Titans Vol. 1: The Return of Wally West (Rebirth)

by Dan Abnett

[Quirky Cat]

I’ll be honest and say that I wasn’t really sure what I was expecting when I started reading Titans. Despite not being sure what I was in for, I found myself pleasantly surprised and greatly enjoying reading it. There was more of a focus on Wally West (as the title would indicate) but that actually helped me settle into the series.
For those that don’t know, the Titans is a group made up of Wally (again, duh), Donna Troy (AKA Wonder Girl), Arsenal (Roy Harper), Garth (Aqualad), Lilith Clay (Omen), and Nightwing (Richard Grayson).



The title of the series and volume makes it sound like a Titans adventure with a focus on Wally West, but if we’re being honest here it’s really the other way around. Wally West has figured out what his missing memories were, and it’s with his help that the Titans get their memories back as well. Admittedly the team had gotten back together without his help, but they were still missing huge chunks of their memories (presumably every situation in which Wally was present). Its Wally’s warning that prepares them for their enemies (and let’s be honest, the Kadabra was after them because of their connection to Wally).
Kadabra isn’t my favorite DC villain, but he certainly served his purpose here, so I’m not going to complain. Though his lines were probably the corniest I’ve seen in a while (an intentional choice made to show how off this guy is, if you ask me). His obsession with Wally West further cements my point about this volume being all about Wally West. He’s a villain with a single nemesis, but he’s more than willing to take on the entire group to take a shot at the man he hates.
It has been really interesting to see the wardrobe changes for the team, as well as the growing character dynamics. I’ve always been a fan of Nightwing and Wally West, so I love pretty much any team that involves them. Having the whole team shown in past and present was an interesting choice, and really let us see the style changes they have gone through over the years (I’d say we could see how much they’ve changed over the years, but the difference is most obviously physical in this case).
The artwork was consistent throughout the entire volume, which is a huge plus. I personally enjoyed the stylistic choices made. Some were pretty typical of DC on the whole (well defined characters, bright colors, anatomically accurate, etc) while other points are clear choices on the artist’s part (the clothing change, and lighting choices in particular). It helped to define the series and make it stand out.
I’m really curious to see what volume two has in store. It’ll be interesting to see if the focus remains on Wally, or if it’ll shift (perhaps to the group as a whole, or switch to a different character for the main focus?).


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