Titans United #3

Titans United #3

DC Comics 2021

Written by Cavan Scott

Pencilled by Jose Luis

Inked by Jonas Trindade

Coloured by Rex Lokus

Lettered by Carlos M. Mangual

Raven, Red Hood, and Donna Troy are on the trail of coldhearted killer Lady Vic! How long before bullets start to fly? Meanwhile, Conner Kent has a close encounter with Tamaranean royalty. But with his powers lost, can he survive? And Beast Boy? All Beast Boy wants to do is enjoy his milkshake in peace!

I really just want to keep this as an ongoing monthly, the Academy is cute and all but this, this is where the real excitement lies. I get that this is the cast of characters from between seasons two and three of the show but c’mon this is where it's at. Cavan has managed to hit the characters' personalities dead-on, he’s creating a scenario where DNA, genetics and some kind of power brokering is going on the likes of which we’ve never seen before. Plus it just feels right, unless in this book Aqualad is dead then I’m not really all that happy. Regardless, what we’re seeing within these pages feels like the Titans more than we’ve seen in quite some time and that’s what readers like myself want to see.

I’m loving the way that this is being told. The story & plot development that we see through how the sequence of events unfold as well as how the reader learns information is presented exceptionally well. The character development that we see through the dialogue, the character interaction as well as how we see them act and react to the situations and circumstances which they encounter does a magnificent job in keeping their personalities front and centre. The pacing is excellent and as it takes us through the pages revealing more and more of the story it reminds us just how good this team can be.

I’m quite impressed with the way that we see this being structured and how the layers within the story continue to emerge, grow, evolve and strengthen. I’m liking the way that the layers within the story open up new avenues to be explored. How these avenues add such depth, dimension and complexity to the story is beautifully rendered. By the by seeing Komand’R use the physical touch, preferably through kissing is something we don’t see enough of anymore. How we see everything working together to create the story’s ebb & flow as well as how it moves the story forward are impeccably rendered.

I am exceptionally well impressed with the way that we see the interiors here as it feels like one person did the entire thing and that takes some hell mad skill and talent on everyone’s part to do. The linework is exquisite and we see the varying weights and techniques creating this level & quality in the attention to detail is phenomenally well rendered. While I do wish we’d see more backgrounds being utilised how we see the composition within the panels and how they bring out the depth perception, sense of scale and the overall sense of size and scope to the story is exceedingly well done. The utilisation of the page layouts and how we see the angles and perspective in the panels show a remarkably talented eye for storytelling. The various hues and tones within the colours being utilised to create the shading, highlights and shadow work shows an excellent understanding of how colour works.

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It is kind of ironic that a book loosely based on the television show is the best version of the Titans in the DCU on shelves. Cavan keeps showcasing some massive talent by being able to take on such iconic characters and making us thrill to their adventures and become so invested and engaged in their lives. This is the kind of multi-part epic that I love the team having and each issue I get more and more excited about what’s going to happen next. All thanks to the flawless writing and the characterisation that leaves me flabbergasted while it’s all wrapped up in these bloody brilliant interiors leaving me bloody chuffed.