Batman and the Outsiders #9 - Pages 16-18
So here we go. The finale to that Outsiders/Masters of Disaster jam-up was postponed for a Halo solo story, so it better be a good one. Halo's secret origin maybe? Don't hold your breath. We will not answer any origin-related question. We will, however, be able to answer this one: Do the Outsiders have any redeeming features without the Aparo art? But I'll let you make the call about the Bill Willingham/Mike DeCarlo job. For now, let us join Halo in the Wayne Foundation basement, where Halo has already started talking...
I've made sure you could read the absolutely wonderful prose of one Mike Barr (I refuse to suffer alone). So right off the bat, I'm wondering three things. 1) If we're in the basement, what is that window looking out onto?
2) What's that piece of stone on the table? Is one of the Outsiders a Close Encounters fan? Or is that actually an Outsider - Metamorpho spying on teenage girls in the basement?
And 3) Who is Halo talking to? Haha, don't be so critical Siskoid, it's just Mike Barr breaking the fourth wall for fun. This is just a kooky story that takes a break from the usual narrative. Or is it?*
Whatever the truth, Halo sure is pulling an Ambush Bug here. If you don't remember what she's talking about (and who could blame you), issue 3 featured a scene in which she was intuitively able to play the piano. What she's reminding us now is how that particular aspect of the character hasn't been touched on in over 6 months! At this rate, we'll find out who Halo is sometime next year. 2012 sounds about right for such revelations. So okay, from piano to flute, as Halo does her American Pie mash-up.
It's good to see teen superheroes interested in extracurricular activities. I think improv or reading the dictionary would have been better after-school committees for her, but marching band's fine. But at Edison High? Issue 6 showed her high school to be in the middle of town (the stadium looks to be a bus ride away) and painted white - like its students (oh no, you didn't go there - why, yes I did). Edison High is where Black Lightning teaches and in the same issue, it is portrayed as a red bricked inner city school. Was there a Crisis that merged School-1 and School-2 while we weren't looking? The DCU's continuity IS confusing, isn't it? But then, we're dealing with a school that would allow "Tonite" to be written on one of its official banners. Wait, who's that?
Don't tell Katana, but Halo has a new best friend and her name is April Dave. (Oh, I guess that's "Daye".) Neither Halo, April, Dave, nor that tiny soldier boy in April's backpack will let "Greg" down. Who's Greg?
Our story's romantic lead. And inspirational too. While the teacher is "sick" (when I was in high school, that was code for doing jail time for poaching moose - well, in Physics class anyway), Greg keeps the troops motivated. I don't know if they actually play sports at that stadium, but the kids are really into competitive band marching.
Dating advice from Halo? She's still wondering why High School is at ground level. But April is a nervous Nellie. She can't ask a boy out AND have her parents in the stands. Or apparently, remember simple biographical details about her potential best friend.
She made Halo cry. Oh, the angst! And of course, Halo has no idea what "nerd" means. She does know she's in the marching band, right? And that dating advice may be premature. I'm not saying Greg is gay or anything. I don't have to. Mike Barr is strongly implying it. Cue phone call from sick teacher.
Graffiti, impending muggings, sports teams called Rattlers... Ok, NOW I recognize Gotham City. As it will soon be revealed that the attacker is from a rival school (Carmichael High), wearing your letterman jacket kind of defeats the purpose of wearing a ski mask. It's not gonna take Batman to solve this one. The writing's pretty much on the wall... or the sky:
Someone's making out with him in the back of a station wagon! I mean OFF, making OFF with him.
And in case nobody sees their jackets, these turkeys (I mean, Cardinals) have got a bumper sticker with their school name on it. They're just begging for a chase.
I guess the band members parked out back, because we just saw a parking lot and they're all running back into the stadium. There's only one person who can help Greg now! She is the one called Sailor Moon!
Copyright lawsuit pending.
Five pages to go, but we'll have to continue this discussion after Christmas. I'm just not in the mood for an episode of Glee right now. Meet back here for Boxing Day?
*You'll have to wait for the conclusion to this story to find out the truth.
