Titans: Beast World Tour: Metropolis #1 review

That title needs a colonoscopy…

Who’s scheduling DC Comics these days? Last week the Beast World ‘event’ kicked off and here’s an anthology with three stories showing what happened after Beast Boy went Starro, throwing off spores that turn people into creatures.

Except editorial notes in all three tales tell us: ‘This story takes place after Titans: Beast World #2’ or ‘This story takes place after Titans: Beast World #3’, both of which don’t come out until later this month. OK, it probably doesn’t make a huge difference, I can go with the idea Power Girl has become a Kryptonian Flamebird woman with a Tawky Tawny head or something, but it hardly gives the impression this is a well-focused storyline. It’s possibly an accounting thing, DC making sure they have enough books each week of the month, to which I say ‘Bah’.

Anyway, the first story, ‘Primal Pain’, sees TV’s Dreamer driven to distraction by a Lazarus Planet tweak to her powers meaning she now has visions of the future while awake. Fearing Metropolis’ A-Town – the all new alien quarter – is about to go up in flames she contacts Superman II Jon Kent, whom she met a while ago.

A spanner in the works comes in the shape of Superman antagonist Livewire, who’s been sent barking mad by spores and a fish head.

Steve Orlando, an experienced DC and Marvel hand, co-writes this with Nicole Maines, who plays Dreamer in the Supergirl show, so it’s surprising this strip lacks something as basic as character introductions – if you don’t know who Dreamer is and what her admittedly nebulous powers are, forget it. Ditto Livewire and recent developments with her in Superman. Positives are Dreamer’s bravery and go-ahead nature and Jon’s inspirational words and lack of ego.

Fico Ossio’s art is wonderfully bombastic, with Jon looking more potent than I’ve ever seen him, and I love that Dreamer’s pal Yvette looks like a normal person, but it’s a shame that a guy Dreamer says was in her vision isn’t shown before his real world appearance.

Luis Guerrero’s colours are vibrant and Rob Leigh’s letters as sharp as can be, helping the storytelling no end.

You wait years for a Giant Turtle Olsen to come along and now we have two in a month. Jimmy’s just finished a big, green engagement in Fire & Ice: Welcome to Smallville and super-sized Olsen is back in ‘Turtle Boy’, courtesy of Beast Boy’s Starro spores. With Superman busy trying to fight off the massive threat of parasitic starfish, who’s going to protect Metropolis from a Godzilla-sized ginger?

Bibbo! He’s my fav’rit. And Bibbo ain’t the only Nineties throwback taking on green genes Jimmy

It’s super-boffin Professor Emil Hamilton!

Dan Jurgens shows just how you write a short one-off event tie-in, introducing everyone, setting up the main action and having said action play out in a very satisfying manner. And look at that art, it’s the essence of Bibbo and Giant Turtle Olsen, big and brash and cheery. Pencils and inks are credited to Anthony Marques with assists from Joe Prado and Wade Von Grawbadger. The latter two I know from loads of excellent inking work at DC but Marques has featured on this blog only as an editor of generally terrible issues of New 52 Superman. Talk about hiding your light under a bushel, I hope Marques gets a regular artistic berth somewhere.

Pete Pantazis gives us the bright and beautiful colours while Dave Sharpe letters… there must have been a deadline crunch as there are two errors in the space of two pages, and Sharpe is one of comics’ best letterers. I mean, just look at that turtle title treatment!

The final story, ‘Don’t Stop’, really should have been the first in the issue, given it outlines the Beast World basics. Here Lois Lane is acting as Superman’s ‘Man in the Chair’ as he zips across the world trying to stop spores infecting people, particularly himself.

And we get new information – these aren’t just spores transforming people, like traditional Starros they share a hive mind.

All of which leads to my favourite panel this week.

This is a splendid short from writers Zipporah Smith and Joshua Williamson, who balance high drama and emotion to fine effect. Despite them being married, this is the nearest we’ve had to a Superman/Lois team-up in years, and I loved it. You feel the stakes, the love between Mr and Mrs Superman is palpable, and the full-colour art by Edwin Galmon is delicious. Letters are by Sharpe, it’s all good.

While there’s a final page tease for Williamson’s Superman, this story works as a done-in-one, a more than decent slice of DC goodness.

The cover by Mikel Janín is good looking, it’s a shame we don’t actually have Supergirl featured in the book – she’s seen on screen but not in action.

As DC tie-in anthologies go, this is pretty decent – if you can spare the cash, or have a subscription to DC Infnite, give it a try.