Red Hood: Outlaw #30 Preview and Discussion Thread

[Arsenal]

Well you have spoilers:

Willis and Jason finally meeting, alongside Wingman, the reveal that Arty and Biz are still surviving in the dark world, also Jason feeling the satisfaction of finding the clones and finishing the investigation he and Roy started. Those seem like the major pieces to me, nothing has completely come to fruition just yet of course, but I can see how they may all connect now. Honestly the only factor throwing me off is Bunkers presence. No idea why he is here but I am still glad to see he is still canon. I like him but I feared his irrelevance now might see him in something like HiC and wipe him off the table entirely.

end of spoilers

You misunderstand. I’m not disagreeing with any of that, was just responding to the first question in your reaction post.

[G-Potion]

@RedBird: I haven't read the spoilers but I do see a . Hope it means it's a good issue. ;p

[RedBird]

You misunderstand. I’m not disagreeing with any of that, was just responding to the first question in your reaction post.

Oh haha I see, I admit I wasnt quite sure what you were addressing beforehand. Kinda took a guess. Should have asked first, my bad.

But back to your initial response, huh, interesting. spoilers:

So do you suppose Solitary may be there simply incidentally rather than due to a preconceived plan between himself and Wingman or even visa versa, with Wingman is the incidental party? The timing of Wingman only now catching up to Jason at the base of Williss site of operation is a bit suspicious. But I suppose it could just be good old comic book timing Gosh darn it, I really wanted to know who the hell Wingman was.

end of spoilers

[RedBird]

@RedBird: I haven't read the spoilers but I do see a . Hope it means it's a good issue. ;p

Well I can't account for taste, but I personally think its got some intriguing elements

[Rakzo]

Thought this was decent for the most part. Good characterization and a few nice references to Batman Inc. in the form of Wingman but I think the pacing worked a bit against it and the dialogue was awkward at places. Woods' art was appropriate.

That being said, I can forgive all of that because Bunker is back! This explains why we haven't seen him in a while and I guess Lobdell was the right person to bring him back. Hope he stays.

[Arsenal]

Oh haha I see, I admit I wasnt quite sure what you were addressing beforehand. Kinda took a guess. Should have asked first, my bad.

But back to your initial response, huh, interesting. spoilers:

So do you suppose Solitary may be there simply incidentally rather than due to a preconceived plan between himself and Wingman or even visa versa, with Wingman is the incidental party? The timing of Wingman only now catching up to Jason at the base of Williss site of operation is a bit suspicious. But I suppose it could just be good old comic book timing Gosh darn it, I really wanted to know who the hell Wingman was.

end of spoilers

The main reason I think that is because they want Jason to go in different directions.

[G-Potion]

spoilers:

Good issue. I really like the multiple plot threads presented here and am just so happy Arty and Biz are back! Art-wise, not much action but I like the atmosphere throughout the whole issue. The colorist accompanied Woods pretty well. I'm only a bit bothered by the inconsistent length of the sword. Speaking of which, it's nice to see Jason using his his knowledge on weapons to investigate. I always thought Artemis would come clean someday so was pleasantly surprised that Jason found out himself. I also think Wingman serves a different party; however it's curious that he's the one to refer to Jason as Prince. Lastly, did Lobdell hear us about giving Jason a pet?

end of spoilers

[Zaresh]

This issue has been almost if not everything I've been asking for. Damn it, I love it.

spoilers:

