Order and Outrage #3
Anthony Bergamini
Recap
She's lived outside the system--a nonessential person hunted by the Order. She's had to live inside the system as one of the chosen few. She's had no choice but to survive by becoming a chameleon and pretending to be anything but herself, and has been known by many names. But now? Now she will no longer be denied. Now she will introduce her true self and her true name, consequences be damned. Now they will know Outrage!
Review
Order and Outrage #3 picks up with the aftermath of our protagonist’s decisions. Over 500,000 people are dead and as soon as it seems like there is going to be time to reflect on that, the Jim Starlin we all remember kicks this story into gear, bringing the narrative full circle, back to the origin point that was last shown briefly in Order and Outrage #1. While it’s definitely nice to not have to jump between three separate timelines, this issue raises more questions than it does answers. It turns out that the mysterious blue woman seen at the beginning of issue #1 was actually our protagonist all along. Whatever the Order was after on the planet actually turns her into this blue version, giving her godlike powers that serve as a hard contrast to everything that has narratively come before.
Overall, this series has had its ups and downs, but now that all of the groundwork has been laid, it seems like the story is finally hitting its footing. It’s a shame that it took this creative team over two issues to finally get here, but nonetheless, this issue sets up for an interesting conclusion that mixes the strong social message with the classic Starlin cosmic prowess that fans have come to love.
One detractor from this mostly strong issue is Starlin’s dialogue. Some of it feels like something stuck in the late 80’s with other sections coming off as almost cringy. One part in particular features some soldiers brashfully referring to the protagonist as a “bitch” to which she responds “…I have gone far beyond Bitch!! Even Hailey R Brown’s excellent lettering here can’t save the book from breaking that uncanny valley when the dialogue reads as egregious as this. That being said, these issues are few and far between, with most of the dialogue reading just fine, especially in the context of this story.
Rags Morales and Michael Heisler get their time to shine, with this new godlike form being drawn in beautiful and unique ways in each panel. This team did a great job in the first two issues, but this issue makes it obvious that they were brought onto this book so that they could draw and color these amazing cosmic images that appear in this issue. Almost every panel feels like something that could be blown up to a poster that any comic book fan would be proud to hang up in their home.
Final Thoughts
Order and Outrage #3 finally jumps the shark in the best way possible, with Starlin’s cosmic background jumping to the forefront of the narrative. The dialogue can be a bit cringey and clunky, but the art more than makes up for anything that may serve as a detractor to this otherwise stellar comic.
Order and Outrage #3: A Cosmic Odyssey is Unfolding
- Writing - 8.5/108.5/10
- Storyline - 9/109/10
- Art - 10/1010/10
- Color - 10/1010/10
- Cover Art - 10/1010/10