Outsiders/Checkmate: Checkout [Paperback]

Judd Winick (Author), Greg Rucka (Author), Joe Bennett (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 30, 2008

They are two of the DC Universe's toughest teams: The Outsiders, featuring costumed heroes including Nightwing and Arsennal, and Checkmate, covert operatives including Mr. Terrific and Sasha Bordeaux. Now, in this tale by top comics writers Judd Winick and Greg Rucka, the teams cross paths for the first time.

Checkmate has hunted downthe Outsiders and placed the team under house arrest. But there's no prison that can hold the Outsiders for long. The two teams soon find themselves united against a common foe: the demented super-villains of Oolong Island, last seen in the pages of 52. It's a mission no one else could complete -- and no one else wants to touch!

Product Details

• Paperback: 144 pages
• Publisher: DC Comics (January 30, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1401216234
• ISBN-13: 978-1401216238
• Product Dimensions: 6.6 x 0.2 x 10.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.7 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #511,726 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

The author of four novels about professional bodyguard Atticus Kodiak -- Keeper (nominated for a Shamus Award by the Private Eye Writers of America), Finder, Smoker, and Shooting at Midnight, Greg Rucka has been writing since he was eight years old, and hopefully is improving with age. A longtime comics fan, his first graphic novel series was the suspense thriller Whiteout, published by Oni Press and nominated for three Eisner Awards in 1999. Since that time he has been a contributing writer for DC Comics and an active participant in the Batman series of titles.
Born and raised in California, he earned his undergraduate degree at Vassar College and his MFA at the University of Southern California. He currently resides in Portland, Oregon. Mr. Rucka has two tattoos, and rides a motorcycle.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great for DC lovers, April 1, 2008

By 

Corey S. Duncan (Atlanta, GA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Outsiders/Checkmate: Checkout (Paperback)

I purchased this book because of the Checkmate portion of the book. I was not disappointed with any part of it. All the characters are really interesting and fun to watch. It was really interesting to see how Nightwing and Sasha Bordeaux worked together. If you enjoy either of these books I would recommend looking at this one.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Really, REALLY Good, January 13, 2009

By 

Todd G. Standland (Florida) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Outsiders/Checkmate: Checkout (Paperback)

Wow! This was some SERIOUS story-telling and powerful character development. Want really, really BAD bad guys? You got 'em in this issue, and the good guys have their hands full.

The Outsiders are a great team of wreckless heroes who push the limits of the law (and even break sokme of them), to get the bad guys, and this time, they reluctantly team up with secret agency Checkmate to take down the bad guys on Oolong Island.

Really serious, intriguing storyline in this one with a guest appearance by the Caped Crusader himself.

4.0 out of 5 stars hard-boiled, August 4, 2010

By 

Curtis C. Chen "CKL" (Vancouver, WA, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Outsiders/Checkmate: Checkout (Paperback)

There's a certain talent required to take a character as ridiculous as Egg Fu and turn him into not just a plausible villain, but an actual scary mofo. Some of that is the art, certainly, but Greg Rucka's take-no-prisoners writing style doesn't hurt.

One of the interesting things about reading the same characters in different comics is seeing how their portrayal changes depending on who's writing them. Sometimes it's nice to see underused characters get their day in the sun; I really enjoy how Mr. Terrific is an actual person in Checkmate, as opposed to just a face in the crowd of, say, the overcrowded Justice Society of America.

Of course, the danger is that you'll get inconsistencies or outright contradictions in concurrent titles, but having the same person on the same book for a long time helps minimize that. There's also no substitute for planning, and I get the sense that Ruck and Winick did a fair amount of work breaking this story. All the pieces come together in a sensical and satisfying fashion.