Red Hood And The Outlaws #2

[whitesycamore]

In my opinion? This issue was quite drastically better than the last one.





There was a lot of cheesy but fun-in-an-eighties-movie-way action, a lot of snark, and a lot of sexual banter - most of it at Jason and Roy's expense this time and some of it about Roy checking out Jason's ass, ha ha. Starfire was also much, much more self-actualised than she appeared last issue, which was good to see. She was still somewhat subdued, but her compassionate nature - and the fact that she doesn't take any shit - was evident. Her memory problem also doesn't seem to be as extreme as the last issue made it sound like it was - she doesn't have any trouble telling her team mates apart here, and she definitely remembers sleeping with Roy, although it doesn't look like she has any immediate plans for a repeat performance.

And this time the main plotline actually seemed, you know, main. The art was gorgeous, with both Roy and Jason drawn beautifully. Unfortunately, although Kory's fanservicey portrayal has been scaled back a lot, it still seems that Kenneth Rocafort draws men much more charmingly, gracefully and *naturally* then he does women.

There were lots of pages that I could name as my favourites, but for the sake of clarity I'll post the last three - which are also the three where the most genuine interactions between the Outlaws take place.


This page picks up where the last issue left off, with Jason finding the body of his former mentor, Ducra - who speaks to him in ghostly form before departing, telling him (fondly) that he''s learned nothing, because he's still all about the vengeance; yep, that's our boy all right.




I wonder if he can't shoot them because they were his friends, or because he feels empathy for anything that died brutally and was brought back damaged?




Interesting that for all he rips on Roy, he doesn't consider it 'his place' to tell him what to do. The person telling him to "see past your past" is part of a flashback to his training with Ducra, by the way.




Hmm. A past he forgot he ever had. Just a throwaway line for sentimentalities' sake, or a hint at the upcoming memory-themed plot in the next issue? And perhaps Kory's lost memories of her past have something to do with all this too.

Comments

[protogarrett]

This all feels very 90's to me. I dunno. I just expect this to turn into X-Force sooner or later (90's version or current; take your pick).

[whitesycamore]

Dude, the 90's was the renaissance of the twentieth century!1!

[darkknightjrk]

You joke, but I do think it's fair to say that there were plenty of strong, important stories from that era. For every Youngblood, we got a Starman.

[icon_uk]

I'm not sure for every Youngblood, but there is some truth to that statement.

[eyz]

..and Kyle Rayner, and Connor Hawke and Cassandra Cain and..

Yeah, I did like plenty o' 90s stuff too. Just not the extreme/Wildstorm/Image type of productions...

[thehefner]

More like for every sixth Youngblood. And even then, speaking as someone who's been rereading old issues of Wizard for the past month now, I think I'm being generous.

[mrstatham]

If it turned into something like the current X-Force, how is that a bad thing? It's one of the most well-done books Marvel puts out at the moment. I could understand dreading it turning into a Liefeldian mess, but there's been no indication of that thus far.

[icon_uk]

Current X-Force has got naff all in common with 90's X-Force so that's hardly a fair comparison

[mrstatham]

That was kind of my point. I don't see the resemblance between current X-Force and this or 90's X-Force and this, or current X-Force and 90's X-Force, so I was wondering why protogarrett was suggesting the link, is all, and lumping Remeder's epic stuff in with Liefeld's trash.

There's a bit of a difference, after all, between a morally questionable kill squad doing potentially necessary but dirty work shifting into a beautifully done fall from grace, and Liefeld's aimless gunfest.

[whitesycamore]

O/t, but an 'aimless gunfest' sounds like the most poorly organised and dangerous event *ever.*

[mrstatham]

"Dude, quit fucking shooting me!!!"

"Did y'not catch the name of the story?"

I imagine it as eight issues of people with no feet gritting their teeth or yelling, jumping awkwardly, and shooting at people off panel, as some poor bastard of a writer desperately tries to tack a plot onto the piece of shit.

[whitesycamore]

I was imagining it more like an open-air event - you know, with bunting, and a sign reading "aimless gunfest 2011 - bring your guns, bring your whisky, leave your personal responsibility with Marjorie at the kiosk," etc.

[mrstatham]

Ah, right. Gotcha.


...


I bet Liefeld could make a pig's ear of that, too...

[sallymustard]

Oh god, YES. This is exactly how I feel. Not just the cheap fan service, but the EDGY AS FUCKness too.