Titans #1 Review
Written by Dan Abnett
Art by Brett Booth & Norm Rapmund
Colors by Andrew Dalhouse
Letters by Carlos M. Mangual
Review by John Dubrawa
Titans #1 serves as the official start to a brand-new adventure for Wally, Dick, Garth, Lilith, Roy, and Donna, six characters that I immediately want to spend more time with than this issue allows. Writer Dan Abnett, in the course of two issues (counting last month’s Titans: Rebirth #1) has not only reestablished the team for longtime fans but has somehow managed to get new readers like myself feeling as if I’ve been reading this team for decades. More so than any other team book I’ve read in the DC Rebirth lineup thus far, Titans #1 feels like a book about a close-knit group of friends who can share laughs and are always primed for adventure. If DC Rebirth’s mission statement was to bring back fun, Titans must have gotten that memo first. This book has got pizazz to spare.
It’s truly refreshing the kind of levity that Abnett injects into his script. Roy’s checkered past as a criminal certainly warrants the biggest laugh of the issue during a sequence in which he and Donna must bust up a local crime ring for some much-needed information. It is a little weird that the plot seems to be divided between finding out who stole time away from our heroes and the search for Wally’s long-lost love, Linda Parks, but something tells me the former and the latter have more to do with one another than it appears. Besides, seeing the rest of the team playfully tease Wally for his girl troubles is not only another moment of that aforementioned levity, but further establishes the kind of loving bond this team has for one another. A team that isn’t at each other’s throats constantly, what a novel idea!
Much like the Rebirth issue before it, Titans #1 looks as incredible as it does because of the art. Brett Booth’s pencils and Norm Rapmund’s inks work in tandem to create a Titans team as visually appealing to look at as they are to read. There’s expression to each character’s face and when the book is in motion it really moves. In coloring the book, Andrew Dalhouse brightens the palette to make each character match the energy of the script and the designs. If there’s one thing about the art that I could complain about it’s that the panel layout is at times too erratic, jutting across the page in weird angles that distracts from the reading experience. Creatively I think this gives the book an interesting design but it also doesn’t feel necessary to be throughout the whole book.
Verdict
BUY! Titans #1 is even better than the Rebirth issue that came before it, and looks to be one of the breakout hits of the entire line. Those readers disappointed in the team books that have been released thus far (Justice League, Birds of Prey) should make an effort to start picking up Titans every month. It’s the kind of fun and adventurous restart the DC Rebirth initiative is all about.
