Waiting for results is the worst.
Creative Staff:
Story: Dan Abnett
Art: Brett Booth, Norm Rapmund
Colors: Andrew Dalhouse
Letterer: Josh Reed
What They Say:
“THINGS FALL APART!” With a traitor in their midst, the Titans reach their breaking point as Nightwing reveals his shocking prime suspect! As tempers flare and distrust spreads, the team is forced to face a new conspiracy—and the Titans must save Manhattan from the nefarious Trident!
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
Titans has been powering through a lot of things since it got underway but it’s also taking its time to get to certain elements of it. Abnett’s kept up a pretty good pace with the series so that it feels energetic with what it wants to do while making sure that we’re not getting all of it at once. Some of that comes from what we get with Booth and Rapmund’s artwork as it’s so dynamic and feels like the way someone from the Speed Force would view the world that it’s pretty intense. This issue is no exception with that as Booth is back and the kind of layouts he produces stands out once again. I’ll admit that as much as I like it I have to be in the right frame of mind to really get into it because it can get pretty dizzying.
The reveal of a traitor in the midst is the driving force behind this issue, though there’s plenty of action to be had as well. With that coming about at the end of the last issue with Dick calling out Lilith, that now has Garth ready to thrown down with him in an overprotective way – something Lilith doesn’t need. There’s a lot of complications in the group dynamic because of secrets over the years as they’ve all gotten older and Garth is able to throw the Lazarus Contract thing at him easily. But we also get Dick revealing his time in Spyral that gives him access to a device that can check to see if they’ve been manipulated, though it takes time to work. This just lets the issues fester within the team, though letting just Dick check the results basically makes it even clearer that he’s the true traitor in the midst.
Where the bulk of this issue focuses is with a fight with the Atlantean trio known as Trident, who attempted to poison the Titans in order to get Garth back. The fight itself is solid as there are a lot of moving parts – including Roy and Wally fighting each other over Donna, though that’s more Roy’s fault – and Garth revealing his past as someone who studied in the Silent School of magic for a period of time. I’m more amused at Garth having a trio that worships him and seeing the way Dick kind of gives him grief about is it is great. This ties into the events going on in Atlantis with the change in power that’s happening in Aquaman’s series so it’s a nice bit of reference without really making it a huge part. Garth’s been the hardest character for me to connect with since returning to this book but this issue gives us some good stuff to work with when it comes to him – and hopefully an Atlantean adventure in the future.
In Summary:
Titans has a lot going on just like we’ve seen before and it continues to feel like a very 90’s book to me in some good ways. I love the banter and jokes that crop up, I love that we’re still dealing with the HIVE story line 14 issues into it and that it’s continuing to go in twisty directions, and I love that we’re seeing these guys deal with all sorts of changes to their lives and how it impacts each other – especially since Wally returned. Booth and Rapmund continue to turn in some really great material that just feels very intense and dynamic, full of energy in all the right ways, and this issue is no exception. Good stuff with more to come.
Grade: B
Age Rating: 12+
Released By: DC Comics via ComiXology
Release Date: August 9th, 2017
MSRP: $2.99
