Art by: Eleonora Carlini
Colors by: Lee Louhridge
Letters by: Troy Peteri
Cover art by: Nicola Scott, Annette Kwon
Cover price: $4.99
Release date: August 18, 2023
Tales Of The Titans #2 follows Raven on a cathartic mission to help a young woman about to give birth to a child that could wind up being Raven's nephew... on her father's side of the family.
Is It Good?
Tales Of The Titans #2 is Tini Howard's take on the magical member of the Titans when Raven receives word that a young woman is about to give birth to a child betrothed to Trigon's bloodline, giving the multi-eyed demon a grandson via Levi, aka Trinity. In general, this issue serves as a solid primer to give new readers the scoop on Raven's origins and her familial drama, but a word of caution is in order, which I'll touch on in a minute.
Howard's script centers on Raven's misgivings about whether or not she's adult enough to join her teammates as they graduate from Teen Titans to just the Titans. When Raven follows the same path to a Gotham church her mother followed when she was pregnant with Raven, she receives a visit from an Azarathi entity called Amadeus, who informs Raven that another Cult of Trigon is about to be blessed with a new arrival under similar circumstances to Raven's mother. If Raven can get to the mother-to-be in time, she may be able to stop the coming child from joining Trigon's ranks.
On the surface, Tales Of The Titans #2 is a well-constructed, solidly-paced story that tells you all you need to know about the Titans' magical matron. Some of the nitpicky specifics about Raven's history may be slightly off, but not enough to be glaringly obvious.
Now, the word of caution. Tini Howard is telling the story of Raven's origin through a parallel circumstance, but based on some of Raven's half-finished sentences and the innuendo in her phrasing, Howard is also telling an allegory about teen pregnancy and abortion. Toward the end, Raven stops just short of offering to take the young mother to have an abortion if she chooses. Therefore, if you're an adult or parent intending to give this comic to a minor, you may want to think about how to handle some of the questions you may get.
What's great about this comic? Again, Tales Of The Titans #2 is one of the better Raven primers in modern memory, wrapped in an adventure to save a young woman from suffering the same fate as Raven's mother. You learn a lot about Raven's heart, her history, and her motivations.
What's not so great about this comic? Readers already familiar with Raven's history won't find much new, and the sensitive messaging may make this issue inappropriate for some younger readers.
How's the art? No complaints. Carlini and Loughridge deliver emotional, dramatic art to express the sorrowful range of emotions Raven endures. The figure work is distinctive, and the few action scenes look great.
About The Reviewer: Gabriel Hernandez is the Publisher & EIC of ComicalOpinions.com, a comics review site dedicated to indie, small, and mid-sized publishers.
Follow @ComicalOpinions on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter
Bits and Pieces:
Tales Of The Titans #2 is Tini Howard's take on the magical member of the Titans when Raven receives word that a young woman is about to give birth to a child betrothed to Trigon's bloodline, giving the multi-eyed demon a grandson via Levi, aka Trinity. In general, this issue serves as a solid primer to give new readers the scoop on Raven's origins and her familial drama, but a word of caution is in order, which I'll touch on in a minute.
Howard's script centers on Raven's misgivings about whether or not she's adult enough to join her teammates as they graduate from Teen Titans to just the Titans. When Raven follows the same path to a Gotham church her mother followed when she was pregnant with Raven, she receives a visit from an Azarathi entity called Amadeus, who informs Raven that another Cult of Trigon is about to be blessed with a new arrival under similar circumstances to Raven's mother. If Raven can get to the mother-to-be in time, she may be able to stop the coming child from joining Trigon's ranks.
On the surface, Tales Of The Titans #2 is a well-constructed, solidly-paced story that tells you all you need to know about the Titans' magical matron. Some of the nitpicky specifics about Raven's history may be slightly off, but not enough to be glaringly obvious.
Now, the word of caution. Tini Howard is telling the story of Raven's origin through a parallel circumstance, but based on some of Raven's half-finished sentences and the innuendo in her phrasing, Howard is also telling an allegory about teen pregnancy and abortion. Toward the end, Raven stops just short of offering to take the young mother to have an abortion if she chooses. Therefore, if you're an adult or parent intending to give this comic to a minor, you may want to think about how to handle some of the questions you may get.
What's great about this comic? Again, Tales Of The Titans #2 is one of the better Raven primers in modern memory, wrapped in an adventure to save a young woman from suffering the same fate as Raven's mother. You learn a lot about Raven's heart, her history, and her motivations.
What's not so great about this comic? Readers already familiar with Raven's history won't find much new, and the sensitive messaging may make this issue inappropriate for some younger readers.
How's the art? No complaints. Carlini and Loughridge deliver emotional, dramatic art to express the sorrowful range of emotions Raven endures. The figure work is distinctive, and the few action scenes look great.
About The Reviewer: Gabriel Hernandez is the Publisher & EIC of ComicalOpinions.com, a comics review site dedicated to indie, small, and mid-sized publishers.
Follow @ComicalOpinions on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter
Bits and Pieces:
Tales Of The Titans #2 delivers a solid primer on the history of Raven's family through an adventure involving a young woman experiencing the same dilemma as Raven's mother. The art is great, and Tini Howard's technical writing is on-point, but be advised... this issue is a thin allegory for Teen Pregnancy and the Anti-Life debate.
7/10
So is it safe to assume none of the old Titans stories are in continuity?
ReplyDeleteSo Arella is dead in current continuity? Even though she was alive in that Raven maxiseries a few years ago? Just like with the Starfire issue ignoring the Ghost Sector stuff it's weird they would retcon something so recent. 🤔
And I guess I'm glad Pantha is back alive but who's her boyfriend? Is it Red Star? And is Baby Wildebeest back too? I feel like this was a wasted opportunity Pantha was a riot back in the early 90s. She and Wildebeest provided some much needed comic relief during a dark period.