RED HOOD AND THE OUTSIDERS #23

[ SHOOTING FOR THOSE SALES ] 

'That's it' Roy Harper said to himself. 'I'm going to call myself "Arsenal" from now on.  Because I'm very impressed with that English soccer team of the same name'. Wait up! Was that our Roy? Or was that the bodacious creative team of James Tynion IV, and Julius Gopez? Hmmm. Not sure. Although I bet you anything the Publisher: DC Comics, will know. Especially in July, 2013.

Using GENERAL terms, answer the following 4 questions about this STORY entitled 'All Fall Down'.

• WHAT'S THE MAIN THRUST OF THIS TALE: At the bequest of some old hoodie with a beard, a supercharged Roy Harper tries to make the 'League of Assassins' go BOOM! Whilst attempting to save Jay in the process.
• ARE THE MAIN OBJECTIVES ACHIEVED: No. I'm afraid not. Even when Kori shows up to lends a helping hand.
• ANYTHING ELSE HAPPEN: Nah! Not really. Although I was given a stuffed monkey the other day. So that's something I suppose. Yahoooo (tm)
• HOW DOES THIS STORY END: With Jay making a decision in the face of heavenly adversity.

All in all, what is the most memorable SENTENCE OR CONVERSATION spoken in this issue?

Now who didn't get the 'Wizard of Oz' reference spoken by our pal Roy in this issue? Go on. Make yourself known.

Tut-tut-tut. Go to your room post haste, without uttering the filmic-phrase -- 'Fly, my pretties! Fly' -- ever-ever again.

What are the BEST bits about this issue?

(+) Even though I would've liked to have seen a lot more of Jay and Kori in this yarn, I'm happy to say that Roy more than made up for this pitfall by exhibiting some really bodacious and wild behaviour. Yeah. Straight up! In many way's he was the linchpin to this tale. Piecing it all together by kicking-ass and being ass-kicked in turn. Hai-Ya! Good job.

(+) Is it just me, or was there something different about Julius Gopez's artwork this month? Hey! Don't get me wrong. I liked what I saw. No doubt about it. Yet it appeared more static somehow. As if he was trying to imitate Ron Lim on the page.

(+) If I've got this correct, 'The Untitled' are at war with Ra's Al Ghul, and are currently using the Outlaws like pawns in a chess game, manipulating them so they can take sides within this multi-levelled battle of wits against power. Hmmm. But couldn't they have fought this fight all by themselves? As they seem powerful enough to so do. Also, I'm not entirely certain about this type of a tale either. I've seen it all before. Just with a different set characters in it. Oh! I don't know. 50 / 50 at best.

(+) Like many of you -- I'm sure -- I did enjoy following those jovial fight scenes between Roy and the 'League of Assassins'. To me, they had the right amount of exposition and humour to them, without one of these two components superseding the other in flavour or tone. Nice one, James. I know from my own experience that this is a very tough thing to do.

What are the WORST bits about this issue?

(-) I suppose the only slight gripe I've got with this particular adventure, would be my usual slight gripes with all-action tales. Not enough plot. Too much action. And overall... errr... slightly too sparse in content. Still. Never mind, huh? Maybe next time round we'll get to see a bit more. 

Choose TWO CHARACTERS out of this comic book, and then compare them to A REAL-LIFE HISTORICAL FIGURE.

WILL SCARLET AS ROY HARPER: As I can't compare Roy to Robin Hood -- because he has to be reserved for my Green Arrow comparison, right? -- I thought that Robin's second in command would be a pretty decent match. Mister Scarlet, come on down, the price is right!!!!

THE CHESHIRE CAT AS CHESHIRE: No. I'm not being too literal with this comparison, pal. Alice in Wonderland's 'Cheshire Cat' was actually named after an evil woman who once lived in medieval England, who poisoned people for fun and larks. 

What QUOTE would be appropriate to sum-up this story?

'A man's gotta do, what a man's gotta do' -- John Wayne

What SONG, THEME-TUNE, or MELODY, would complement this tale, as well as add and extra dimension to it by default?

'HERO' BY MARIAH CAREY: Alright. I know that this association is kind of corny.  But hey! This story and this song is all about finding 'the hero inside yourself'. Just without a perm and a less tighter dress on. Ha!

ANYTHING Else?

Picture the scene. Roy and Cheshire sitting down for dinner together at a plush restaurant many a year ago, when suddenly...

ROY: OK. So let me get this straight. If you touch people they die? Right?

CHESHIRE: Yeah. Kind of. But only if I want them to.

ROY: Oh! Fair enough. But have you ever done it by accident before? You know. By mistake or something?

CHESHIRE: Yeah. Quite a few times actually. I suppose I'm just clumsy that way.

ROY: Hmmm. Clumsy. OK. Err... if you don't mind me asking... can you give me an example of how one of these accidents happened?

CHESHIRE: Of course I can, handsome.  No problem. There was this one time when I helped an old lady cross the street, and I forgot to sterilize my nails when I put my hand upon her shoulder. Then, this other time, I bought these fabulous pair of shoes. My God. They were to die for. Unfortunately. The sales clerk did. When I handed him over my money. After that...

ROY: Hey-Hey-Hey! You don't have to go on, princess. I understand that these things can... errrr.... sometimes happen. Now if you can excuse me for a moment, I need to go to the bathroom to freshen up.

ROY DOESN'T RETURN. Ha!

Anyway. That's enough of my b*llocks for this months, folks. All I have left to say is that this issue of 'Red Hood and The Outlaws' was a very nice read. The story was full of character. The characters weren't full of story. And all in all, I can't wait to see what James and Julius will have in store for us next month.

Nuff said.