REVIEW: Titans #21

I don“t know why I love Brain and Monsieur Mallah so much, but I love when they show up and are not treated as a joke. And in Titans #21, Dan Abnett gives them their due. Brain shows not only his psychological mastery in feeding all the fears and concerns that long time friends have in each other, but strategically, he is also outsmarting Batman. But I am now concerned that as he increases his power, he is losing touch with the love of his life, the superintelligent and well-armed gorilla.

The Titans remain essentially broken up by the Justice League, while they try to figure out whether Donna Troy will fall victim to her possible future-self, Troia“s, prophecy. Donna remains stuck on the Watchtower. Roy, who is the only Titan to know that something is wrong, even if he can“t pinpoint what Monsieur Mallah and Brain“s plans are. But because of the prophecy, she and the Justice League suspects that he is once again addicted to drugs and these are just his paranoid delusions.

Nightwing and Kid Flash ( no, not that Kid Flash, Wally West, no not THAT Wally West) are sent to bring Roy back in and get help for his addiction. Roy, however is quick on his game, and tactically uses their friendships to undermine their attack. All the while, Brain is getting stronger.

Abnett (Nova, Silencer, Aquaman) is showing a strong control of all of these characters and showing the price of their victory over Troia a couple of issues ago. And he continues to exploit the long, convoluted history original Teen Titans to reinforce his plot. These are long-standing friendships to the point where only one of the characters is still using the superhero ID they had when they started the Titans. My only quibble with the current story is that there seems to no room for Omen, Gnarrk and Tempest, once again.

Abnett“s strong storytelling is complemented by Paul Pelletier (Fantastic Four, Cyborg, Batman and Robin Eternal) and Andrew Hennessy“s (All New X-Men, Sigil, Demon Hell is Earth) art. They have a great way with faces where you can tell two very similar characters apart. You never mistake Wonder Woman for Donna Troy or Wally for Roy, even though both pair of characters share a number of visual commonalities. But, beyond that, the art in this book is outstanding. I have rarely seen Brain look so sinister, even though he can“t change his facial expressions. I also love the way that Mallah shows concern for his partner, but never seems like a human.

In a lot of ways, this book relies on a great deal of pre-Countdown continuity, which can be a very high bar for a lot of newer readers. Especially ones who have been raised to always find an easy entry point for a comic. But these guys are worth it. Pick up a copy and start reading. Don“t worry if you don“t get every nuance right away. Once you get going, you will enjoy the ride.

[yasr_overall_rating size=”large”]

Writer: Dan Abnett
Penciller: Paul Pelletier
Inker: Andrew Hennessy
Colorist: Adriano Lucas

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Andy Hall

Sent from the future by our Robot Ape overlords to preserve the timeline. Reading and writing about comics until the revolution comes. All hail the Orangutan Android Solar King!