New Titans #34 review

Wake up and smell the coffee, that’s the advice Nightwing took very literally last issue when he noticed the days and nights at Titans Tower were seeming very repetitive.

This issue he finds out more as a different group of heroes calling themselves the New Titans arrive and… people start dropping dead. First it’s Donna and Speedy, then Raven and Beast Boy. Despite Nightwing’s plea they listen to what Superboy Jon Kent, Red Devil Eddie Bloomberg, Batgirl Stephanie Brown and Wonder Girl Yara Flor have to say, an understandably perturbed Starfire, Cyborg and Terra would rather attack.

Still, just because you’re fighting, it doesn’t mean you can’t talk.

But who was feeding them a comfort food reality? A new arrival may have some answers.

Victor’s regained body parts go back to the end of the DC KO event.

And because he could not compute, the massively upgraded Total Cyborg took drastic action.

Why did he use coffee? No idea. Anyway, Full Victor came up with a plan.

That makes sense – if Total Cyborg would be going around collecting Titans, gather yourself a rescue squad of non-Titans. Yeah, Eddie was a member briefly in his Kid Devil days, but it seems he’s not on an official list.

Oh, why worry, this is another fun issue, a transition between two eras of Titans, and it’s been years since we’ve seen Eddie. He’s a tad spikier here than I remember, which should add spice to the new line-up.

I’m pleased to see the Cyborg business in DC KO #5, a single panel of him absorbing the Heart of Apokolips thingie into his body, paid off speedily. I expected the business to be on the backburner for awhile before being addressed, if it came back at all.

Steph is a favourite Batgirl, so I’m glad to see her here, she deserves a spotlight.

Yara Flor? Convince me. DC.

There is another newcomer, a totally new character, who appears at the very end. I’ll get to them next time.

Also freshening the line-up is Terra, traditionally the Titans traitor, who hooked up with the team again during DC KO, when she took a turn away from villainy. Here she narrates the issue, and I have to admit to enjoying her presence.

And no, I can’t recall why she’s not dead this week.

New writer Tate Brombal ups the momentum after last issue’s languidly delightful debut, again showing his familiarity with Titans history by tying this into Cyborg’s Technis period. The revelations coming amidst the frenetic action is smart, and the sharp dialogue bodes well for the issues ahead.

And everything looks so good, thanks to artist Sami Basri, who choreographs events with skill and style. I’m not generally a fan of panels being spread across two pages – the Superman titles under Brian Bendis were a bugger for random frame arrangements – but Brombal’s script justifies the move.

Aided by colourist Adriano Lucas, Basri does a tremendous job of varying the depiction of energy blasts, while the characters look fantastic – heck, this is the best all-flesh Vic has looked in years, and the Total Cyborg design is fantastic. Now, if only he’d give Starfire back her signature massive hair.

The work Lucas does throughout is excellent, with the Cyborg flashback’s blue and red mix especially great. And Tom Napolitano does a top job with the letters, who else but Terra would have a muddy narration box?

The colours on Taurin Clarke’s cover are lovely, and while it’s undeniably an impressive image I’d prefer everyone having equal sharpness.

New Titans #34 is a cracking superhero comic. Give it a try.