It really stinks that Chuck Dixon has left DC. Really. I enjoy the man’s work on Robin and I even liked some of his work here with Batman and the Outsiders. But it’s issues like these that I will certainly be able to live without. Issues where it seems like Dixon had a wall filled with note cards with possible plot directions written on them; he stood ten feet away from the wall and heaved darts randomly until he came up with a thread of storyline. It just feels so haphazard. The moon is blasted by a giant, space-gun that no one on Earth has seen over the course of an entire year. The blast is causing an underground ocean to form beneath the crust of the moon (hence, ‘underground’). Metamorpho is placed under arrest but eventually breaks out. Meanwhile, Batman and Geoforce are looking for clues when Batman decides to bring the Looker in for help.

See, Batman wants to turn to someone that will make old fans of DC faith run to the shops on Wednesday, so he turns to the vampire, Looker. She reads a mind, nearly passes out and leads Batman to another plot point; a completely separate plot point. It’s like she basically says, “Bats, can’t help ya there, but why not check this out since you’re already up?” And he does. That’s where Dixon takes this book somewhere else entirely and introduces man-eating, monster things. Things that look like the bug from Men in Black. Yeah. Silly, right?

What does save this book, however, is Dixon’s ability to throw humor into nearly every scene. I guess it’s a sign that even he wasn’t taking this stuff too seriously at the time of writing, which is a major plus. It’s a comic about space stations and monsters, people; the jokes are almost necessary to remind us that this stuff is supposed to be crazy. Some of the jokes fall completely flat, but others will have you spout a chuckle.

Lopez’ work here is on par with the rest of the books before it. It’s well polished, superhero stuff, and he doesn’t do much to stray from the path. There are points when facial expressions look a little phony, but nothing that will really tear you out of the moment. Which is good enough, because his action sequences are all decent. Too bad you won’t find much of that in #9.

Overall, Batman and the Outsiders is a series that will cause plenty of folks to walk away with the desire to neglect it entirely. You won’t ever find yourself on the edge of your seat here, but you will be entertained. If you are a fan of the team-up, then stick with it. The laughs alone are worth the price of admission. But for those looking for something with a little more umph and pizzazz, go somewhere else.

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