Geo-Force being forcibly ejected from the Titans' base. He's come to speak with Terra... the other Terra... the one who looks a whole heckuva lot like his half-sister, but isn't really... and, the Titans, for whatever reason, don't much like the idea. He finds himself faced with both Arsenal and Green Lantern... and a fight is on.
Roy hangs out on the ground while Kyle and Brion scuffle in the sky. What starts as a scrape turns into a full-on game of "chicken". Kyle and Brion soar directly for one another... however, at the very last moment...
... Darkstar, Donna Troy breaks up the melee. We get a pretty cute scene of Donna scolding the fellas as though they were children... which leads to a bit of finger-pointing. I'm going to mention this in our "review" portion... but, man alive... I love this art!
Back inside, Donna checks in with Terra... and asks if she'd be down with meeting her "brother". She's nervous that Brion won't actually listen to her... he won't see that she's not who he thinks she is... not really, anyway. She ultimately comes around, and Brion is allowed in to see her. Clearly nervous, he begins rambling on and on... you'd almost think he writes this blog! Anyhoo, Terra tells him to shut uppa his face so she can explain things.
She more or less tells him to calm his transference. She ain't that Tara... she ain't his half-sister. She goes on to say she's not sure who she is at all... which doesn't tell us a whole bunch. I feel like we might be using the title "The Truth About Terra!" a bit willy nilly here.
Brion tells her that he understands... but I ain't buyin' that for a second. Before they can continue, however, there is a rumbling, and Titans HQ is filled with gas! Brion is able to use his powers to cause the gas to settle to the floor, as to not asphyxiate anybody present. Then... giant mechs burst through the wall!
It's made clear from the get-go that they're here to nab Terra... which, I suppose is convenient for this story, ain't it? Anyhoo... the mech does in fact manage to grab her... and takes off, leaving Brion behind with a trio of angry and suspicious Titans.
Ya see, these mechs were of Markovian tech... and the Titans think Geo-Force might've had something to do with their arrival. Stands to reason, right? Like I said, it is pretty convenient. Brion is steadfast in his innocence, and even goes to contact the rest of the Outsiders to assist in the rescue. Speedy fires an arrow into Geo-Force's communicator (and also, his wrist?!) because the last thing they need is more "muscle" they can't trust.
On the very next page... we (and the heroes) find Terra. Wow... that was a lot of build up, wasn't it? Turns out, she was nabbed by Dr. Simone Kneidle... a Markovian scientist.
While the trio of Titans fight off more Markovian mechs, Geo-Force gets down to the nitty-gritty with the Doc. Her plan is to analyze Terra's abilities in hopes of duplicating them. Ya see, Markovia isn't as secure a country as it had been in the past. When Brion inquires as to why they resorted to kidnapping instead of simply asking... Kneidle kinda rolls her eyes... Terra only received her powers by the grace of Markovian technology anyway.
At this point, Terra wakes up... and she ain't happy. She snags the Doc in a rock-trap... and begins to squeeze. Brion tells her to let go before she allows herself to become just like the old Terra... and after a moments hesitation, she does.
Terra tells Doc Kneidle to bug off... after all, Markovia ain't her country. Brion apologizes for the hassle and ensures Tara that she's a better person than her namesake would suggest. Even though she's not his half-sister, she's still someone he'd like to get to know better. Terra agrees.
Geo-Force heads out, but not before stopping at the old Titans' graveyard so he can pay his respects to his actual half-sister... and by "pay respects" I mean, say how much closer he feels to his fake half-sister. Classy move, dude.
We wrap up by switching scenes entirely. We catch up with Outsiders (Sebastian) Faust and (a brunette) Halo outside of Grauman's Chinese Theatre. They talk a bit about the upcoming Batman movie... without calling it a Batman movie, natch.
Then... they're attacked by Felix Faust! He strikes, informing his son that old debts have come do. He then apparently vaporizes him! Oh, and he also messes up Gaby pretty good too!
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Whew, so glad we got to the bottom of the Terra mess.
Right?
Yeah, notsomuch, huh? We know, basically just as much as we did after reading Team Titans #6 (which came out two years earlier). This Terra ain't that Terra... and the world she comes from no longer exists. I mean... that's all we really knew... and it's all we really know now.
If you're a regular reader to the blog, you'll remember that, not too long ago, we talked a bit about the concept of transference. Then, it was about some of my own expectations regarding Ted Kord (and his ability to make me laugh)... today, we have it coming from Geo-Force.
Even after this encounter (and messy event), Geo-Force still wants to get to know this Terra better. Even though she's little more than a perfect stranger to him... he still can't let it go. I mean, it's only natural to be drawn to people we find familiar... I suppose that's why concepts like transference are so universal.
I do wish we had a little less action here... and more awkward "getting to know you" type chatter from the Markovs... though, it must be said... any opportunity to see Paul Pelletier draw action scenes is one I'm going to take. This fella... I mean, wow. He's definitely in my Top-5 of comics artists (probably even Top-3)!
