Written by: Benjamin Percy
Art by: Khoi Pham
Published by: DC Comics
How will Aqualad fit into Damian’s Teen Titans?
In this issue, Benjamin Percy makes his first misstep of this story. This arc has been about Aqualad joining the Teen Titans. The first issue gave us a bit of the back story on the character, and this issue gives us background on the villain and his followers.
That in its own right isn’t a bad thing, but there’s quite a bit we don’t know about Aqualad. His interactions with the Titans are somewhat limited here, due to the time dedicated to the villains.
The humor is still here, especially from Beast Boy. However, it is hard not to think that this issue should have come later. There are also some curious choices in terms of the issue’s structure. For example, there is a panel where the Titans figure out where the villains are, and the next panel they are already engaged in battle. It feels rushed.
Khoi Pham’s art continues to be the highlight of the book. Character moments, especially between Aqualad, Robin, Raven, and Beast Boy are handled well. When the action does kick in, Pham understands the panel redistribution as well and the book never feels busy. It’s a shame that quite a bit of the book is dedicated to an army of bad guys that look the same.
Most of this isn’t his fault, to be fair. He does good work with the material he’s given, the material just isn’t all that great.
After the New 52 runs, Teen Titans continues to be a step in the right direction. This particular chapter does feel like a misstep, but the energy that makes a good Teen Titans book is still here, and that is what is most important.
Overall, this is a decent, if a bit rushed, ending to the reintroduction of Jackson Hyde. The book could have benefited from another issue. It is not by any means a deal breaker, though. I for one am excited to see what kind of adventures the Teen Titans get in going forward.
