Review: Batman and the Outsiders Vol. 2- A League of Their Own
Quick Summary
Pros: The main storyline is fun and exciting. The characters are all great. The larger narrative within the series is executed even better than before. The artwork looks beautiful throughout the book.
Cons: Some minor aspects of the writing are a little weird.
Overall: This is a solid volume that successfully continues this series. It takes everything good about the first volume and improves upon it, meaning the storytelling and artwork are both positive. Plus, the entire volume builds even more excitement for the future, gearing readers up for the finale. Any reader slightly intrigued by the previous volume should continue reading here.
Story
Batman and the Outsiders Vol. 2: A League of Their Own, by Bryan Hill, does a great job continuing and even improving the story present in this series. Within this volume, all the same action, drama, and intensity returns. However, the writing is better and does a better job balancing the subplots within the larger narrative. Plus, this larger narrative becomes even more intense and interesting. Any negatives in the storytelling are minor when compared to all the positives, which makes for a highly entertaining read.
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Like its predecessor, A League of Their Own does a great job when it comes to handling the action and the characters. The main narrative here is full of action, with battles erupting in seconds and playing out in exciting ways. Meanwhile, the characters themselves constantly shine, whether they are dealing with individual problems or problems facing the Outsiders as a whole. Even Sofia, who I thought was underwhelming in the previous book, shines a little brighter in this one.
However, the best part about this volume is the way it builds upon the larger narrative stretching through this series. The Outsiders’ conflict with Ra’s Al Ghul has clearly elevated. He is making more pronounced plays, killing the Outsiders’ friends and trying to turn them to his side. This adds more gravity and weight to the story. Plus, readers now get to see pieces of Ra’s Al Ghul’s master plan, adding even more intensity. All of this has me extremely excited to read the next volume and see how everything will play out.
The downsides in A League of Their Own are pretty minor and do not have a big impact on the collection’s overall appeal. There are places where the dialogue or narration are a bit awkward. I also felt like Shiva’s betrayal could have been executed better. However, as mentioned earlier, these flaws are minor and do not have much of an impact on the overall read.
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Art
The artwork in A League of Their Own is just as gorgeous as the artwork in the previous volume, if not more so. Dexter Soy does a spectacular job in depicting characters in any situation. This means that they look great whether they are fighting in a battle or dealing with emotional trauma. Veronica Gandini’s colors add to this as well, providing flashes of color when needed but keeping the tone of the book relatively dark. Plus, the annual chapter, from Max Raynor, also looks nice and suits the tone of the specific story being told in that chapter. Altogether, this makes for a beautiful book cover to cover.
Continuity
Batman and the Outsiders Vol. 2: A League of Their Own continues the story from Batman and the Outsiders Vol. 1: Lesser Gods (Review).
The story here continues in Batman and the Outsiders Vol. 3: The Demon’s Fire (Review).
This volume also references other comic books, detailed below:
- The symbol seen in the sky at the beginning of this book is a reference to the Year of the Villain (Review) event.
- A recent death in Batman’s life is mentioned. This death took place during the City of Bane (Review) story arc.
- Batman mentions that Superman recently revealed a truth to the world. This took place in Superman Vol. 3: The Truth Revealed.
- Lady Shiva mentions her death at the hands of Ra’s Al Ghul. This took place in Detective Comics #956, collected in Detective Comics Vol. 3: League of Shadows (Review).
- Batman first came into contact with the Court of Owls in Batman: The Court of Owls (Review) (Reading Order). This started a major portion of Scott Snyder’s run on Batman (Reading Order).