DC Comics reviews for 2/14/18

Titans #20

Surprise! I’m not going to complain again about how Titans should be on the bi-weekly schedule like so many of the other core DC titles. OK, all that much.

I’m still not fully sold on the Titans willingly agreeing to the Justice League’s mandate/suggestion that they break up. That seems out of the League’s jurisdiction and even if they wanted them to, there’s nothing that should prevent the Titans from reuniting. This is a case where I’m willing to let writer Dan Abnett play it out for a little longer, but this status quo doesn’t need to last too much longer.

Fortunately, Roy Harper isn’t awaiting permission and is still doing what he does best — narrowly avoiding major trouble. This issue reunites him with an old acquaintance very familiar to Titans fans. The fallout of that reunion looks like it could potentially send Arsenal spiraling down a treacherous path.

Temporarily breaking up the team also means some of them don’t even get any screen time this issue. Hopefully, Abnett will still catch up with the rest of the team members and avoid focusing on 3-4.

Paul Pelletier’s artwork stays on point. He’s a good fit for the Titans and handles the action and more dramatic moments with ease. I’m a big fan of his work and glad he’s got this regular Titans gig.

As always, pacing is the biggest challenge for Titans. Abnett uses the classic storytelling framing, which was fine before, but as a monthly release, it’d be nice to see more advancement on the arcs with each issue. The cliffhanger in this issue suggests we’re in for a lot of fun. Now it’s just time for the long wait for the next installment.

Rating: 8 out of 10