Phil Filippopoulos
Apr 23, 2008, 01:49 am
<a href="http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/previews/dc/0408/TITANS_Cv1.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/previews/dc/0408/TITANS_Cv1t.jpg" hspace=10 align=left alt="Titans #1"></a>Reviewer: Phil Filippopoulos, astral_revolution@yahoo.com
Story Title: Today I Settle All Family Business.
“I'm a guy who can lead, I've faced doom and I certainly know how to patrol. This all makes me abundantly qualified to lead the Doom Patrol, right?”
Writer: Judd Winick
Penciller: Ian Churchill
Inker: Norm Rapmund
Colorist: Edgar Delgado
Cover: Churchill and Reis
Alternate Cover: Ethan Van Sciver with Brad Anderson
Letterer: Comicraft
Assistant Editor: Adam Schlagman
Editor: Eddie Berganza
Executive Editor: Dan Didio
President & Publisher: Paul Levitz
Published By: DC Comics
Okay, okay. I know what you're thinking. I reviewed Tiny Titans, then Nightwing, now Titans #1. Now, in my defense if I had remembered that Titans was coming out I would have waited and done that instead of Nightwing. But even with that little factoid, it seems like I've been on a Titans binge (I shouldn't say this but I was going to review an issue of the Raven miniseries too, and I can't promise I still wont). I'd like to say I haven't, but I've noticed over the past few months that anything Titans-related gets me more and more excited. I don't know what specifically has changed; I always liked the Titans, but I'm an X-man and that's usually my team fix.
So, the concern is obviously that I'm a Titans fanboy that's going to give everything Titans a rave review so you'll all go out and buy everything related to the Titans. Maybe I'll start using the word Titans several times in each sentence to spread their glory subliminally.
Well, I wouldn't be a reviewer if I didn't think I could be impartial, so no need to worry about that. Although that being said, I am about to give Titans a rave review.
Don't be confused. This is the first issue of a team book; this is a teambuilding story. I wont mince words here: if you have it, you can go grab the first issue of the new JLA series and mentally replace all the characters with Titans (or, if you like, you can draw them in, but I take no legal responsibility for anything that occurs as a result of this) and you'd get basically the same story. This isn't a new take on the team book in any way, shape or form.
What that leaves us with, then, is a situation in which we know this team has to come together and we're left with how fun the ride that gets us there is. The good news is, this issue is a blast. A building explodes on page two. And if that's not enough for you, another building blows up later on, just for good measure. Each Titan faces their own peril, and of course because everything is connected they all end up unofficially reforming.
Now, when you're taking a team that completely reimagined a franchise and started a legacy, like this Wolfman/Perez pack, you have to be very careful because unlike Teen Titans, in which the team changes and with it the dynamic, you have established characters and relationships. We have two former couples in this team from the get-go; that alone could make or break this title based on how that's handled.
The good news, so far, is that Winick seems to get these characters. Nightwing jumps around, Beast Boy cracks jokes, Raven is snippy, Starfire gets naked (honestly at this point it might be more productive to point out when Starfire actually does throw on clothing), and it's not a crazy new take on the characters but that's why this is a series instead of a one-shot. Winick is establishing the characters and giving you his take on them; it is the unspoken dance of the first issue, in which the writer baits you into seeing what else they have to say. So, for now, I am forgiving what some people might see as reductive and expected, because that's the burden of this kind of project.
Everyone's voices came through very well. My only tiny qualm is that Raven sounded a bit off; of course her new environment comes with a new perspective but her dialogue seemed just a tad too adolescent. Not a huge deal, just something I noticed. Otherwise, there's lots of great stuff here: Red Arrow speaking to his daughter, the Flash being...speedy (see what I did there?), and Nightwing's conversation with his visitor all came out great. I'm not horribly familiar with Winick's work, but so far I love what he's doing with these guys.
The plot at large, more specifically the enemy behind everything, is expected, perhaps a bit played out, but JLA did have their Starro so I can't really begrudge that; it's a throwback, and what really matters is what's done with it from here on out.
Also, the Teen Titans featured in the issue are a bit dated, as a good portion of them are now gone. I assume this is just a timing or editorial mistake, so it can be forgiven (as long as they don't start spoiling the deaths of other characters, they've still got a leg up on our friends in the X-verse).
I adored the art. Classically heroic but with a hard edge, everyone looks fantastic, although Raven's outfit is...well, I think the less said about it the better. Let's keep her in costume for now. The two monsters in this issue were terrifying and awesome, so I can only hope we see more of those. One thing I have to mention is the fact that Nightwing retains little shards of glass in his back through the entire issue; little details like that (and Donna's curious costume change on the final page) made the issue for me. The colors were also dynamic and pretty; I hope this is the regular art team for the series because it was almost perfect. My only raised-eyebrow moment came from a Starfire spread in which she is staring at the reader, away from the monster that she is shocked to see. Or not see? It's an awkward pose either way.
It may seem like I'm giving this issue a lot of leeway for being a first; I don't think that's in any way unreasonable, but I have to say I can't help but completely love this. The art, the story, the pace, everything was exactly what I want in a Titans story. I'm really enjoying Teen Titans but there's just something about this team. The powers, the personalities, something about it is just as brilliant now as it was 28 years ago. Obviously it can go up or down from here, but I like what I've seen and I am more than eagerly awaiting the next issue. This may just become my new favorite book.
