‘Outsiders’ #9 is armed with canon, metaphorically and literally

Lanzing and Kelly continue their meta-commentary on storytelling.

July 10, 2024

You’ve probably heard of the phrase “armed with canon” before, whenever fans dig out back issues or refer to past installments of a long-running film/TV series to prove a point. Outsiders #9 takes this statement literally with “The Lost City of Cannon” from Jackson Lanzing, Colin Kelly, Robert Carey, and Valentina Taddeo. Batwing, Lucius Fox, and the Drummer travel to a mysterious forest that contains two cities. One is dedicated to the tenets of order, while the other follows chaos, and between them is a massive weapon with the power to end reality.

This is the second time that an issue of Outsiders focused on the destructive power of a gun – Batwoman’s previous adventure is even brought up, with her saying “There’s no such thing as a good guy with a gun.” It’s hard to argue that point; guns are destructive instruments and this issue takes things to the extreme with the literal world-ending gun. It’s also a way for Lanzing and Kelly to continue their meta-commentary on storytelling, as the gun is part of the “story” the Outsiders are involved in. To save lives, they eventually have to upend the story they’re a part of.

Carey gets the chance to put his own spin on the Lords of Order and Chaos, who rule over the twin cities in this book. Like Doctor Fate, the inhabitants of the City of Order are dressed in golden helms and blue robes; unlike him they take a more hands-on approach to keeping order. In the case of Chaos, you have Klarion the Witch Boy; the Lord of Chaos makes an appearance in the second half of the book, alongside his trusted familiar Teekl. The fact that a talking cat is the most normal thing in this comic isn’t even that surprising – what is surprising is how Teekl transforms, literally turning himself inside out into a new form.

Excerpts from the Drummer’s journal are spread throughout the comic, giving Lucas Napolitano the chance to use his lettering skills to make it look like the reader’s actually picked up an old journal. From the texture of the pages to the simple lettering, Napolitano shows the reader what’s going on in the Drummer’s head, and showcases what she’s willing to do to get her world back. We’ll see what that entails, as there are now only two issues of Outsiders left.