I had cheesy B movie, pulpy feels. I had Jason doing some detective work. i had a few reveals (for both the MC and the reader). I had drama (and I'm still having a strong Greek tragedy vibe, like the one I had before this arc) I had new encounters to characters that I actually hope they will stick for a while (wondering what will be the story behind Bunker being there). And we finally got a glimpse of Biz and Art. Jason's mask emoted. Yay! Art was great both in inks and colours. Even typesetting was better than before, I would say. I may be wrong, but the font size was slightly larger (which makes it easier to read for my faulty eyes). I love that they are still going for toned down colours for the flashbacks. It helps in giving to the whole run some stronger sense of homogeneity and continuity. And we even got a pet. Ok, not a Pengu, but, hurr, a dog is good too! I wonder if she's going to stay and keep that Dog name or he's going to try something like calling her Dogtag or something. Pace was weird, but I can understand it being so: it tries to show the reader a lot of things and still retain that mystery mood on it thanks to the slow pace moved by twists. i'm definitely intrigued by this Wingman. It has to be someone Bat related, because he knows about Jason being Wingman, and he had access to the costume. But he doesn't look like a close member of the clan, or even a regular ally. I'm starting to wonder if it's even a man; by the body language and built, it could be a boy or a girl, or a woman. I'm adding females too, because the cowl is actually a full mask, iirc (fake half face) and you can hide breasts of medium size inside a breastplate like that.

end of spoilers

[Sergard]

I liked the issue ... a lot.

spoilers:

10/10 for the dog alone. I hope Jason keeps her - and gives her a better name. I'd prefer "Lady" because she looks like a stray and should be treated way better - like a lady. By the way, does anyone know what kind of breed she is? Is she a Xolo? I googled Mexican dogs and got a lot of Xoloitzcuintli pictures as a result. Maybe she is Bunker's dog (although I hope not, so Jason can keep her) who seemingly was abducted and has served as guinea pig/experiment for Solitary/Underlife. They probably want to study his powers/DNA so that they can create monsters similar to the Solomon Grundy clones. But I'm not sure if the black bricks are a sign of success of the experiments or a message from Bunker himself. I'm pretty sure his bricks are normally violet. I've never read Lobdell's Teen Titans run. So I don't know anything about Bunker except that he's a gay Mexican superhero who can manifest bricks. And that he was created by Lobdell. And that he was on the to-die-list for HiC. So I'm glad that he's still alive and appears somewhere - without having to fear that he's written out of character. It's nice to see Artemis and Bizarro again, although I don't like Artemis' new haircut. But that's maybe a movie reference I'm not getting. I also have the feeling that Bizarro "grew up" a little bit, he seems more mature. And he has a beard now. I can't believe that enough time passed for Bizarro to have a beard but Jason still has the same old buzz-cut. There is really a lot going on in this issue. And I agree that Wingman seems to be working for an other party than Solitary. Although it's a little strange that he calls Jason "prince". On the other hand "We've been waiting a long time for a prince to lead us out of the darkness." has a nice dramatic ring to it. Someone on Reddit suggested that Wingman is working for the Court of Owls. On the other side, the logo on the drug packages looks like a talon/claw. So maybe the Underlife/Solitary and the Court of Owls are working together. There are probably a lot of possibilities in which direction the story can go, there is so much potential at this point. And because of that I really hope that we'll get a really exciting story in the next arc.

end of spoilers

[Zaresh]

Should I spoiltag my post? I wrote it in plain format because at that point I was sure most of us had access to the issue, but I can spoiler it if it's too soon. Edit: I spoilered it anyways.

I liked the issue ... a lot.

spoilers:

It's nice to see Artemis and Bizarro again, although I don't like Artemis' new haircut. But that's maybe a movie reference I'm not getting. I also have the feeling that Bizarro "grew up" a little bit, he seems more mature. And he has a beard now. I can't believe that enough time passed for Bizarro to have a beard but Jason still has the same old buzz-cut.

end of spoilers

spoilers:

Artemis haircut seems like the usual cyberpunk / dystopian haircut for me, similar to the ones in Max Max. But to be fair, it resembles a lot to what Natalie Donner had in her hair a while ago (for the Hunger Games, iirc).

end of spoilers

spoilers:

