Titans: Beast World #1
Scheduled to arrive in stores: November 28, 2023
Cover date: January 2024
“Titans: Beast World – Part 1”
Writer: Tom Taylor
Artist: Ivan Reis
Cover: Danny Miki, Brad Anderson, and Ivan Reis
Variant Covers: Art Bjorn Barends, Stanley “Artgerm” Lau, Bruno Redondo, and Clayton Henry & Marcelo Maiolo
Reviewed by: Craig Boehmer
The story starts with the Church of Eternity, the new Brother Blood, announcing that their explorers have reached the Titan moon in an effort to start finding alternative homes for humanity. They quickly discover a Tamaranean temple, and it is revealed that the Church of Eternity is not looking for a new planet to inhabit, but rather a power source for evil. The Titans boom to Titan and Starfire tells them the moon was originally built as a prison. A giant Necrostar is unleashed in the Solar System, heading to earth. All the heroes of earth gather together where Beast Boy timidly reveals his plan, much to the consternation of Batman. The plan involves Beast Boy transforming into thousands of small Jarros, he then attaches to each of the smaller Necrostars that have begun to take over peoples’ minds. Through this Beast Boy then transform into a giant Starro, or Garro, and defeats the Necrostar. He is then in turn attacked by Dr. Hate at the behest of Amanda Waller. And that is where the story ends.
Story – 5: This is a really fun and fast issue. I was really impressed with how quickly the plot progressed, it felt like I was reading a Bronze Age title, in a good way. I appreciate the character growth of Beast Boy that was shown in this issue, his ability to stand up to Batman and advocate for his strategy was significant. The portrayal of his relationship with Raven and their responses to his plan was also heartfelt, it resonated. Overall, this may be the start of the most fun DC event I have read in years. I hope that the breakneck pace continues. This is Tom Taylor’s best work in years.Art – 5: I did not know how much I missed Ivan Reis’ art until I read this book. His character work is gorgeous. His fight choreography is cinematic. And Brad Anderson’s colours are deep and vibrant. I have found that in many of DC’s comics the colours are too pink. This comic does not have that problem. Fantastic art. He even manages to draw Beast Boys’ sideburns in a way that doesn’t look horrendous.Cover Art – 5: The cover looks great. Each Titan posed for action against the evil eye of the Necrostar in the background.
Variant Cover (Bjorn Barends) – 4: The figure work is great, and the depiction of the fight is fantastic. I am not a fan of the colour scheme though, I would have preferred more vibrant colours to really pop on the shelf.Variant Cover (Bruno Redondo) – 4: A cool looking image of Beast Boy with various different animal transformations in the background.Variant Cover (Stanley “Artgerm” Lau) – 4: I am not usually a fan of Artgerm’s cheesecake style. This is one of his better covers.Variant Cover (Henry Clayton and Marcelo Maiolo) – 5: I love kitschy things like ventricular covers. This one was so fun.
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