FW Presents – First Issue Special: The Outsiders

FW PRESENTS - First Issue Special #10: The Outsiders

Rob Kelly and Max Romero dip back into the awesome weirdness that was DC Comics' FIRST ISSUE SPECIAL series by looking at issue #10 starring The Outsiders by Joe Simon, Jerry Grandinetti, and Craig Flessel!

Previous FIRST ISSUE SPECIAL reviews:

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Closing theme by The Outsiders

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20 responses to “FW Presents – First Issue Special: The Outsiders

  1. OMG. *Now* the Bendis move to DC makes total sense; Who amongst us could resist the lure of a 12-issue maxiseries reboot of these guys?

    1. …and I’d love to see some of the more “out there” ideas creators want to try out in a one-shot story. Wouldn’t a digital platform offer a lower risk strategy for trying out some weird stories?

  2. Oh THESE Outsiders!

    When I saw the word Outsiders on our FW calendar, I thought, this is it, we’re all going down. But the First Issue Special team. Well, that’s different. All’s right with the world.

  3. Nice shout out to The Head, Max! I remember it well; it was co-headliner with the Maxx on MTV.

    And good call on Joe Simon’s risk-taking, Rob. He totally did NOT have to do any of this 70s stuff, and the fact that none of it was a rehash of past glories makes it even better.

  4. Well that was bananas.

    Robinson loved this series. As mentioned, Agent Assassin works for General Lane’s Project 7734. But so did Atlas!!

    The infinity loop is also a crazy choice.

    Hoping to grab the nickname Dr. Goody.

  5. I remember reading this issue at some point; yeah, it’s unusual to say the least. I would have preferred it if it had consisted of little 1 to 2 page flashbacks recounting the backstory of each member of the team, rather than just the few we do get. But I definitely agree that the characters have potential.

    By the way, the Dr. Fate story from the preceding issue was reprinted in at least two other instances: in the first issue of the Immortal Dr. Fate in late 1984, and also in the Art of Walter Simonson tpb (which is such a wonderful book).

  6. This concept reminds me a bit of the heroes from Monsters vs. Aliens, a Dreamworks animated film that was later turned into a series. Maybe Jeffery Katzenberg was a fan of The Outsiders?

    Joe Simon has some CRAZY concepts under his belt. Particularly after he and Kirby split up. He did some weird-oh characters for Harvey around the time of Batman ’66’s super hero explosion, for instance. But this may be the weirdest.

    Too bad no one picked these characters up as supporting players. I’m surprised the 90s Super-creators didn’t bring these guys in as an adjacent to the Cadmus Project. Would have been fitting, combining Simon in with all that Kirby.

    Fun episode fellas!

    Chris

  7. Ok this was a fantastic episode. I was dying the whole time laughing. The weird thing is – I just completed my run of 1st issue special! I am going through and reading them all now, and next on my list was #10! So when I saw this episode pop up on my feed I made sure to read it last night and listen on the way into work. I agree this is so weird from so many different angles that it is wild! Anyway, I have only been a F&W listener for a little more than a year so I am definitely going back and downloading the old episodes – starting with Lady Cop!!!

  8. Regarding the influence of First Issue Special; did Steve Englehart refer to the Manhunter story in JLA #140? I cannot look at my copy because its at home and I’m at work.

      1. Has anyone written an article about the little impacts that First Issue Special made? Warlord and The New Gods were the most obvious, but later references, like Englehart’s and especially Robinson’s, show that the series had an effect almost disproportionate to its reputation.

  9. Very much enjoyed this episode! I had actually read about the original Outsiders many years ago, and much like Max, I had a big smile on my face when they popped up for their cameo in Project 7734 (especially considering the Atlas and Codename: Assassin connections Anj mentioned above).

    I also really appreciated the clip from Freaks, which is a favorite of mine from the era. Rob hits the nail on the head with his comments about humanity, similar to what Tod Browning was shooting for in his film. Indeed there is a line in Freaks very close to what Dr. Goodie says about Baby Johnny being “one of God’s creatures,” which given Simon’s referencing of the film in the text piece strikes me as intentional.

    As an aside, the FIS Atlas issue is reprinted in the Superman: The Coming of Atlas trade.

  10. That was a fun episode about a crazy concept. I wonder if the Outsiders could be reintroduced, either in their own title or as guest stars, under the DC’s Young Animal imprint? That corner of the DC universe seems like it would make a good home for them.

  11. Wow! What an odd comic, and what a great episode! I found myself really falling in love with these characters as I read the issue, and REALLY loved the text piece. They also kinda remind me of the Doom Patrol, at least in some of the more ‘freaks unwelcome elsewhere’ iterations. I found myself super disappointed, at issue end, that a) we didn’t get more snapshots of the characters & b) that they hadn’t popped up elsewhere in the intervening years… other than a 1 panel homage, I found out, upon listening to the excellent review of this issue.

    Until DC gives us The Dingbats of Danger Street Rebirth, make mine Fire and Water!

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