Titans #6

By Dan Abnett, Brett Booth, Norm Rapmund, Andrew Dalhouse and Carrie Strachan

Out of all the books to come out of DC Comics Rebirth, Titans has been the one to stick the closest to the story told in the one-shot. Having Wally West as one of the main characters probably doesn’t hurt either, but there are other nods and hints about things to come in the series that tie it into the re-launch. As the first story arc ends, we are left wondering where the series will go and how it will be impacted by the events moving forward.

Dan Abnett picked up a lot of confidence from fans of the original Teen Titans after reading his mini-series Titans Hunt. It was well liked by critics and fans alike as it set the stage for the new Titans series. As we wrap up the first arc, a few cracks have shown in the writing. Abra Kadabra was an odd choice of villain for the opening arc. He has crazy powers and he’s a hard character to write because he can pretty much do anything. Abnett tried his best with him, but the character comes off as uninteresting. At the end of the issue, one of the team members even says they have no idea what his motivations were. Everyone is glad to see Wally West back, but this story essentially focused solely on him and left the rest of the team with next to nothing to do. That’s a problem that needs to be addressed. Abnett does succeed in giving us some vintage Wally though. His characterization is great and we are interested in seeing what happens next with him. Abnett also does a nice job on Wally’s relationship with Linda. Even though things are a bit wonky right now, there is time for us to see how things unfold and how Wally can win her back. Linda acted very rational in this issue and didn’t just lie down like a damsel in distress. She punches Kadabra in the face, something no one else on the team was able to do. This is a decent issue, but it would be nice to have the other characters more involved in the series.

The pencils are handled by Brett Booth with colors by Andrew Dalhouse and Carrie Strachan. Booth does a good job this issue with panel layouts. Many of them are diagonal on the page and almost look like spliced film reels. The linework is on point here as well, especially in the Wally flashback panels. Wally having his “vision” talk with Linda are also nice pages. They allow you to feel how Wally is feeling, at peace. The colors by Andrew Dalhouse and Carrie Strachan go along nicely with Booth’s work. As stated above, the “vision” panel colors work really well here. The colors are light and the sun is on the faces of the characters; it just works. In reality, the colors are darker and muggy, which also works for the mood of this part of the story. The art is very nice in all parts for this issue. This is a team that turned in a wonderful performance that helped this book be very visually appealing.

Titans #6 has it’s flaws, but if you like the characters enough, you’ll like this issue. The writing needs a little work, but Dan Abnett does a good enough job to keep fans interested. The art is a highlight that should wow you as you flip through the pages. Titans is the book for people who love Wally West and want to celebrate his return.