DC Confirms Return of Surprising Wildstorm Character
Yes, it looks like the new Outsiders are also the new Planetary.
The Drummer, a character first introduced in 1998's Planetary Preview, is set to reappear for the first time in years with Jackson Lanzing, Collin Kelly, and Robert Carey's new Outsiders comic. The character, who has had about two dozen appearances and last appeared in 2004, will be reinvented a little bit, with fans speculating that a woman seen on the cover of Outsiders #1 would be a post-Flashpoint version of the character. That, combined with Luke Fox's all-white suit, seems to suggest that the Outsiders are DC's current riff on Planetary -- seemingly reinventing both properties a bit to feel somewhat more like a grounded, DC version of the most popular era of Marvel's Runaways.
DC confirmed some key details about the upcoming series at New York Comic Con earlier this month. The Drummer revelation was saved for the solicitation for the series' third issue, in which she is name-dropped directly.
The Drummer was key to Planetary's information-gathering apparatus, something that makes sense in a series featuring Kate Kane and Luke Fox, both of whom are fairly well-suited to the militaristic style of Planetary. And when you look at the cover of Outsiders #1, seen below, you can see a pretty direct line between the look of the team and some early Planetary covers.
You can see the official solicitation for Outsiders #3 below.
OUTSIDERS #3
Written by JACKSON LANZING and COLLIN KELLY
Art by ROBERT CAREY
Cover by ROGER CRUZ
Variant cover by GUILLEM MARCH
1:25 variant cover by HAYDEN SHERMAN
$4.99 US | 32 pages | Variant $5.99 US (card stock)
ON SALE 1/9/24
"Dreaming of Bats."
Only two things are certain about the mysterious door that has appeared in the Outsiders' ship. The first? It was opened by the Drummer, using a set of Multiversal coordinates discovered in a dream. The second? Their computers have identified it only as a "narrative singularity." For most, to step through such a door would be unthinkable, even insane—which makes it a perfect mission for the Outsiders! As Kate Kane and Luke Fox venture into the unknown reaches of the Multiverse, they will fall deeper and deeper into a maze of darkness, guided by unfamiliar versions of familiar faces. What is this strange world they've discovered? How are they connected to it? And who is lurking in the shadows, ready to destroy it all?
Outsiders #3 will be in stores on January 9.