I got a ton of comics for my birthday last month, and I’ve decided to make them more useful than giving me something to read. A lot of them are older comics, from the ’70s-’90s, with some newer ones. For a fun twist, I’d like to review these comics based on their covers, since what goes on the cover almost never matches up with what the actual comic is about. First up, we have Adventures of the Outsiders #38 from October 1986, published by DC.
Based on the cover: It looks like the Outsiders are going to Hollywood to make a movie, get their names on the Walk of Fame, and win an Oscar.
What really happens: It starts off with a continuation of Outsiders #37. Looker, Halo, and Metamorpho are fighting off a massive squid. Katana, Geo-Force, and Black Lightning are fighting the Marine Marauder.
I’m not sure who Looker, Halo, Geo-Force or the Marine Marauder are, but they seem really interesting.
Once they win, it’s off to LA, where they seem to be making a base. It’s never quite said in this issue, but perhaps it’s explained in previous issues. They aren’t making a movie, but they do go to the beach. Metmorpho wants to buy a yacht. Black Lightning wants to talk to his ex-wife. Katana teaches Halo how to drive, so I’m guessing Halo might not be from Earth. Looker, meanwhile, has a ton of mirrors ordered for her house, which I guess is how she got her nickname.
It bounces from character to character until the end, when all six of them meet up and go on a tour of some kind of power plant. It ends with a villain making a Nuclear Family (Mom, Dad, three kids, and a dog) and saying they will destroy LA. The ending is strange, but since I didn’t read the previous issues (because I don’t have them), I can get over that. I still am not sure why the team is in LA.
Probably the best part of the comic is when Geo-Force, who is a prince from somewhere, is stuck in a traffic jam and there’s a panel of people lounging on their cars in swimsuits. Then there is a small earthquake and no one even seems scared. Reading this panel was hilarious, since I live in California and have been in horrible traffic jams and have experienced earthquakes. I’m pretty sure something like that wouldn’t happen.
