Titans Hunt #7 review

The Young Adult heroes of the DC Universe are in trouble, with mysterious forces massing against them as they deal with memories they don't recognise. Aqualad, Wonder Girl and Nightwing have followed the call of organ music played by Mal Duncan to a tornado-shaped tower. Mal's pregnant wife Karen is up against the Mad Mod. Lilith, Gnark and Arsenal are attacked by the she-cyborg named Honeybun. And Hawk and Dove?
That would be Honeybun's Daddy. 

If you've not been reading this series, which looks set to kick off DC's Rebirth event, try this issue anyway, because it's an explosion of superhero fun. Writer Dan Abnett recaps as we go along, while dropping new mysteries such as the nature of Karen's powers (reading her sound effects backwards may provide a clue). 
I'm not usually one for techie, mecha battles, but artist Paulo Siqueira's action-packed pages are full of big, loony images and hi-octane heroics to make an old DC fan smile. Robotic rogues Honeybun and Daddy - agents of metahuman troubleshooters Diablo - are great additions to the DC Universe, cocky ballbusters who could fight on the side of the good guys as readily as the bad. 

Then there's the Mad Mod who, given his new look, we should perhaps rename the Horrible Hipster - I'd certainly like to see what this smooth fellow can do when let loose. 

While the once-Teen Titans are battling amid a fog of confusion as hidden memories re-emerge, they remain formidable, as individuals and as an instinctively together team. The sinister Mr Twister may have them on the back-foot, but there's a reason he fears them even as he wants them as his slaves. 

Siqueira has been around DC for years, producing good, stylish work, but with this issue he makes a claim for A-list status. The layouts are superb, the characters compelling, the action and suspense at a new high. There's a Brian Bolland finish at times, a naturalistic lushness. Colourist Hi-Fi complements Siqueira perfectly, with a moody palette that suits a story spanning the scale from sci-fi to spooky. Siqueira and Hi-Fi's final page would make a cover as effective as the excellent image provided by Ed Benes with Hi-Fi. 

I suspect sales on this book are up due to the late-in-the-day confirmed connection to DC Rebirth; it should be selling great guns on quality alone. If you've yet to try Titans Hunt, which ends next month before 'Rebirthing', give it a shot. I doubt you'll regret it.  

Comments

  1. Cool, I wasn't sure if I should get it or not because of how the present incarnations of these Titans are written, minus Dicky boy. While there's no sign of Bumblebee (yet) in Rebirth, I do hope she's included, not only because she's a female hero of Colour (was she DC's first?) but because she is presented so prominently in DC Super Hero Girls and it would only be fair to see her again in mainstream comic book form.

    I want to buy the new Titans book when it comes out but I'm hesitant because I don't like Booth's art and I really don't like Lilith/ Omen's costume.

    Mal Duncan needs to have a steady codename already.

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    1. Hasn't always been Herald when tooting and Guardian when in the blue and yellow? Or did you mean steady as in only one alter ego, not two...

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    2. Lilith's new look, if they're not having us on, really is awful - I thought the Omen business was a bad idea, and here she is, looking worse even than New 52 Raven.

      I'd love to see Mal get a codename and look that stuck. Herald always struck me as rather nice.

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    3. You may be right, Lilith's costume rivals Raven's for worst New 52 redesign. Omen was awful, but at least it kind of fit that storyline - who was the mystery Titan behind the hood.

      I'd like a constant codename, and not just his real name, even if it's popular with Donna and Jean Grey. "Herald" is cool, although it can sound like he went from one "regular" name to another. ;) It's unique enough to definitely be his, although having him as Guardian was something I enjoyed.

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  2. I'm thinking D-Daddy (the mecha-car guy) is a reworking of Ding Dong Daddy, the old 60s Titans villain. Did he hang out with a Honeybun?

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    1. As River Song would say, 'Oh, you clever boy'!

      I'm coming up with nothing on the Honeybun front, mind...

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  3. By the way, I'm so for "Horrible Hipster." Pius, I uploaded my grin as my avatar, just for you. :P

    Oh, it's nice to see DC allowing super hero marriages again with Mal and Karen.

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