OVERALL:
http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/reviews/ttfull.jpg http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/reviews/ttfull.jpg http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/reviews/ttfull.jpg http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/reviews/ttfull.jpg http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/reviews/tthalf.jpg
Buy Titans online now from X-World Comics and save! (http://x-worldcomics.com/yourvirtualstore/shopexd.asp?id=26528)
Story Title: Today I Settle All Family Business.
“I'm a guy who can lead, I've faced doom and I certainly know how to patrol. This all makes me abundantly qualified to lead the Doom Patrol, right?”
Writer: Judd Winick
Penciller: Ian Churchill
Inker: Norm Rapmund
Colorist: Edgar Delgado
Cover: Churchill and Reis
Alternate Cover: Ethan Van Sciver with Brad Anderson
Letterer: Comicraft
Assistant Editor: Adam Schlagman
Editor: Eddie Berganza
Executive Editor: Dan Didio
President & Publisher: Paul Levitz
Published By: DC Comics
Okay, okay. I know what you're thinking. I reviewed Tiny Titans, then Nightwing, now Titans #1. Now, in my defense if I had remembered that Titans was coming out I would have waited and done that instead of Nightwing. But even with that little factoid, it seems like I've been on a Titans binge (I shouldn't say this but I was going to review an issue of the Raven miniseries too, and I can't promise I still wont). I'd like to say I haven't, but I've noticed over the past few months that anything Titans-related gets me more and more excited. I don't know what specifically has changed; I always liked the Titans, but I'm an X-man and that's usually my team fix.
So, the concern is obviously that I'm a Titans fanboy that's going to give everything Titans a rave review so you'll all go out and buy everything related to the Titans. Maybe I'll start using the word Titans several times in each sentence to spread their glory subliminally.
Well, I wouldn't be a reviewer if I didn't think I could be impartial, so no need to worry about that. Although that being said, I am about to give Titans a rave review.
Don't be confused. This is the first issue of a team book; this is a teambuilding story. I wont mince words here: if you have it, you can go grab the first issue of the new JLA series and mentally replace all the characters with Titans (or, if you like, you can draw them in, but I take no legal responsibility for anything that occurs as a result of this) and you'd get basically the same story. This isn't a new take on the team book in any way, shape or form.
What that leaves us with, then, is a situation in which we know this team has to come together and we're left with how fun the ride that gets us there is. The good news is, this issue is a blast. A building explodes on page two. And if that's not enough for you, another building blows up later on, just for good measure. Each Titan faces their own peril, and of course because everything is connected they all end up unofficially reforming.
Now, when you're taking a team that completely reimagined a franchise and started a legacy, like this Wolfman/Perez pack, you have to be very careful because unlike Teen Titans, in which the team changes and with it the dynamic, you have established characters and relationships. We have two former couples in this team from the get-go; that alone could make or break this title based on how that's handled.
The good news, so far, is that Winick seems to get these characters. Nightwing jumps around, Beast Boy cracks jokes, Raven is snippy, Starfire gets naked (honestly at this point it might be more productive to point out when Starfire actually does throw on clothing), and it's not a crazy new take on the characters but that's why this is a series instead of a one-shot. Winick is establishing the characters and giving you his take on them; it is the unspoken dance of the first issue, in which the writer baits you into seeing what else they have to say. So, for now, I am forgiving what some people might see as reductive and expected, because that's the burden of this kind of project.
Everyone's voices came through very well. My only tiny qualm is that Raven sounded a bit off; of course her new environment comes with a new perspective but her dialogue seemed just a tad too adolescent. Not a huge deal, just something I noticed. Otherwise, there's lots of great stuff here: Red Arrow speaking to his daughter, the Flash being...speedy (see what I did there?), and Nightwing's conversation with his visitor all came out great. I'm not horribly familiar with Winick's work, but so far I love what he's doing with these guys.
The plot at large, more specifically the enemy behind everything, is expected, perhaps a bit played out, but JLA did have their Starro so I can't really begrudge that; it's a throwback, and what really matters is what's done with it from here on out.
Also, the Teen Titans featured in the issue are a bit dated, as a good portion of them are now gone. I assume this is just a timing or editorial mistake, so it can be forgiven (as long as they don't start spoiling the deaths of other characters, they've still got a leg up on our friends in the X-verse).
I adored the art. Classically heroic but with a hard edge, everyone looks fantastic, although Raven's outfit is...well, I think the less said about it the better. Let's keep her in costume for now. The two monsters in this issue were terrifying and awesome, so I can only hope we see more of those. One thing I have to mention is the fact that Nightwing retains little shards of glass in his back through the entire issue; little details like that (and Donna's curious costume change on the final page) made the issue for me. The colors were also dynamic and pretty; I hope this is the regular art team for the series because it was almost perfect. My only raised-eyebrow moment came from a Starfire spread in which she is staring at the reader, away from the monster that she is shocked to see. Or not see? It's an awkward pose either way.
It may seem like I'm giving this issue a lot of leeway for being a first; I don't think that's in any way unreasonable, but I have to say I can't help but completely love this. The art, the story, the pace, everything was exactly what I want in a Titans story. I'm really enjoying Teen Titans but there's just something about this team. The powers, the personalities, something about it is just as brilliant now as it was 28 years ago. Obviously it can go up or down from here, but I like what I've seen and I am more than eagerly awaiting the next issue. This may just become my new favorite book.
OVERALL:
http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/reviews/ttfull.jpg http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/reviews/ttfull.jpg http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/reviews/ttfull.jpg http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/reviews/ttfull.jpg http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/reviews/tthalf.jpg
Buy Titans online now from X-World Comics and save! (http://x-worldcomics.com/yourvirtualstore/shopexd.asp?id=26528)