The Outsiders v1 In 1984, the Batman and the Outsiders ongoing series was considered to be successfu

The Outsiders v1

In 1984, the Batman and the Outsiders ongoing series was considered to be successful/high profile enough to merit a Baxter version of itself. The new plan was simple; starting November 1985 the Outsiders would now have 2 books coming out per month: a direct edition  (which would be in Baxter format, sold directly to comic book shops and contain no Comics Code Authority seal) and a newsstand edition. In order to keep the comic buying fans enticed, it was planned that the Baxter format (named the Outsiders v1) would be set 1 year ahead of the current Batman and the Outsiders storyline, meanwhile the newsstand edition (now renamed to Adventures of the Outsiders v1) would resume the current Batman and the Outsiders storyline and eventually lead into the new Outsiders v1 stories. Teen Titans also did something similar with it’s direct edition (The New Teen Titans v1) and it’s newsstand edition (Tales of the Teen Titans v1).

When a Batman and the Outsiders fan picked up a copy of the new Outsiders v1 #1 they were confronted with two surprises: 1) the introduction of a new female teammate called ‘Looker’ and 2) the sudden absence of Batman. There were a few minor alterations to the team (ex: Geo-Force gets a new yellow and green costume, Halo gets a new hair-do, team has been relocated from Gotham City to LA, etc) but for the most part writer/editor Mike W Barr scripted the new series in such a way that little clues were dropped but readers were encouraged to pick up the newsstand edition to get the full story of why things were the way they were. Mike W Barr had his work cut out for him as he was editing/scripting both Outsiders books and coordinated the story/plot lines to ensure they never crossed each other/unraveled anything continuity-wise (or spoiler-wise).

I mentioned a new character named 'Looker’ who was, in fact, designed by Mike BarrandJim Aparo for this series. When Batman’s absence left a void in the roster,Barr literally thought to himself “what powers don’t the Outsiders cover?” and realized none of them had psychic/mental powers - thus, Looker was born.

Batman being a part of the Outsiders was a huge 'draw’ for readership. With Batman gone, Barr had his work cut out for him to keep readership high. It didn’t hurt that Jim Aparo migrated from Batman and the Outsiders to be the regular penciller on the new Outsiders book. A lot of fans stuck around for the new Batman-less team just for the Aparo artwork. Thankfully, Barr made up for the lack of Batman with some superb writing.

Calling a series a 'definitive 80s comic’ is not a recognition I dispense out generously, but Barr really went out of his way to ensure that the Outsiders was a comic book intended for an 80s audience. During their entire 26 issue run, the Outsiders deal with: cold war paranoia, covert US government operations, white collar crime, materialism, nuclear scare, the US energy crisis, and charitable campaigns that raise money for starving Africa. A lot of 80s pop culture references are also littered throughout the series. This series was like an 80s time capsule.

Barr put a lot of effort into the characterization of the individual team members - most issues had a back-up tale that featured one or two Outsiders (sometimes it was a parody story, sometimes it was just to explain how a certain character’s powers worked). While the back-up tales were written by Barr, it wasn’t uncommon to find some of DC’s top talent (i.e.: Steve Lightle, John Byrne, Gerry Ordway) illustrating these stories. Barr would add two more characters (Windfall and the Atomic Knight) to the Outsider’s roster before the series ended.

While reading this series, it becomes a little obvious that not all Outsiders were created equally and a few team members get a bit more exposure than the rest. While Geo-Force (as the alpha-male heavy-hitter) and Halo (the one that younger readers can relate with) get a lot of attention, I’d say the real head-liner would be Looker (a character created specifically for the series). Actually, I’d go so far as to rename the series as 'The Tale of Looker’ since she debuts in the first issue and her saga concludes in the series finale.

There are a few things about this series that may have flown under the radar for the casual comic book reader:

• Batman villain Firefly (Garfield Lynns) is re-introduced as a costumed super-villain who uses lights and illusions to battle his foes (in contrast to the pyrotechnics he is known for).
• the first appearance of Bad Samaritan. If I was one of those people who looked for deeper meaning in everything, I’d probably theorize that Bad Samaritan was meant to be a personification of the US governmentt’s clandestine covert operations.
• the first appearance of The People’s Heroes - Russia’s premiere super-team.
• the re-introduction of Batman villains Zebra-Man and Planet-Master as members of Kobra’s strike force.

Batman rejoined the Outsiders in issue #17 (1987), but that wasn’t enough to prevent the series from being cancelled. The Outsiders came to an end during a Millennium cross-over in issue #28 (1988). I’m assuming that the Outsiders were probably on the cancellation block due to low sales for about 5 months prior to the last issue, as Barr was slowly setting the scene for the inevitable conclusion of the team. Case in point, during the last 7 issues, the Outsiders: have their HQ destroyed, are hunted by US armed forces fro being enemies of the state, have a core member revealed to be a traitor, and lose three members (one becomes de-powered, one goes into a coma, and one is killed). Erik Larsen pencilled the last two Outsiders books. Mike CarlinreplacedMike Barr as editor of the series at issue #22, and then Andy Helfer became the regular editor by issue #24.

The Outsiders series was revived by Mike W BarrinThe Outsiders v2(1993).

House ad #1 was released as a promo poster in 1985.

Mike Barr was nominated as a favorite writer for the 1985 Comic Buyers Guide Fan Awards.