They Say You Can’t Go Home Again — Reviewing ‘New Titans’ #39

Everyone knows about the Amazons of Themiscyira and their chosen champion Wonder Woman, a stalwart hero of the DC Universe. They’re not the only Amazons though, as the Esquecida of the Amazon region remain hidden as myth and legend to most of the world.

Their status is about to change as a series of ancient beings and spirits are on the rampage in New Titans #39, bringing the titular team to the area. A new chapter begins as Tate Brombal, Sami Basri, Bruno Abdias, Adriano Lucas, and Steve Wands bring Wonder Girl back home for a less than warm welcome.

Yara Flor’s time in the DC Universe has been steadily carved out over the past six years. It’s not been the best at times, as some have taken notice that she is a character from a marginalized group created by and mostly handled by White writers. While characters of marginalized groups are created all the time by White writers, it’s often a bit of a shaky situation, chiefly because the representation and authenticity more often than not feel very off.

Brombal is working here to dive into the Esquecida tribe and the myths and customs that make up the Brazilian rain forest areas. Personally, I cannot speak to the aspects of representation or authenticity here as I’m not versed and am not a member of the marginalized groups being fictionally depicted here. So I’ll spend my time speaking to the overall story itself.

There are some strong beats here. Overall though, the characterizations still feel off as we haven’t been given time to actually sit with this crew of Titans yet. It’s been rapid action based arcs, one after the other, with little room for much else beyond the surface level beats. Nightwing is kind of being a prick here as he’s very much ordering around and cutting everyone off, not receptive to any feedback, which doesn’t feel like Dick Grayson. One could say it’s connected to things happening in his own book, but at the same time we don’t have any of that mentioned or connected.

Red Devil is the wild card member, who also just feels like a class A jerk. Batgirl is just kind of passively trying to lead and do stuff, and despite Nightwing yelling at her last issue to lead, he won’t let her. Others are there to varying degrees, as Static has taken over the point-of-view status since last issue. I love Static, but the unease and the secrets and being so nervous also feels off for some reason, compared to versions of the character we’ve seen elsewhere over the years. Granted, this is a version that was retired for years, so that could throw things off a bit I guess.

Collectively the story still looks fantastic as Basri and Abdias are drawing the hell out of all the stuff. They both have an artistic style that molds itself to the superhero or action sequence. So bold and dynamic, as the various sequences flow by smoothly in panels that morph to best showcase the characters and moment. It’s just whimsical enough that it feels like the fantastical space that it’s meant to be with enough weight to still feel solidly familiar and tangible.

Speaking of superheroic energies, the color palette choices that Lucas makes are always so smart and fitting. There’s a reason he’s been on this book, and others, for so long. Mixing together the large bright vibrant color tones with those which are more natural or neutral feeling. Sprinkled with the spice of darker tones to even everything out and deliver a world that feels lush and inviting even when danger is afoot.

Plenty of things are said and heard during this adventure, all of them resonating quite well. Thanks to Wands’ ability to imbue each word upon the page with the correct particular type of energy. It gives characters distinct voices, even if the overall story leaves some of them a bit cliché or vague characterization wise.

Titans #39 is now available from DC Comics.