So here we go. The finale to that Outsiders/Masters of Disaster jam-up was postponed for a Halo solo story, so it better be a good one. Halo's secret origin maybe? Don't hold your breath. We will not answer any origin-related question. We will, however, be able to answer this one: Do the Outsiders have any redeeming features without the Aparo art? But I'll let you make the call about the Bill Willingham/Mike DeCarlo job. For now, let us join Halo in the Wayne Foundation basement, where Halo has already started talking...
I've made sure you could read the absolutely wonderful prose of one Mike Barr (I refuse to suffer alone). So right off the bat, I'm wondering three things. 1) If we're in the basement, what is that window looking out onto?2) What's that piece of stone on the table? Is one of the Outsiders a Close Encounters fan? Or is that actually an Outsider - Metamorpho spying on teenage girls in the basement?
And 3) Who is Halo talking to? Haha, don't be so critical Siskoid, it's just Mike Barr breaking the fourth wall for fun. This is just a kooky story that takes a break from the usual narrative. Or is it?*
Whatever the truth, Halo sure is pulling an Ambush Bug here. If you don't remember what she's talking about (and who could blame you), issue 3 featured a scene in which she was intuitively able to play the piano. What she's reminding us now is how that particular aspect of the character hasn't been touched on in over 6 months! At this rate, we'll find out who Halo is sometime next year. 2012 sounds about right for such revelations. So okay, from piano to flute, as Halo does her American Pie mash-up.
It's good to see teen superheroes interested in extracurricular activities. I think improv or reading the dictionary would have been better after-school committees for her, but marching band's fine. But at Edison High? Issue 6 showed her high school to be in the middle of town (the stadium looks to be a bus ride away) and painted white - like its students (oh no, you didn't go there - why, yes I did). Edison High is where Black Lightning teaches and in the same issue, it is portrayed as a red bricked inner city school. Was there a Crisis that merged School-1 and School-2 while we weren't looking? The DCU's continuity IS confusing, isn't it? But then, we're dealing with a school that would allow "Tonite" to be written on one of its official banners. Wait, who's that?
Don't tell Katana, but Halo has a new best friend and her name is April Dave. (Oh, I guess that's "Daye".) Neither Halo, April, Dave, nor that tiny soldier boy in April's backpack will let "Greg" down. Who's Greg?
Our story's romantic lead. And inspirational too. While the teacher is "sick" (when I was in high school, that was code for doing jail time for poaching moose - well, in Physics class anyway), Greg keeps the troops motivated. I don't know if they actually play sports at that stadium, but the kids are really into competitive band marching.
Dating advice from Halo? She's still wondering why High School is at ground level. But April is a nervous Nellie. She can't ask a boy out AND have her parents in the stands. Or apparently, remember simple biographical details about her potential best friend.
She made Halo cry. Oh, the angst! And of course, Halo has no idea what "nerd" means. She does know she's in the marching band, right? And that dating advice may be premature. I'm not saying Greg is gay or anything. I don't have to. Mike Barr is strongly implying it. Cue phone call from sick teacher.
Graffiti, impending muggings, sports teams called Rattlers... Ok, NOW I recognize Gotham City. As it will soon be revealed that the attacker is from a rival school (Carmichael High), wearing your letterman jacket kind of defeats the purpose of wearing a ski mask. It's not gonna take Batman to solve this one. The writing's pretty much on the wall... or the sky:
Someone's making out with him in the back of a station wagon! I mean OFF, making OFF with him.
And in case nobody sees their jackets, these turkeys (I mean, Cardinals) have got a bumper sticker with their school name on it. They're just begging for a chase.
I guess the band members parked out back, because we just saw a parking lot and they're all running back into the stadium. There's only one person who can help Greg now! She is the one called Sailor Moon!
Copyright lawsuit pending.Five pages to go, but we'll have to continue this discussion after Christmas. I'm just not in the mood for an episode of Glee right now. Meet back here for Boxing Day?
*You'll have to wait for the conclusion to this story to find out the truth.
Comments
BWAHAHAHAHAHA!
The only thing better than Hating Halo is Hating Halo with WIT.
I assume this is her super power?
Halo wasn't breaking the fourth wall, she's just mental.
Naming issue numbers is more than breaking the fourth wall mental, it's Ambush Bug mental!