A Game Of Dark Thrones: Reviewing ‘Titans’ #9

While the threat of the Beast World is over, dark forces continue their secret mission to tear the world apart. The first step, take down the Titans.

Look out, because the threat is coming from inside the house in Titans #9 from Tom Taylor, Lucas Meyer, Adriano Lucas, and Wes Abbott.

Sometimes all it takes is one piece of a story, in this case, a solo issue, to change an opinion. Making you lean from “something is missing” to “Oh this was pretty good.” Hello, Titans #9, you are that issue for me.

I still have a few quibbles with the way some things have gone to get to this point. Overall, though, this issue found a way to actually sell me on the Titans as huge heroes. Unfortunately, there is an upcoming event that seems poised to overturn that status quo. Oh well, better late than never.

One thing that has remained steady is that Taylor writes the dynamic of these heroes solidly. Very much playing into the idea that they are not just a team, but a family. A young family of heroes with new ideas and the drive to do things for the world that their elders might not have as much push to do. While the Justice League comes off like “Gods among us” to many, the Titans are very much the epitome of “they’re just like us!”

A complaint I had about Titans: Beast World was how cartoonishly evil Amanda Waller was. Just twisting her metaphorical mustache while cackling rather than the more calculating cold-hearted two-steps ahead gray area walker. Therefore, one would think that my opinion would stay the same after this issue has her actively having a meeting with Trigon, who is pretty spot-on for most depictions of the devil.

Surprisingly, I dug that scene a lot. I know, it caught me off guard too. Chiefly it’s because the way that Waller is depicted here is more the standard affair for her. Nothing cartoonish or over the top here, as she coolly and calculatingly deals with a demon that is used to getting his way.

Even the evil Raven hiding amongst the Titans plot worked for me here, after calling it out before. I’m eating a lot of metaphorical crows this time around, but we’ll see where things stand next month. If we get more of this, I’ll happily eat that crow (but not actual crow of course).

When I heard that Meyer would be the new artist on this book, I was quite excited to see that. Notably, because I was quite a fan of what I saw from him during the aforementioned Titans: Beast World event. Chipping in for a few of the middle issues, as well as part of the finale, he showcased a dynamic flowing style that was tailor-made for superhero stories.

No matter their actual stature, characters truly feel larger than life. Given a presence that transcends the page, making it feel like they might just run off and into our homes at any second. Smart paneling choices that know when to close in tight, keeping us right in the middle of things, or when to pull back and let the space do the talking.

Epic is a proper word to speak to what we’re seeing there.

Even those opening pages of the Titans in action with various people speaking about those heroics feel appropriately big. At the same time, the smaller scenes still keep the same scope but from a more intimate angle. Soaking in the variety of emotional energy that lets it all wash over the reader over and over again.

Light and bright is something that Lucas does exceptionally well, and other books show how he can go the other. Pairing him with Meyer was easy as can be, their styles complimenting each other as if they had been working together for years. For all the vibrancy some pages are far more toned down, darker beats seeping into the pages. It fits the theme of the encroaching darkness from Raven, Trigon, and Waller that have the Titans boxed in from all sides. For as heroic as things should feel, we need that jolt of dire threat.

Lucas makes that felt.

As mentioned, a lot of people have a lot of things to say in this issue. Having someone like Abbott on board always means those things will have the right flow and breathability. Achieving the right energy to let voices resonate and deliver information to us in a visually pleasing way. Having demons’ bubbles be slightly jagged with Trigon’s being that way but black with red font seems on the surface a simple thing. Sure, it creates a visual distinction, but it also rightfully places his words above those others because in the story sense, they are minions who are beneath him.

Of course, their bubbles would be “plain” compared to his.

Titans #9 is now available from DC Comics.