Metamorpho escapes from police custody by flushing himself down a toilet!

Batman kidnaps an astronaut and subjects him to a mind-meld by a vampire!

Giant monsters in rich-kid drug seeking scandal!

…. And none of you care because you're all watching THE DARK KNIGHT…

…over and over and over again.

Well, that's alright.

IF, however, you get a chance to take a break from your three viewings a day, then #9 of BATMAN AND THE OUTSIDERS is well worth your time.

This issue is centered around Batman, with no real action to speak of but plenty of detective work. With the exception of Metamorpho's shameless mugging in the opening pages, everything is in its place.

Metamorpho has arrived back on land, following his heroic jaunt spaceward, where he has been arrested for all sorts of interstellar crimes. Usually I am a fan of BATO's particular comedic quality, in this case however this opening involving ridiculous puns and toilet humor did nothing to move my hilarity meter.

Thankfully, this is brief and Metamorpho is soon rescued by Batgirl and Katana, where he is given a sailor's costume courtesy of Green Arrow. I will admit that this did raise a chuckle. There is a very nice moment on the plane following Metamorpho's rescue that sees Batgirl and Katana sharing some “words.” Restrained and brief, it develops the relationship between these two nicely.

As previously stated, The Batman is the main emphasis in these pages, which is really appreciated! In a conversation with Geo-Force and Dr. Francine Langstrom, Batman decides that further investigation is required. He does this while brushing off the JLA in a way that lets the audience know that BATO is confident of it’s own abilities -- both artistically speaking and from the point of view of the characters.

Batman proceeds to kidnap an astronaut involved in the evil space happenings, leading to the return of Looker and an effort to retrieve his lost memories.

The artwork on the pages following this feature a pleasing use of blues; darkness and light, reflected from the moon.

This issue feels Gothic in nature. From the cover art to the closing pages featuring a distressing smattering of blood, this issue is doggedly nefarious in nature. Along with the prominence of Batman flexing his detective skills, the evolution of this series continues in a manner that is agreeable and slightly surprising.

The foreshadowing of where things are going next time around wouldn't usually be my thing, however it was executed well and the wealth of panels devoted to The Batman brings the supernatural down to The Dark Knight’s level and not the other way around.