Teen Titans #7
Publisher: DC
Writer: Benjamin Percy
Artist: Khoi Pham & Phil Hester
Colorist: Jim Charalampidis
Cover: Khoi Pham & Jim Charalampidis
Percy continues Aqualad’s trial by fire going up against King Shark and trying to find his place among the Teen Titans. Percy also throws in the added obstacle of Damian who doesn’t make things easy for anyone. The rest of the issue is fast paced comic action that has a nice balance of laughs and tense moments with a nice reveal at the end as well as more character development for Aqualad. The issue also benefits from less comedy from Beast Boy with Percy allowing for funny moments to flow in the action instead.
Pham’s visuals are very strong here though sometimes the faces are still a little weird at times but it’s nothing that will take you out of the story. There’s plenty of action sequences that are just fun to look at from the team forgetting one of their maneuvers to King Shark versus Damian. The layouts start off a little regular but as the issue continues things start to reflect the pacing and your eye gets some nice panels to check out. Charalampidis brings it all home with colors and making sure that everything looks solid.
Teen Titans is a book that needs to be in DC’s lineup at every incarnation and this creative team is making a solid case for that. 3.5/5
Flash #21
Publisher: DC
Writer: Joshua Williamson
Artist: Howard Porter
Colorist: Hi-Fi
Cover: Jasn Fabok & Brad Anderson
The Button continues to impress with Williamson at the helm and making me ask why haven’t Batman and Flash teamed up ore often? Williamson opens up the issue showing off Barry’s analytical mind and keen eye while breaking down the crime scene in the Batcave. The mystery here takes some unexpected turns and Williamson drops some weirdness in that confuses Barry and deepens the story. There’s a nice little shift from the detective work to more superhero centered action as the guys take a trip on the Cosmic Treadmill and end up in familiar alternate reality.
Porter kills it this issue on every page and I’m pretty sure you’ll want to go over that double page spread of the Batcave several times. The layouts that feature the recap of Batman’s beating last issue flow right into the scene that is packed with detail. Even when we see a recovering Bruce Wayne the damage done by Reverse Flash seems even more brutal that what was expected. Though there are some weird dimensions as Bruce seems too big to fit in the bed but that’s just one small gripe. As Flash and Batman traverse the Speed Force we see some alternate timelines and Porter adjusts his work to reflect those periods and never drops in quality. Hi-Fi’s colors are on point and take the visual effects of Flash’s speed to another level here.
Williamson keeps the momentum going from part one and makes this issue just as necessary as the one before. The Button is shaping up to be a solid mystery and with hints of Watchmen and the tie-in to Flashpoint it’s got the potential to meet fan expectations. 4/5
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