Fire From The Stars — Reviewing ‘Titans’ #6

Comic books and retcons go way back. They’re longtime friends, maybe much more, with a real on-and-off-again sitcom-style relationship situation. It takes the right amount of time, care, and chemistry to make them sing when they’re together. A few stray beats and it all crumbles and they’re very much off again.

Often, the simplest approach is the one that pays dividends, which is the path taken by Titans #6 as it joins the Titans: Beast World event. It’s a Starfire-centric tale from regulars Tom Taylor and Web Abbott who are joined by Travis Moore and Tamra Bonvillain for this story arc.

If you’re checking in on this review, it should be no surprise or spoiler that a few issues ago the villain Brother Eternity was revealed to be a Tamaranian in disguise. Since Starfire is the only Tamaranian (a member of the royal family of course) on Earth, it’ll shock no one that this new Tamaranian is connected to her past. I’d say that’s how comic books tend to work, but it’s more of a that’s how a lot of stories tend to work.

Thus, the whole mention of retcons above.

Long story short, we find out this guy was one of the royal guards who was there with Starfire when her planet was invaded (and her parents were killed). Good old Xand’r, except he’s not so good of course. This connection isn’t the retcon of which I spoke. No, that would be the implication when the two characters collide in the present day that it was Xand’r/Brother Eternity who was behind the invasion and Koriand’r’s enslavement and later experimentation. As retcons go, it’s soft enough that it naturally works because it doesn’t rock the boat too much when it comes to established canon.

There is nothing wrong with overturning established canon, I love a lot of retcons that do this, but the right touch is needed to make those work. Sometimes walking softer allows for comics and retcons to have a sweet moment in their relationship.

Taylor does a good job of connecting this series to the main event, though it does become a bit of a must-read alongside the miniseries. Mainly because elements from that main miniseries are completed here, or have major things added to them. It’s trying to balance being part of the event while also addressing dangling bits from the first Titans arc and does pretty well. Essentially this issue works as a Titans: Beast World #3.5 type of issue.

Unfortunately, much like the first arc, the book still feels a bit too much like just a second Nightwing solo book as he’s still very much taking the forefront of things. This is not to say the other Titans are not here doing things, but Dick is still front and center. Even though Beast Boy is central to this event he’s been pretty much just a silent background threat since the first issue of that miniseries.

While he might be new to this series, this isn’t Moore’s first go-around with the Titans or working with Taylor. Before this Titans series launched, there were a whole couple of arcs in the Nightwing series where they prominently featured (building up to this launch). One of the last, featuring the demon Neron and the heroes fighting against demons/hell, was drawn by Moore.

Just like with that arc, tapping Moore for this story and this series is a good call. There is just the right energy with everything Moore draws on the page that loudly screams superheroes. All these pretty people with expressive faces, kinetic energy crackling from them, moving across the page doing big bold bombastic things. A heaviness can be felt, alongside a sense of depth and reality that leans on the edge of feeling light or whimsical. Even when the situation is grim, there is a sense of fun that can be found which again, is at the core of what superheroes are meant to be in many respects.

Pairing that with Bonvillain’s colors is another perfect call. At first glance what stands out is the bright airy nature of the colors, vibrant but also heavy with darkness at the same time. Beyond that though, they add even more depth and detail to the page than was already present within the artwork. Different color palettes come into play to allow Tamaran, the various parts of Earth visited, and even Titans Tower to feel truly unique. Yet even that uniqueness feels connected because the overall style exudes the same energy through every single panel.

Again, there is a lighter fun hopeful sense that can be felt thanks to what Bonvillain pulls off.

Much of the same goes for the work that Abbott always accomplishes in this series. People talk about great pairings with writers and artists, but other great creative type pairings should be of note. Taylor has a particular style of writing, and Abbott works so well within that he has been tapped to tackle the lettering across all three of Taylor’s Nightwing/Titans books.

Voices feel natural, emotion clear with each word, allowing us to fully hear and understand these characters. Everything flows naturally and logically around the page, taking into account how verbose some parts of the issue have to be. While that many words can often be an overload, if handled correctly it doesn’t hit that way. Abbott always handles it right.

Titans #6 is now available from DC Comics.