Everything you ever need to know about Batman in one page.

(As they say on teh intronets, "click to enlarge". From Batman and the Outsiders #1.)
I mentioned this page in the comments section of my last post about my daughter's Batman and The Outsiders comics. Drawn by Jim Aparo and written by Mike Barr, this page is a great example of the one page origin re-cap you used to see in comics. It's from the first issue of what was a new series so, I guess, there is a possibility someone reading the comic back in 1983 might nave needed a Batman re-fresher. Probably not. Who cares? It's a great page of comics either way. It captures not only his origin but how it shapes his character and how that makes him different from the other heroes. Aparo uses iconic imagery from old Batman comics and makes them his own. And, it smells really, really good.

Your best pal ever,
Shannon Smith

What the kids these days are really into is 80's comics.

Or at least that's what my kid is into. Hi there blogoverse! I've been real busy in case you missed me (and I know you did). I won't get into why I've been busy because it's all a total downer. Let's talk about happy things instead. Like comics! Any time I take my seven year old daughter Kassidy with me to a comic book shop I usually let her pick out some cheap comics from the back issues boxes. Recently she picked out a bunch of old Batman and the Outsiders comics from the 80's. These comics had colorful girl characters like Katana and Halo so I'm sure that is what jumped out at Kassidy. Plus, we likes us some Batman. (I'm sure The Outsiders showing up on Batman The Brave and the Bold also helped.) I never read these comics back in the day. I was much more team Marvel. I've been reading them when Kassidy is looking the other way and they are pretty cool. Lovely Jim Aparo art. They are so 80's team comics in that they try to touch on real world issues but, ya know with a crazy cast of misfit characters. Ah the 80's when all the heroes were either damaged goods or misfits. Kind of just like the 00's.
Here is a drawing Kassidy did of Katana. To see more of Kassidy's drawings click here. You'll even find some Spongebob art from little sister Alana.

Your best pal ever,
Shannon Smith