In more ways than one the idea of Titans is a great one. How often do you see teams evolve and grow older? This series captures the once-Teen Titans in their older and wiser form, complete with Wally West from old back on the team. Is it good?
Titans #5 (DC Comics)
So what’s it about? The full summary reads:
“The Return of Wally West” part five! Wally West will do anything to save his friends—even at the cost of his own life! The full extent of Abra Kadabra’s greatest trick is finally revealed!
Why does this book matter?
Dan Abnett and Brett Booth have been delivering a fun action first series so far that’s somewhat centered on Wally West. It also seems to be revealing some Watchmen details here and there, which should titillate folks.
Fine, you have my attention. What’s good about it?
Kadabra is in his ear this entire issue…literally.
This issue is focused on Wally saving the Titans from Kadabra’s goons (all mirror images of the Teen Titans) and he only has seconds to accomplish this. The fact that Abnett and Booth somehow stuff 20 pages of comic into seven or so seconds is pretty amazing as we follow Wally through slow motion. It may be only seconds, but Wally does a lot of thinking via captions which reveal his worries and desire to save everyone even when the odds are against him. On top of that, Linda also is under threat, which makes the cliffhanger all the more meaningful. Wally does the right thing, but as with any Flash, going too fast can kill you.
This is the type of comic that could have felt boring, or a decompressed and slow paced issue that’s more filler than anything else. Luckily, Abnett’s captions do a great job establishing the stakes and Wally’s inner monologue so that there’s good character work in play. On top of this, Kadabra reveals some key information in regards to why he’s doing all of this which may be important when more is revealed about the bigger picture in the DCU.
The action in the issue keeps things interesting of course, as Wally must save everyone and Booth once again shows his forte is in kinetic energy. Panels continue to be fun and zig zagging with Wally’s running and the slow motion of scenes look quite cool. In one panel that’s particularly good, Wally is running with Kadabra in his ear and cameras filming him. While a bit ridiculous (Wally is running faster than the speed of light…I think), Booth renders a very nice panel with Kadabra framing Wally and eventually pulling back to reveal the cameras.
It can’t be perfect can it?
If you’ve been reading this series you’ll definitely feel a bit of fatigue when it comes to the plot advancing. We’re onto issue #5 here and I’m not sure Abnett has done enough to make this arc worthy of a purchase. There’s fun action and cool details dropped, but it’s hard not to argue the pace is way too slow. That said, this issue is very well rendered and a fun issue anyone can enjoy.
Run!
Is It Good?
This issue is a lot of fun that pushes Flash to the brink, effectively tethering itself to the character and the stakes. Titans has been a lot of fun and if you like action in your comics you’ll dig it.
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