Titans #29 // Review
Previously in “Titans,” the team, with the help of Garth, rushed into space to combat the coming invasion of “fish-monsters” and gather data that could serve useful to the Justice League to help avert the poisonous flooding. A powerhouse force stood as the line of defense, and single-handedly broke through each of the Titans. At a loss for hope and strength, they boarded their boom room and jumped through space, wishing to be as far away from Drogue as possible. Now, the Titans have crash landed on a world unknown to any of them, and their way home is wrecked. Titans #29 is written by Dan Abnett and penciled by Minkyu Jung, with colors by Adriano Lucas, inks by John Dell, and letters by Dave Sharpe.
The Titans are marooned; stranded on a planet without food, water, or aid, the team pulls their heads together to figure out where they might be. As each member spreads out in their own way to gather information, they find that the world may be more hostile than originally believed as Beast Boy loses controls of his powers once again, forcing the team back into another corner.
Dan Abnett has written this new, energetic team and brought them into a puddle of absolute helplessness. With each of the former team members falling, and a recent failure to protect an innocent, the team is at a loss, wondering if they can even serve a useful purpose. As each member is trying to cope with the losses they’ve been suffering, some are also struggling with their own personal baggage, such as how Raven is still without her soul-self and Donna is hiding the secret of Roy’s death from the others. Abnett writes the character’s emotions powerfully as they each pain and struggle forward in their own way.
The illustrations provided by Minkyu Jung gracefully depict the emotions each of the members are struggling with on their faces as they interact with this new world. The inks and colors provided by John Dell and Adriano Lucas, respectively, beautifully paint the world the team is stranded on in a vast array of colors and shading. The setting is gorgeously vibrant, and, in the moment of an atmosphere shot, it’s a real attention getter.
Titans #29 has thrown the group of beaten down super-people onto a world where they can do almost nothing but sit and wait while holding precious knowledge that could help save their world. The struggles each character is facing and how they attempt to persevere on is the real attention holder of the story, as you just want them to get on the better side of things. Donna seems to be punishing herself the hardest, and, in watching this team begin to crumble away without Nightwing, perhaps a moment of strength can shine and she can pull herself up to become the leader the team needs right now. It’ll be interesting to see how the Titans pull themselves back from this emotional reel, all the while trying to get off of the odd planet.
