Written by: Christopher Priest Dan Abnett and Benjamin Percy
Art by: Paul Pelletier
Published by: DC Comics
The Teen Titans Annual finishes out the Lazarus Contract Arc. This particular book is actually lot better than the previous crossover DC put out – the Button – and that is very clearly evident here.
Priest, Abnett and Percy have obviously taken care writing all of the characters to make sure none of them act out of the norm. The character drama of the last four issues reaches boiling point here. It is hard not to feel bad for the new Wally West, as he truly wants do good and wants to fit in and the events here show him an uglier side of not just the team, but the world in general.
That is where these issue shines the brightest. It is the exploration of how the new members of team deal with adversity and each other. As a longtime Teen Titans and Titans reader it is those qualities in the book that are most important and sometimes even more important than the underlying story here.
It would be unfair to compare this to Judas Contract, as that book came out at the time when people still could be surprised by the events in comic books, movies or media in general. Lazarus Contract takes some cues from that story, but it is ultimately the story about Wally Wests and how they fit in this new universe.
The art is done by Paul Pelletier, and even if it is not as dynamic as say Brett Booth’s or Pham’s art it does manage to convey its point. The moments between Damian and Wally and Deathstroke and Wally especially are very poignant. This is one of those books that really benefits from visual storytelling and Pelletier is at top of his game here. It is about the character arcs more than big set pieces and I do believe that is where this artist was really good choice to come and finish the series off.
Lazarus Contract is a book that is better than the Button if only because there could be some lasting consequences from the series. Wally’s relationship with the Teen Titans is going to be interesting to explore, as well as Nightwing’s with the Titans. It is in those moments this particular arc shined the brightest even when the action was not up to par with some other big events out there.
Overall this Annual serves as a good reminder for Titans readers that the character relationships are the core of the book. There seems to be an underlying arc in all of these books and all of those arcs were quite evident during the Lazarus Contract soryline. If you are a fan of the Titans pick this event up and you will not be disappointed.
