Art by: Lucas Meyer
Colors by: Adriano Lucas
Letters by: Wes Abbott
Cover art by: Chris Samnee
Cover price: $3.99
Release date: March 19, 2024
Titans #9 enters the first phase of Dark Ravens to enslave the Titans when she slowly begins manipulating their thoughts and actions. Meanwhile, Amanda Waller makes a deal with Trigon.
Is Titans #9 Good?
Yep, the description above says it all. Beast Boy is still licking his wounds due to the public outrage over his involvement in the Beast World incident, so Dark Raven uses his hurt to put him under her influence. Elsewhere, Waller makes a deal with Trigon at his behest to eliminate the possibility that the Titans could sway Dark Raven into becoming good.
And that's about it. Sure, there's more to it. The Quintessence sends Hermes to warn Donna Troy about Dark Raven, but he's quickly banished by Dark Raven with a convenient cover story. We get a self-insert rendering of Tom Taylor (sans hat) by Lucas Meyer during a mildly amusing scene with Peacemaker. But all the points just mentioned are inconsequential to the end result.
There won't be much more meat to this review because, honestly, there's not much meat to this issue. It's all foreshadowing and setup, but if you look at where the last issue ended and this issue ended, the amount of forward progress on the plot could be measured in inches.
What's great about Titans #9? The push-pull tension of Dark Raven ascending to become a Dark Queen of Hell or possibly being swayed into being a good person has potential. Plus, Trigon's orchestrations in the human and demonic realms are intriguing.
What's not so great about Titans #9? The Dark Raven pretending to be Good Raven storyline has been done to death. Amanda Waller staring down Trigon is too much to swallow (plus, Meyer gets Trigon's horns wrong), and Hermes's defeat at the hands of Dark Raven is much too easy.
It's hard to pick on big problems with this issue because very little of note happens, so Taylor gets a mild pass by forfeit.
How's the art? Lucas Meyer at least gives readers engaging visuals with plenty of Dark Raven's magical shenanigans. Barring the mistake with Trigon's horns (they should look like deer antlers), this is a solid comic.
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 #9 is all setup, foreshadowing, and moving players in place for whatever comes next, but the lack of plot movement gets shortchanged in the process. Still, the potential is intriguing, and except for a ridiculous chest-puffing contest between Trigon and Waller, the character interactions serve the setup well.
How's the art? Lucas Meyer at least gives readers engaging visuals with plenty of Dark Raven's magical shenanigans. Barring the mistake with Trigon's horns (they should look like deer antlers), this is a solid comic.
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 #9 is all setup, foreshadowing, and moving players in place for whatever comes next, but the lack of plot movement gets shortchanged in the process. Still, the potential is intriguing, and except for a ridiculous chest-puffing contest between Trigon and Waller, the character interactions serve the setup well.
6.5/10