There's a "freshness" about his work. It stands out from other DC art at the time... it has some of the (good) trappings of Image Comics art, without all of the crazy line-work and bad anatomy. And the faces? Oh man! Excellent, excellent faces! Just really, one of (to me) the best artists in comics. Can't say enough good about Paul Pelletier.
Overall... if you're reading this to get the skinny on "Terra-Two", well... you're probably going to be a bit let down. If you're just looking for a fun superhero romp, however, I think you'll dig this! This hasn't been collected... nor been made available digitally. Seems maybe this is the forgotten volume of Outsiders after all! Shouldn't be hard to find... and almost certainly won't break the bank (or even a buck!).
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Letters Page (including a review of the first year of the volume!):
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Action Comics #436 (June, 1974)
"The Super-Cigars of Perry White!"
"Young Man With a Drum!"
Writer - Elliot S! Maggin
Pencils - Curt Swan & Dick Dillin
Inks - Vince Colletta & Tex Blaisdell
Editor - Julius Schwartz
Cover Price: $0.20
I'm saddened today... I've been digging through a lot of the Bronze Age DC I've got for appearances of (Roy Harper's band) Great Frog... and I'm coming to find they didn't make all that many appearances. What's more, when they do appear... it's as quick as a hiccup.
I'd like to think that there's a timeline where 1st Issue Special #14 did hit the stands... and it wasn't a Green Arrow pitch... it was a Great Frog pitch. Hey, the Dingbats got an issue, right? The Outsiders too... and they also sung a bit... er, that is, they had a theme song... with lyrics!
Anyhoo... onward and outward...
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Our first story opens with the Galaxy Building getting a visit from a strange pair of mutant teen-agers. A helpful footnote informs us that Perry White and Superman had freed them from a madman named Calixto in Superman #265 (1973). To show their thanks, they've concocted a gift of... cigars. The stogies materialize on the Chief's desk just as he enters his office.
At that very moment, Superman has returned to that... very building. His super-hearing tips him off that his phone is ringing... and after nearly running over an office staffer, he manages to get to his office in time to nab the call.
On the line is... Perry White. He's just learned that he's won his third Pulitzer Price (must just be givin' those things away!), and Morgan Edge doth decreed that Clark Kent accompany Perry to New York to cover his acceptance. And so, an hour later they're in the air. Just how far from New York is Metropolis anyway?
Anyhoo, once in the air they hit what is believed to be a pocket of turbulence. Clark, using his x-ray vision knows better though. He knows that the pilot has passed out due to lack of cabin pressure. He makes an excuse to head to the back of the plane to "change clothes", at which point Perry White (already smoking a cigar) wishes there were something he could do. Worth noting (or maybe it's not), Perry looks a whole lot like Chuck Woolery here... but not the Chuck Woolery of 1974... more like Love Connection era. It's kind of uncanny.
Perry unwittingly knocks a hole in the wall of the airplane... which, even without superpowers... why you gonna pound on the walls of an airplane? Don't you know they're only able to fly because we all believe they can?! Planes are just playing along with us, so it's best to be respectful... you don't wanna mess with that sorta magic. After being swept out of the fuselage... Perry quickly realizes, he can fly!
By this point, Clark has "suped up" (took him long enough), and together... the combined forces of Superman and Super-Perry manage to safely land the plane. From here, they hop onto another plane to finish their trek to New York. Again... just how far apart are New York and Metropolis?!
At the Pulitzer Ceremony, Perry sees some of Clark's old Metropolis U classmates givin' him a hard time. So... he uses his newfound superpowers to extract a bit of revenge on his pal's behalf. After Clark is tripped by one goofball, Perry nails the goons with a "super-gust" of cigar smoke!
If that's not enough... after the Ceremony, there's an Earthquake! The whole event center looks to be tumblin' down... until Perry makes the save. All of the onlookers assume that Perry White is really... Superman! Clark ain't havin' none'a that... so, he "supes up" and gives chase.
He follows until we see the source of the rumblin'... looks like one of those drill-vehicles the Foot Clan used in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Inside is a goofball looking to... I dunno, drill through a whole bunch of stuff... his motivations aren't exactly clear. Perry gets hit with a blast, rendering him... normal.
Superman continues his pursuit... and after taking an x-ray peek, learns that the "crime-tank" is fueled by nuclear power. Just so happens that Superman knows there's a secret nuclear reactor underneath the University... sooo, he heads underground... and sucks up all the nuke juice, rendering the tank immobile.
After the dust settles, folks swarm around Perry White to inquire as to what the hell they all just experienced. Perry lights up another stogie (I dunno... I think he might have a problem), and talks about how all he has to do is think of a superpower... and suddenly, he's got it! He then wishes for the ability to know where his powers came from... and only then, does he realize that the four-thumbed mutants dosed his cigars with superpowers.
We wrap up this tale with an epilogue... in which Perry White locks his final super-cigar in a safe... just in case he might need it one day.
But that's not all, folks... it's time for some Action-Plus starring Green Arrow Great Frog! We open with Dinah giving Ollie a clue she found regarding a fencing ring. It's a "professional quality" guitar string, which was found in an expensive camera which was stolen from Milwaukee... but fenced in Star City. Ollie decides to look into some local rock bands...