There is really a lot going on in this issue. And I agree that Wingman seems to be working for an other party than Solitary. Although it's a little strange that he calls Jason "prince". On the other hand "We've been waiting a long time for a prince to lead us out of the darkness." has a nice dramatic ring to it. Someone on Reddit suggested that Wingman is working for the Court of Owls. On the other side, the logo on the drug packages looks like a talon/claw. So maybe the Underlife/Solitary and the Court of Owls are working together.

end of spoilers

spoilers:

Huh. Could be, but eh, I don't know. Unless Willis or Catherine family were members of some sort. I can see the Gunn/Todd being from some sort of Crime organization (wouldn't that follow the very first theme about family that we've been reading since issue #2 of Rebirth with Roman? He mentions his family, and then we know he has business with Ma Gunn), but eh, I dunno about the Owls. On the other hand, I think it could be Faye Jr, now that I think about it. She sees her cousin in the TV, and she probably has a better understanding of their whole family.

end of spoilers

[Arsenal]

Could be Talia related.

[JasonTodd428]

Wingman doesn't really look female to me to be honest. Something's familiar about the jawline though and the way he was standing as well. He was giving me very pre-reboot Jason vibes for some reason or other but that possibility is a bit far fetched me thinks.

Anyway, loved the issue though it still feels like things are bit rushed to me. I was glad to see Arty and Biz again even if it was just a small cameo to keep us aware that they are still out there. I do have to wonder if their plot line has a deeper connection to Jason's own beyond the whole Artemis deal that is clearly involved. I hope it does. It was also great to see Bunker again even under these circumstances. Bunker was one of the few things about Lobdell's Teen Titans run that I loved so seeing him at all is a big plus in my book. The real scene stealer here though was the dog. Hope Jason gets to keep him/her. He could really use a friend right now.

[Zaresh]

Wingman doesn't really look female to me to be honest. Something's familiar about the jawline though and the way he was standing as well. He was giving me very pre-reboot Jason vibes for some reason or other but that possibility is a bit far fetched me thinks.

I read Inc. long go, but wasn't the lower part of the face a mask as well? Not just the upper with the cowl?
I may be remembering wrong, or it may have been retconned, or whatever, in any case. And, well, he definitely doesn't have female hips and waist, so there's that detail against my wild guess, too.

I'm honestly to god clueless about who he may be.

[Arsenal]

Watch it be Ric.

[K. Jones]

Well you have spoilers:

Willis and Jason finally meeting, alongside Wingman, the reveal that Arty and Biz are still surviving in the dark world, also Jason feeling the satisfaction of finding the clones and finishing the investigation he and Roy started. Those seem like the major pieces to me, nothing has completely come to fruition just yet of course, but I can see how they may all connect now. Honestly the only factor throwing me off is Bunkers presence. No idea why he is here but I am still glad to see he is still canon. I like him but I feared his irrelevance now might see him in something like HiC and wipe him off the table entirely.

end of spoilers

... because when Jason isn't a solo Red Hood: Outlaw anymore and his Outlaws are a team again, they're gonna need a gay Mexican kid with a cool power-set! Anti-Titans? Or maybe because Lobdell actually has a history of picking up dropped characters - particularly characters that have come in any contact whatsoever with JASON in his chronological appearances. (COME THE HELL ON AND HURRY WITH NOCTURNA ... or Magpie ... or Mime ... or Mongul? ... or Deacon Blackfire? ... or the Ambassador guy? Garzonas. Yeah, Garzonas. Jason dropped his kid off a roof. First Kill). Bit of both, really. I missed Bunker so it's nice he gets rescued here. Nice synchronicity with a nice excuse to jump over to Mexico, too.

Jason's real dad is a super-maybe-villain. Life is weird. It's the sort of "everything all the time" storytelling I would have hated elsewhere. For instance in Jason's constantly being all bound up with the League of Assassins, Ra's and Talia ... as well as being ... what, Joker-adjacents and Talia-stalked during Zero Year for some reason? Ew. But this I buy. Feels kinda Spider-Mannish.