It Gives And It Takes: Reviewing ‘Titans’ #11

Raven and Amanda Waller’s connected-but-separate power grabbing plans collide as a new threat comes gunning for the Titans.

A thin line exists between idolization and fanaticism, and it gets crossed in a tragic way in Titans #11. The latest chapter in this dark Raven arc from Tom Taylor, Lucas Meyer, Adriano Lucas, and Wes Abbott.

Golly, there really is a “Tale of Two Titans” situation going on with this series.

Let’s start just with the concept of Vandia. A person who grew up idolizing the young Titans, crafting her life to be as fierce and powerful as them, only to go too far and end up a villain (of sorts) is solid. It’s got all the right levels of tragic drama for comics, and fits the idea of relatable antagonists. Even more so when Doctor Morrow and Waller corrupt her desires for their own selfish, world-threatening desires.

Half the issue is taken setting up Vandia, her fall, and her rebirth. Then things begin to unravel.

Taylor gets the characters and has really solid ideas for stories. Sometimes the execution of them just feels lacking. In this case, the time management feels very off. That last half of the issue feels rushed (which does fit the battle that happens) and almost like it ends abruptly with an evil Raven cackle scene. Not to mention a groan coming out at Nightwing doing a Batman Zur-En-Arrh failsafe adjacent thing to his own brain. All because he suspects that Raven is evil, but can’t say or do anything about it save to himself in the 20 minutes she sleeps.

Just seems so needlessly complicated, even though it comes from the fact that Raven is too powerful.

Overall, this arc just feels like it’s dragging. Raven goes on about these Titans being turned into her evil generals, but we’re four issues into the arc…and still nothing on that front. Talk about a slow villain burn.

It almost feels like this storyline is biding its time as it waits for the Waller-centric Absolute Power event to go into effect. Quite a few Titans-related threads will played out there from a different creative team.

One thing that remains true, no matter how up and down the story itself might be: it is a delight to look upon.

Even those pages with the Zur-En-Arrh (or Circ-En-Arrh in this case) beat that gave me pause, are wondrous. Meyer creates two full-page shots of Nightwing’s head, then places the slashed panels across his face, with the mental Nightwings talking to each other. Lucas comes into play as the whole silhouette is colored red and blue across different sides and panels. A silly concept is given amazing visual life that actually makes it pretty darn cool in this one major respect.

All the artwork has that almost tangible kinetic quality to it, making any moment — whether quiet or action packed — feel truly alive. Emotional and character energies are bleeding off the page, with expressions and body language on point. Just like the Nightwing pages mentioned above. all the paneling choices across the issue are delicious. I love when artists just cut loose and let things burst out of panels, stack panels, put them in a variety of shapes, and just have fun with it.

Same with the colors. Outside of the blue and red of the Nightwing page, Lucas brings the usual stunning color palettes into play. Overall natural color tones that fit a more grounded setting space to stand as perfect companions to the more vibrant bolder colors that come with the superbeings bounding through the pages.

Lucas and Abbott are alongside Taylor in most of his regular DC Comics work, and it’s clear why. They just seem to gel, and we see it here.

Taylor has a distinct way of approaching character dialogue and beats, so one’s mileage will vary with it, but Abbott makes it all work visually. Letting it flow around and dance across the pages, capturing vocal energy and power. Even in moments where the overall moment might give pause, the voices never feel less than genuine and accurate.

Titans #11 is now available from DC Comics.