REVIEW: ‘OUTLAWED,’ Issue #1

OUTLAWED #1, which is published by Marvel Comics, is the newest crossover series that will center around several teen heroes. The comic is written by Eve L. Ewing, illustrated by Kim Jacinto, colored by Espen Grundetjern, and lettered by Clayton Cowles. After a mission involving several teen heroes goes awry, the United States passes a law that targets teen heroes. The world feels like they can no longer trust younger heroes to handle the responsibility of what their heroics lead to. To make things worse, Kamala Khan finds herself at the center of this entire situation.

When I heard that this series was being released a few months ago, I was concerned that this would just be a rehashing of the Civil War series that Marvel did a few years ago. Don’t get me wrong, I loved the Civil War series, but there are only so many times that I’d want to read a series that had a similar premise. I’m glad that any of these doubts that I had weren’t fulfilled after I finished reading OUTLAWED #1. While there’s still no definitively good or bad side to this situation, placing teenagers at the center is quite interesting. It elevates the debate of whether heroes are effective in society or not because of their age. This will surely have major ramifications in the solo series of all the teen heroes involved.

Since younger heroes take a more prominent role in the series, I couldn’t help but notice the witty humor throughout OUTLAWED #1. It’s the kind of rebellious humor that isn’t overtly offensive but also makes a point of the situation. For instance, the image above shows Riri not really caring about the public hearing they’re in while also chewing gum. Granted I’ve never read an Ironheart comic, but her attitude paints a picture of how her character is. The fact that these sort of interactions are included in this issue make me care about her character more.

While the writing of the issue is superb, I couldn’t help but be pulled away from the comic due to the artwork. I understand that artists have their own particular styles, but the way some of the characters were drawn was what pulled me away. There were moments when I couldn’t tell a few of the characters apart, which made things worse. However, the way the fight scenes were drawn, and colored was incredible. The drawings and colors blended together in a way that made me appreciate the amount of work that goes into creating these scenes.

Overall, I really enjoyed reading OUTLAWED #1, and I’m excited to see how the rest of the series turns out. Although I was skeptical of this series because of its premise, I was blown away with how everything played out. The teen heroes will surely have a rough time trying to convince the public that they’re not as big of a threat as some claim them to be. Given that this event will have major effects, I’ll surely check out the other solo issues from the teen heroes involved in this series.

OUTLAWED #1 is available for purchase now wherever comic books are sold.