A Big Old Pool Of Blood: Reviewing ‘Titans’ #3

A leopard can’t change its spots, and the Church of Blood can’t either. That’s what the Titans seem to believe. The question is, are they correct that the church is still as bad as ever, or has the organization actually found the right path?

Guess they’ll just have to do some old-fashioned breaking and entering to get to the answer. Very Justice League-like behavior.

Titans #3 pits the heroes against their old foes with a friend in the middle as the series returns from hiatus. Another heroic adventure from Tom Taylor, Nicola Scott, Annette Kwok, and Wes Abbott.

Things, of course, take quite a turn for the heroes, and we get a pretty moody fight-scene-filled issue. Getting right into the thick of things after a two-month hiatus is a pretty great way to go. Scott is so good at being able to wring every bit of emotional energy out of a scene, rendering the facial work and body language so perfectly. Every bit of the fight we see here is fluid, popping right off the page, thanks to not only the depth and detail but the framing choices. Shifting sliding panels adds even more to the overall situation and keeps the eyes engaged, darting around to follow the controlled chaos.

All the colors play into the darker mood because Kwok pulls the shadows and heavier color palettes into play. Vibrant eye-catching colors are integrated to make sure that we still get all that superhero brightness, but in a way that makes sure it stands out from the rest. As it should, because it makes their usage of their powers and the bright flashy costumes the things cutting through the darkness.

Which is often what heroes are all about.

Oh, and that final page, holy crap that is some creepy stuff. Kudos to pulling that off because I’ll be seeing that in my nightmares for a while.

Despite some of my earlier, very minor, reservations, it’s here that the idea of the Titans being bigger heroes creeps in. They are fighting a battle on multiple fronts, tackling bigger things while also staying true to their roots. I like that Taylor briefly plays with the idea that this new Church of Eternity is on the level, before dashing that hope. We the readers know that such things can’t be trusted, as do the heroes, but hope is something that the heroes need to feel even if it is false hope.

There are some great pairings and beats here, especially seeing Gar and Dick being the ones to tackle the church first. All the interactions continue to be solid, showing how well Taylor knows the characters while allowing them to continue to grow.

Just like the rest of the artwork, the lettering brings so much to this story. With little choices here or there, Abbott can make things feel heavier or lighter to match whatever tone the page needs. One of the things that stood out often was having the font shrink in size while keeping the bubbles the same, clearly indicating the moment is meant to be quieter. Visual cues to make sure that we’re reading the voices accurately.

Can’t forget all the heroic dynamic sound effects brought into the frenzy. A comic can do everything it needs without them, but they sure are way more fun to have around. Sure, I get it when Nightwing throws his Escrima stick at someone, but the satisfying “TNK” as it hits just makes it all better.

Titans #3 is now available from DC Comics.