Outsiders #2

The second issue of DC's 2003 Outsiders series hits the ground running, with a cover by Tom Raney and Scott Hanna that thrusts three combatants front and center — a red-haired woman in fighting stance, a broad-shouldered figure armed with a sleek red weapon, and Nightwing wielding his escrima sticks — all framed dramatically within what appears to be a massive stone jaw. The bold tagline "Bite Me" and the story title "Role Call Part Two: Lawyers, Guns, and Monkeys" signal that Judd Winick's writing is keeping things sharp and irreverent. It's an energetic early chapter in this team's new direction, with Raney and Hanna's linework giving the trio a confident, hard-edged presence.