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Art by: Nicola Scott
Colors by: Annette Kwok
Letters by: Wes Abbott
Cover art by: Nicola Scott
Cover price: $3.99
Release date: October 17, 2023
Colors by: Annette Kwok
Letters by: Wes Abbott
Cover art by: Nicola Scott
Cover price: $3.99
Release date: October 17, 2023
Titans #4 sparks motivation in Beast Boy to return to Borneo to plant trees destroyed in the recent disaster. Meanwhile, the team takes steps to prevent Wally's future murder.
Is Titans #4 Good?
Is Titans #4 Good?
Tom Taylor gives Beast Boy the spotlight in this issue, presumably as a precursor to the coming Beast World event, by sparking a need in the team's animalistic shapeshifter to do more than just stop a crisis. What's the answer? Activism.
When last we left the Titans, they broke up a ritual sacrifice by a splinter group of the Church of Blood, saving Brother Eternity from a terrible fate. Wally, despite his pending death, helped in the fight and discovered a strange meteor-like rock in the church's basement. The issue ended with a weird alien tongue swap between Brother Eternity and Tempest, confirming some kind of alien mind control is at work.
Now, Beast Boy is suddenly burdened with the desire to do more than stop disasters and help restore the environment after it's damaged. The Titans agree, so they all decide to return to Borneo to replant trees. When they arrive, they find well-armed mercenaries displacing indigenous people and clearing the land.
Back home, Linda arrives to keep Wally in place to ride out his death watch. Tempest arrives later, while Wally is out of the room, and gives Linda the alien bug swap. During the Borneo fight, Cyborg returns via Boom Tube to escort Wally, Linda, and Nightwing to a secret storage facility on Mars to keep Wally safe, not realizing that Linda is now the closest threat.
The over-arching problem readers will find with this issue (and the series as a whole) is the lack of prioritization. Wally is due to be dead in the next 24 hours, but very little time or energy is spent investigating how he died and what can be done to stop it. Wally found a weird meteor in the Church of Blood's basement, but besides a casual inspection scene, no time is spent analyzing the ominous rock, figuring out what the Church of Blood was doing with it, or what danger it presents to anyone near it. Tom Taylor keeps introducing urgent, dangerous concepts but instead sends (almost) the entire team to plant trees, a feat Raven could accomplish in minutes by herself.
What's great about Titans #4? The alien possession via mouth bug is not a new idea, but it's (possibly) new to the Titans, and the idea has the potential for heightened levels of paranoia-driven drama. When the reader is constantly guessing who is and isn't possessed, that can put the reader on edge for memorable storytelling.
What's not so great about Titans #4? Again, there's not a drop of urgency or dramatic tension in this issue. Tom Taylor's script has a plethora of ideas but, again, there's no prioritization that makes sense, and all the characters look and act like they're going through their prescribed motions. This comic is a perfect example of big ideas that come off as dull.
How's the art? Not the best. Nicola Scott's anatomy, figure work, and gestures are serviceable enough, but the art has to elicit an emotional reaction, and the clearest way to elicit a reaction is the facial acting of the characters. Every character in every panel of this comic looks bored, tired, or mildly drunk. There's not an expressive face in the book, so at least you can say Scott's tired energy matches Taylor's energy-deficient script.
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:
When last we left the Titans, they broke up a ritual sacrifice by a splinter group of the Church of Blood, saving Brother Eternity from a terrible fate. Wally, despite his pending death, helped in the fight and discovered a strange meteor-like rock in the church's basement. The issue ended with a weird alien tongue swap between Brother Eternity and Tempest, confirming some kind of alien mind control is at work.
Now, Beast Boy is suddenly burdened with the desire to do more than stop disasters and help restore the environment after it's damaged. The Titans agree, so they all decide to return to Borneo to replant trees. When they arrive, they find well-armed mercenaries displacing indigenous people and clearing the land.
Watch our Titans #4 Video Review
Back home, Linda arrives to keep Wally in place to ride out his death watch. Tempest arrives later, while Wally is out of the room, and gives Linda the alien bug swap. During the Borneo fight, Cyborg returns via Boom Tube to escort Wally, Linda, and Nightwing to a secret storage facility on Mars to keep Wally safe, not realizing that Linda is now the closest threat.
The over-arching problem readers will find with this issue (and the series as a whole) is the lack of prioritization. Wally is due to be dead in the next 24 hours, but very little time or energy is spent investigating how he died and what can be done to stop it. Wally found a weird meteor in the Church of Blood's basement, but besides a casual inspection scene, no time is spent analyzing the ominous rock, figuring out what the Church of Blood was doing with it, or what danger it presents to anyone near it. Tom Taylor keeps introducing urgent, dangerous concepts but instead sends (almost) the entire team to plant trees, a feat Raven could accomplish in minutes by herself.
What's great about Titans #4? The alien possession via mouth bug is not a new idea, but it's (possibly) new to the Titans, and the idea has the potential for heightened levels of paranoia-driven drama. When the reader is constantly guessing who is and isn't possessed, that can put the reader on edge for memorable storytelling.
What's not so great about Titans #4? Again, there's not a drop of urgency or dramatic tension in this issue. Tom Taylor's script has a plethora of ideas but, again, there's no prioritization that makes sense, and all the characters look and act like they're going through their prescribed motions. This comic is a perfect example of big ideas that come off as dull.
How's the art? Not the best. Nicola Scott's anatomy, figure work, and gestures are serviceable enough, but the art has to elicit an emotional reaction, and the clearest way to elicit a reaction is the facial acting of the characters. Every character in every panel of this comic looks bored, tired, or mildly drunk. There's not an expressive face in the book, so at least you can say Scott's tired energy matches Taylor's energy-deficient script.
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:
Titans #4 is a muddled, forgettable chapter in the series. Taylor's script is utterly lacking in urgency, drama, or priorities, and Scott's art makes every character look tired and bored.
5/10
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