New Titans #33 review

It’s just another day for the New Titans.

And another…

…and another…

Oh, this is a fun issue. At the start I’m thinking new writer Tate Brombal hasn’t been reading the series, with Dick rather than Donna as leader, the heroes acting like they’re on Teen Titans Go, and Mammoth back with the Fearsome Five. Within a few pages, though, it’s obvious editor Marquis Draper has everything in hand and things aren’t as straightforward as they seem, so I settled into the rhythm of the story and just enjoyed the gentle mocking of writers’ tendencies to run the Titans greatest hits. That Tempest two-panel gag, for instance, made me laugh more than anything in comics for a good while, it’s a perfect encapsulation of Garth’s relationship to the Titans for, Lordy, 50 years.

As for the new team of Titans featured on the cover, they do show up, but perhaps Taurin Clarke’s impressive image should’ve been held over to next month. I’ll be interested to see how Brombal handles Terra’s latest tour of Titans duty after the roasting her constant traitor trope gets here. Plus, there’s a new New Titan I never saw coming.

Sami Basri, an illustrator I’ve enjoyed since his long-ago Power Girl assignment, gives us some very good looking art. While the script demands he repeats beats, he never bores, keeping the energy up throughout as we cheer Dick on to wake up and smell the coffee or Dr Destiny or Black Mercy… we shall see. And who knew a nine-panel grid of a caffeine drip could be exciting? Plus, that Pop Art style panel of an angsty Cyborg is just lovely.

The always excellent colour artist Adriano Lucas and letterer Tom Napolitano are the cherries on top of a very tasty Titans trifle. And the new logo is pretty decent, not as flatly dull as many mastheads of late.

If you fancy a refreshing take on an old superhero plotline, New Titans #33 could be just what you need.