Review - Titans Volume 2: Made in Manhattan

In order to better control her nascent metahuman abilities, Karen Beecher-Duncan seeks out the aid of Meta Solutions. Unbeknownst to Karen, the organization is run by the nefarious Fearsome Five. When her husband discovers the truth, he enlists the help of the Titans to investigate Meta Solutions’ true motivations before his wife can be drawn into their web.

Titans Volume 2: Made in Manhattan collects Titans issues 7-10, Titans Annual 1 and material from DC Rebirth Holiday Special. It is written by Dan Abnett, with art by Brett Booth and Minkyu Jung.

While the first arc of this Rebirth series focused exclusively on Wally West, Abnett hits his stride by recalibrating the title to make greater use of its ensemble cast. The interpersonal relationships of the Titans are the focal point of this collection and there are many fantastic interactions between the characters, especially between Donna Troy and Roy Harper. Their flirtatious dialogue acts as a way of grounding the book. This emphasis on the interpersonal is ultimately what drives the overarching plot as well. On a superficial level, it’s a pretty standard superhero beat-‘em-up storyline wherein the Titans face off against their long-time foes the Fearsome Five. The catalyst for this conflict is personal. Their friends, Mal and Karen, are directly affected by the Fearsome Five’s actions. To the team, they are family and what does family do when their loved ones are in danger? They go all mama bear.

The fact that Made in Manhattan revolves around Karen Beecher-Duncan (AKA Bumblebee) is bittersweet. I love that she’s finally given some shine after being relegated to the background for so long in comics, but Abnett fails to understand the appeal of the character. She seems to have no prior history as a superhero and her only connection to the Titans is through her husband (ugh). Furthermore, the manifestation of her powers and reliance on the suit Meta Solutions gives her to control them erases her status as the earliest black girl genius in comics. She went from this bad ass inventor who built her own suit in order to fight crime to being someone’s generic wife who is unable to deal with her metahuman abilities. Hell, even Brett Booth’s art lets her down. It’s clear from the way he draws Mal that he has difficulty drawing black hair, so it’s no surprise that he’s basically given Karen a fairly generic vaguely wavy hairstyle. That said, the scene in which Bumblebee takes on the Fearsome Five is worth the price of admission. She kicks ass. Sadly, Karen isn’t the only character that Abnett misses the mark on. Wonder Woman appears in the annual and her treatment of Donna Troy is ridiculously out of character.

As I previously mentioned in my review of the preceding volume from this series, I’m not a fan of Brett Booth’s art. It’s dated and unattractive. It really lowers the quality of what could otherwise be a really great book. This is made all the more evident when it’s contrasted against Minkyu Jung’s gorgeous artwork for the annual collected here. Jung’s art is cleaner and infinitely more dynamic.

Titans Volume 2: Made in Manhattan is a vast improvement over the first trade. It’s action-packed and more deftly handles its ensemble cast. I appreciate the effort that Abnett has put into ensuring that this group reads like a family as that is central to the appeal of the Titans. Unfortunately, the characterization of Bumblebee and Booth’s art chipped away at what would otherwise be a nearly flawless follow-up to the mediocre Rebirth relaunch of the Titans.

RATING: B

Review - Titans Volume 1: The Return of Wally West

Having been removed from existence, Wally West has mysteriously returned. He and his friends must work together in order to find the person responsible for his erasure. In the process, he must come to terms with his relationship (or lack thereof) with his one-time love Linda Park and face off against one of his oldest foes.

Titans Volume 1: The Return of Wally West collects Titans: Rebirth #1 and Titans #1-6, written by Dan Abnett and illustrated by Brett Booth.

Put simply, Titans is a deceptively titled series that presents itself as a team book, when in reality it is in fact a Wally West-starring comic with the rest of the Titans in supporting roles. While this is unlikely to be a problem for fans of the Flash, it’s a problem for anyone looking for something that features the Titans in more substantive roles. Wally is front and center in a narrative that sees him confronting classic Flash foe Kadabra, who is responsible for erasing all traces of him from the timeline. While it would stand to reason that the book would primarily deal with the Titans’ various perspectives on this event, it instead focuses primarily on Wally’s complicated relationship with Linda Park. He still remembers a point in time when they were lovers while she has no memory of him whatsoever. The overall thrust thus becomes about whether the pair will fall in love again. Anyone hoping for any kind of depth or development added to any of the other Titans, especially characters like Donna Troy or Lilith who don’t appear in any other books, will be sorely disappointed. They’re merely set dressing, useful only for when the male characters need to flirt or to fill up the panel during action scenes. Sadly, the focus on a rather silly villain and a lack of attention paid to the female members of the Titans did nothing to endear me to this book.

Perhaps a more egregious fault with The Return of Wally West is the cringe-worthy art by Brett Booth.  I wasn’t a fan of his work on the New 52 Teen Titans and I’m still not a fan here. His proportions are wonky and he often gets lazy the smaller characters appear on a panel. As others have mentioned before, his work has a ‘90s quality to it. In fact, I find it to be very reminiscent of Rob Liefeld’s style (just with fewer pouches and shoulder pads).

With a mediocre storyline and subpar art, it’s hard to find a reason to like The Return of Wally West. Perhaps I’d have a sunnier opinion of it were I a fan of Wally West, but unfortunately this book does nothing to make me one. Instead, I find myself frustrated that there’s so little attention paid to the other characters present (all of whom I tend to like more). I’m hopeful future arcs remedy this situation, especially since I rather love the line-up presented here. Lilith, Donna Troy and a sprinkling of Bumblebee? Yes, please! As is, I’d only recommend this one to the Flash fans.

RATING: D+