The Hairless, The Hairfull, and the Clown
The Good: The cover is kind of dull, and a little cheesy, but the concept wins out in the end. The thing that saves it from being just 'good' is the bit of dialogue. Classic.
Ok, Winick has a FANTASTIC grasp of both Lex Luthor and The Joker. Both characters are written fantastically well, and the dialogue between the two of them is some of the best banter I've seen between the two of them. Luthor's indomitable spirit and Joker's insane need to have absurdly elaborate and convoluted plans for small things are captured so perfectly in this issue I just have to applaud the quality of the plotting and dialogue for these villains.
Indigo's complete lack of understanding of the subtleties of language amuse me to endless extent, especially when she's always near the ever-jokester Metamorpho. She's a freakin' ADORABLE character, always stating facts so.... matter-of-factly, but she's slowly proving she's not just a cold calculating robot, she's actually starting to develop a semblance of a personality, which kind of consists of her trying to develop a personality. It's entertaining, heartwarming, and as I said adorable all wrapped up in a nice bluish skinned bundle.
Speaking of Indigo, she has the potantial to be an almost brokenly overpowered character, but she's resitricted by interestingly realistic constraints to avoid being boring.
There's two major things going on in this issue, and the way the pacing is divided between the two scens is absolutely fantastic. Key moments are always chosen for switching from one to the other.
Winick really understand what a poweful force in the DCU The Joker is. He's completely insane, completely unpredictable, and knows exactly how to manipulate the most random forces into submission. Winick understands just how much fear and intimidation The Joker wields, and how he doesn't just rely on his reputation alone. He ALWAYS backs up his boasts.
The end of the issue establishes an ingeniously unique status quo for these Outsiders, and portrays the key moment when they obtain their title. It's one of the best parts of an issue that already contains perfect Joker/Luthor dialogue, Grodd storming New York, and to lovable Indigo.
The Bad: Raney's Joker has a tendency to look a little off. He looked great in the final page of the last issue, but here his head more often than not looks just plain wrong, and not in the right way. His Nightwing also tends to have an awkwardly squarish face.
In Conclusion: 5/5
Minor quibbles don't hamper a superbly written issue. Winick displays some top notch handling of some big name villains in the DCU, and sets his team into motion as the hunters in a world where Superheroes are glorified firefighters. Also, I'm starting to fall for Indigo at this point.