Red Hood and the Outlaws Vol. 2: Who Is Artemis? (Rebirth)

by Scott Lobdell

Dexter Soy (Illustrator)

Writer Scott Lobdell (Superman, Teen Titans) and artist Dexter Soy (Red Hood/Arsenal) shed fiery light on the Outlaws’ most mysterious member in Red Hood And The Outlaws Vol. 2: Who Is Artemis?
 
Little is known about the Amazon warrior Artemis, even by her teammates in the so-called “Outlaws.” But Red Hood and Bizarro are about to get a crash course when her past comes back to haunt all three of them—with a vengeance!
 
Soon the team finds itself a long way from the streets of Gotham in Qurac [AR1]. Not only is the war-torn Middle Eastern country Artemis’ former home, it’s also the site of great personal tragedy for both the wayward Amazon and for Red Hood. It was in Qurac where Artemis lost her best friend, and where Jason Todd got himself murdered by the Joker, back before Robin became the Red Hood.
 
Now someone in Qurac is using the ancient weapon of Artemis’ people—the Bow of Ra—to commit genocide, and only an Amazon can tame its incredible power. But stopping the Bow means marching right into the middle of a war zone... and in a war between Amazons and mankind, whose side will Artemis take?
 
Collects Red Hood And The Outlaws #7-11.

• ISBN10: 1401273998
• ISBN13: 9781401273996
• Publish Date: 10 October 2017
• Publish Status: Out of Stock
• Out of Print: 9 February 2022
• Publish Country: US
• Imprint: DC Comics
• Format: Paperback (US Trade)
• Pages: 144
• Language: English
• URL: https://penguinrandomhouse.com/books/isbn/9781401273996

Reviews

[Quirky Cat]

I received a copy of Red Hood and the Outlaws, Vol. 2: Who Is Artemis? from NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Red Hood and the Outlaws is a very unique and interesting hero team-up (though they wouldn’t appreciate you calling them heroes, maybe anti-hero is a better fit). Together Red Hood (obviously) Artemis, and Bizarro take on missions that matter to each of them. Volume two is focused more heavily on Artemis and the Bow of Ra that she is hunting down. Though there is an issue focused more on Bizarro, for all the fans of him that are out there.
Scott Lobdell (Daredevil, Teen Titans Rebirth, Uncanny X-Men, etc) continues writing for the series, which is fantastic because I don’t know if anybody else could set the tone the way he does. The artwork is done by Dexter Soy (known for Batman Beyond, Batman: Arkham Knight – Genesis, but is best known for his work with Red Hood and the Outlaws), and I just love what he creates for us to enjoy.



Issue number seven, as mentioned above, is more focused on Bizarro. In it we see Red Hood (AKA Jason Todd) is having a moral dilemma about Bizarro’s existence. The man really does seem to want to do good, he just doesn’t really know what good is. Jason is unsure if he can control Bizarro and keep him from hurting people, so he has to make a decision. Trust his gut and let Bizarro continue to learn, or take Bizarro out. It’s an oddly endearing scene, in the end. One I certainly appreciated.
Issues eight through twelve focus on Artemis and the Bow of Ra. It was nice getting to learn more about Artemis and her backstory. Apparently she has a team-up past with Wonder Woman (even if there was some animosity involved), so there’s a new fun fact for you. Her story is actually pretty heart breaking, though I wish they had shown us more of her home before they dug into the introduction of her best friend/possible lover, Akilla. I just feel like there’s so much more to learn about Bana-Mighdall and it was just glossed over so quickly (but then again, I’m greedy for information like that).
All three of our heroes have to face their past in this volume. Bizarro remembers not being treated human by anybody but Red Hood and Artemis (or as he calls them, Red Him and Red Her). Jason has it pretty rough too – he ends up in the building that’s literally adjacent to the one he died in. Needless to say that brings all those awful memories back up to the surface for him. Artemis has to see her best friend, alive and corrupt again. Needless to say this volume gets a little heavy at time; though I greatly appreciate all the character development.
I’m curious to see where volume three will lead, now that all the loose ends have been tied up. It’ll be starting off with all the characters having received a decent amount of growth and development, so there’s a lot of potential going forward. I can’t wait to see what happens next.


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