... including, Great Frog! It looks like they're performing in front of a packed house... of gravel. We'll just assume those are heads and not rocks, right? Anyhoo, Ollie is surprised to see his old ward Speedy beatin' the tom tom on stage... which sounds much more disturbing than it actually is.
Ollie heads backstage to take a look at Great Frog's equipment... he finds a snare drum with a false bottom... which conceals, you guessed it... expensive cameras! Seems whoever's behind this ring, is using unwitting rock bands to transport stolen goods. It's actually not the worst idea... though, it is a pretty big conclusion to jump to, ain't it? I mean, it wasn't all that long ago that we learned Speedy was a junkie, right? Might stand to reason that he's a willing accomplice, right? Nahhh... Ollie's certain that Roy is well aware of the situation, and is conducting his own investigation at the same time.
After the show, Ollie goes to confront Roy about the shady dealings... almost giving him a pat on the back for his "undercover" work. Just then, Roy's "agent" Archie enters the backstage area and demands to know what a "costumed clown" is doing there. Roy responds by... socking Green Arrow in the face!
On the way out of the dressing room, Roy (very obviously) tosses some sort of device at the "kayoed" Green Arrow. When the rest of Archie's goons go to "dispose" of Ollie, they get their butts kicked.
We move ahead to the offices of the Mammoth Booking Agency where Roy is invited to join up full time in their operation... which includes both stolen goods... and drugs! Also counterfeiting, but I don't think Speedy was ever addicted to that. No sooner do the Mammoth folks spill the beans, than Green Arrow bursts through a window. Ohhh, so that's what the device was.
Ollie and Roy proceed to beat up the Mammoth guys... while Roy monologues about how they've been taking advantage of kids. Ollie's all "yeah, I figured that out four pages ago". Finally, the boss man agrees to talk.
After the Mammoth's are hauled off to jail, Ollie pulls Roy aside and lectures him on the dangers of being too headstrong. He tells Roy that if he ever feels like he's in over his head, to let him know. Yeah Ollie, just like when he was strung out, right? You were real helpful then. Roy calls him on his BS, and walks away.
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Man, you can't say the Bronze Age wasn't fun! We get some silly stuff here, sure... but I loved most every page of it!
I feel like these days we're so busy trying to "solve" or "decode" stories in order to interject a measure of... I dunno... "logic"? Maybe it's just realism. Whatever it is... it seems like we only allow ourselves to suspend our disbelief just so far before we disengage. Like, we'll believe a man could fly... but, "super ventriloquism"? I feel like many folks are all, outta my face with that stuff.
Here, we have Perry White contracting superpowers from enchanted cigars... which were gifted to him by four-thumbed mutants. There's a sentence I never thought I'd ever write. I love that this is just "accepted". It's something that happened, and nobody's really all that troubled by it. I doubt very highly that "final cigar" was ever retrieved from that wall safe. It's just a one-and-done, and we move on from here.
It gives us a super-fun (Nick Cardy) cover, back when covers actually meant anything. I'd like to think had I been a living, breathing human in 1974 I'd have wanted to read this one from the cover alone.
Now, what does Perry do with his superpowers? He acts heroic... which is pretty perfect. He's about "out front" about it... but, whattaya gonna do... it's his first day on the job. I definitely appreciate his standing up for Clark against the college bullies... seems like something the fatherly White would do.
It's funny... going back to "logic" and suspension of disbelief for just a moment... the one thing about this story that "gets" me... just how many miles are there between New York and Metropolis?! I guess if the Pulitzer Ceremony was upstate it might be best to fly... but, I'm assuming they just went to the City. Oh well. Fun story though!
The back-up... you know I usually just "tolerate" backups... however, with this one... Great Frog notwithstanding, we actually get some followup on the "temperature" of the Roy/Ollie relationship. This feels like vital and necessary reading if you were a fan of those characters. Roy and Ollie's relationship has been shaky for a little while at this point... and it's neat to see them sorta-kinda confront that.
I did find it interesting that cynical old Ollie's initial assumption is that Roy must be conducting an investigation... rather than being a party to the crime-ring. I mean, he'd been burned by Speedy before... so, it wouldn't be outta the realm of possibility that he'd relapsed. I like that Ollie didn't even consider it. These days, it feels like Roy is pretty much defined by his heroin addiction... seems like everybody second-guesses his motivations, assuming he's doing whatever it is he's doing just to score his next "fix". It was refreshing to see that wasn't the case here.
I dig that Roy kinda tells Ollie off at the end. It makes complete sense. The guy who's offering him help, is the same guy that booted him from his house while he was addicted to drugs! Kinda speakin' outta both sides of yer mouth there, Ollie.
The art for both stories was pretty great. Dick Dillin isn't one of those artists I can immediately identify from his work... but, any time I see it, I love it! There's a fella we lost way too soon.
Overall... a fun issue, that might just be worth the hunt (don't let it break your bank though... unless you're a Great Frog completionist). The feature story has been reprinted several times... though, it has not yet been made available digitally.
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Letters Page (and "variant" cover):
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