I need to preface this review by saying I am a huge fan of Red Hood And The Outlaws. The book (along with the New 52) was one of the reasons that I jumped back into reading comics on a weekly basis again. Likewise, I am distinctly aware that for many, the book is nothing but a bad time. Readers sound off on it on a regular basis, as well as critics in the industry. For me, the love of the book stems from its indifference to what a modern comic book should be. Red Hood And The Outlaws is stupid fun that ask very little of the reader other than to enjoy the ride. Yes, Starfire is an overly sexualized shell of her former self, Arsenal is a trucker-hat wearing idiot, and Jason is, well Jason. To the books credit it has lasted a whole lot longer than many of those so-called “smart” books that DC has pushed.
Now to be clear, Red Hood And The Outlaws has never been great, but it has its place and fan-base. It’s a sort of call-back to the early 90s (a time I grew up in) where over the top was expected and you would look out-of-place if you didn’t have 800 pouches full of beef jerky strapped to your body. With all this being said Red Hood And The Outlaws #31 still isn’t very good.
It all comes down just having a bad story. I am one that can appreciate a well written tall tale, but this one just falls flat in almost every way. Our story begins with Lobo (the real Lobo?) beating the crap out of Arsenal and our team of miscreants crashing the party to save him. Once hell breaks out, instead of focusing on the artwork (which is really well done) the pages turn into a cacophony of word balloons that serve little to no purpose other than to muddy everything that’s going on. If you have been following along with Outlaws then you are going to probably pick this one up to see where it heads, but if you are new or haven’t been keeping up, then this issue definitely isn’t for you.
The whole story feels less like the Outlaws have anything to do and more a Lobo one-shot, and even he isn’t all that interesting in the narrative. Starfire being a space princess aside, the team has gotten in to some pretty crazier adventures, but usually keep them grounded and aren’t usually gallivanting across the cosmos. In the end, each character just falls left and is left severely outmatched in every way. Starfire is knocked out for almost the entirety of the issue with the “advanced military tactic” of a trigger word, Jason can’t even get a shot in with his special sword being snapped like a twig, and Arsenal ends up saving the day with SCIENCE!
Look, suspension of disbelief is one thing, but when the jerk-off in the trucker hat is reprogramming super advanced nano-bots like he’s working under a car changing an oil filter, your story has issues. To add insult to injury is how he went about doing this by just telling them to change orders; nicely no doubt. Blow me DC, this story is all sorts of dumb.
Our adventure ends with Classic Lobo meeting (apparently fake New 52) Lobo over the comm and making the claim that he’s going to deal with him now and asking the reader to check out more Lobo action in Justice League United. God dammit DC, if you want to make a Lobo book, just make a damn Lobo book. I’m here to read about the stories of the people on the cover, you know, the ones that sell the book.
Oh, and those stupid nanites/nano-bots/grey goo/maguffin? Yeah, Lobo managed to figure out Roy’s little trick in under thirty-seconds warping his buddies into space. Maybe it’s just me, but this whole Lobo thing just doesn’t work in today’s day and age. He is a product of a time when that sort of bravado and crudeness were expected, but today he just doesn’t come off as threatening or cool. Instead we get a parody of a parody that falls flat.
Red Hood And The Outlaws #31 should only be picked up if you are a diehard fan of the series, and even then I think you are going to be disappointed. Hell, I just spent nearly 800 words talking about that Wolverine knock off, Lobo and not the books heroes.
RED HOOD AND THE OUTLAWS #31
Written by: Will Pfeifer
Art by: Paul Neary, Rafa Sandoval
Cover by: Norm Rapmund, Philip Tan
Price: $2.99
On Sale Date: May 21 2014
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