Outsiders #27 - DC

This issue introduces us, and the Outsiders, to the new Masters of Disaster. My first thought is . . man, what a fantastic cover by Philip Tan. Don Kramer does the interiors, and they look pretty good too. But . . this cover is beautiful. Inside we find out that the MoD only really have 2 new members . . Coldsnap and Heatstroke. But they're still kind of a cool team, when you think about it. Anyways, the Outsiders make pretty short work of them. They put up a fight at first, but it isn't long before the Outsiders take them down. But there's several unanswered questions. Such as who hired them? And what were they after? They attack a hidden lab in Markovia, where Brion has some scientists working on some secret projects. But they bypass those and head right to the safe. I'm surprised that when the Outsiders go to defend it that nobody brings up the question as to it's purpose, and why they were never told about it. They are Markovia's defenders . . right? And, Jefferson seems to be questioning everything that Brion is doing lately. He's not happy the Brion brought the Eradicator on board last issue, but he's even more pissed when Brion won't give him a straight answer, and then finds out that this isn't even the original Eradicator. 'I do retain all of his thoughts and memories. And his memories of the Outsiders and Geo-Force were all good ones. I was created to be an ambassador of New Krypton . . sent to forge a bond between my world and this nation. It was a bond that Prince Brion quickly, and rightly, accepted.' The problem is, whether he's an original or not . . the world still sees him as a Kryptonian. Which are banned on Earth right now. And which puts Markovia at odds with the rest of the world. Owlman seems to be fanning the flames when he tells Jefferson that he suspects that Brion's wound from Deathstroke was probably self-inflicted. Of course, reading Last Will & Testament, we know that he's right. But . . was Brion trying to draw Deathstoke in, or was he trying to frame him? Or, even more insidious, was he trying to take advantage of the situation to up his own 'street cred'? We also see a blossoming relationship between Owlman and Tatsu. And, while in Markovia, Jack Ryder seems to have picked up a stalker. Anyways, the issues ends with Jefferson squaring off with Brion and hitting him with a very powerful lightning blast. He even takes the MoD by surprise. Now it looks like he's going to have to face down everybody, or . . the MoD may ask him to join. I doubt it, but . . Jefferson is apologetic to Brion. But he's not having it. He tells Black Lightning to leave Markovia, or face his wrath. All in all, I thought it was a good issue. So far I like what Dan Didio is trying to do with this book. And Don's pencils are pretty impressive. His panels, and art, are very crisp, clean and colorful. I thought it was a good book all around. There was a lot of questions brought up, but . . that's good. It draws in the reader.