The Current Dan Abnett 'Titans' book

[WillieMorgan]

So, I'm currently reading the Titans book but, as it's not really a top priority for me, only on trade and when I have a spare bit of cash on top of my usual outlay on comics.

I'm well behind in other words. I've just received, and read, Volume 2: Made In Manhattan. There is a large chunk of the title that I haven't got round to yet.

Thing is, this title is currently not very well regarded on here. Over on another thread right now I've just read some disparaging comments about it. So, I'm curious as to why that is. Is it the writing? The treatment of the characters? Some other reason?

The first two volumes, although I'd hardly call them ground-breaking, seemed decent enough. Has something changed to sour attitudes against it?

[Harpsikord]

A mix of the writing being subpar to how people feel it should be and certain characters not being treated as well as people would like. I personally think that the book is... good. As in just good. Not great, amazing, or even bad, but it's enjoyable enough. Also, people aren't really that fond of Brett Booth or Paul Pelletier's art.

Here's hoping the next direction with Brandon Robertson's art is better and as a result better received.

[Drako]

His run isn't good, but the current arc it's a disservice to all the characters in this book.

Things like Batman saying "go to your room" to Donna Troy.
Nightwing asking "Are you disappointed in me?" to Batman.
Arsenal saying "This is big-league stuff, not something for kids playing heroes" when comparing the League with the Titans.

It's just pathetic.

[Assam]

The first two volumes, although I'd hardly call them ground-breaking, seemed decent enough. Has something changed to sour attitudes against it?

Unlike many others here, although much like plenty of people elsewhere*, I really liked the book early on. Return of Wally West was one of my favorite first arcs of Rebirth even if it did drag on a bit too long, the Superman issue was solid even if I didn't agree with the message (and based on Flash War, neither did Wally thankfully), and the Made in Manhattan arc is a fine example of 'standard cape stuff', but still pretty good thanks to some character moments.

Then came the awful Lazarus Contract, the result of editorial forcing Priest to turn his Deathstroke storyline into a crossover with the two Titans books. It was a disaster, full stop. After that, the book dropped in quality quite a bit and for the most part got worse with each succeeding issue. Really dumb storylines, not enough focus on the individual relationships between the characters, the characters themselves often being written much worse than they had been previously and other problems that were unique from issue to issue. The current storyline, the last one for the current team, has been better, although that doesn't say much as there are still some big problems. I wouldn't call it terrible though.

*This place, ComicVine and 4Chan are the only places I see a lot of hate for the book in general and I'm fairly positive the same people who post on the latter two also post here.

[JasonTodd428]

I really think I went into this with expectations that were too high given the fact that I had disliked Titans Hunt, which was sort of the prelude to the Titans book, for the exact same reasons. I was glad to see the OG Titans being used since I prefer them to the NTT group and I thought this book could really do something different with the concept without falling into the same trap that most of the Titans books fall into. Unfortunately that's not what happened at all. I actually found it to be very boring and the art early on was just terrible to boot. I dropped it at issue 4 and haven't been interested in it since. For me it was one of two books that I ended up being disappointed by during Rebirth.

[RepHope]

Honestly? It's just really boring. The team has no purpose for being together. They say they aren't the "Junior Justice League", but Abnett has failed to actually establish a game plan for them. The book just meanders around, occasionally dipping it's toe in relationship drama to try to keep people interested.

[Badou]

I think it has been bad since Titans Hunt. I felt that Abnett from the beginning had a really poor voice for the Titans characters. I think that people were so excited that so many of these Titans characters were finally back and their history was sort of being restored that they didn't really care about the story or how they were being used. They were just glad these characters were back and interacting with each other. But from the start I felt that Abnett's direction for this team and how they fit into the DCU was a major problem, and he wrote Dick, Donna, and most very poorly. Roy was the only character I felt Abnett enjoyed writing. I still feel the same way. It was a seriously flawed book and it leaned heavily on the excitement of bringing these characters back from limbo to sell it, but after a while that excitement wore off and readers began to realize that Abnett didn't write these characters well, the stories weren't very good, and the team had no real direction. These were problems that were always there but they didn't want to acknowledge them.

The one and only thing this book had that I thought was interesting was the idea that they came together to help unravel the Rebirth mystery that Wally was wrapped up in. That is a strong and interesting direction that would give the Titans as a team some weight in the DCU. They would feel important, but that was completely taken off the table and Abnett had to do something else. I don't blame Abnett for not being able to do anything with the Rebirth mystery, Johns pretty much screwed everyone over with it, but that is still no excuse for the poor quality of the book.

[Green Goblin of Sector 2814]

Unlike many others here, although much like plenty of people elsewhere*, I really liked the book early on. Return of Wally West was one of my favorite first arcs of Rebirth even if it did drag on a bit too long, the Superman issue was solid even if I didn't agree with the message (and based on Flash War, neither did Wally thankfully), and the Made in Manhattan arc is a fine example of 'standard cape stuff', but still pretty good thanks to some character moments.

I agree. I liked the book early on too.

[Nomads1]

I personally think that the book is... good. As in just good. Not great, amazing, or even bad, but it's enjoyable enough. Also, people aren't really that fond of Brett Booth or Paul Pelletier's art.

Here's hoping the next direction with Brandon Robertson's art is better and as a result better received.

Pretty much my take on things. Good, that's it. As for the artists, I don't have the same hate for Booth that others seem to have, and Pelletier's one of my favorites.

Hope the new book is better widely recieved.

Peace

[Grayson - The Dark Heir]

It honestly started out great, imo. But it completely failed to do anything interesting after the second arc. I don't want to spoil it for you, but it's just sad how it all turns out. Lilith's development is wasted, Wally's is halted until Williamson stepped in with his Flash Annual, Dick is written completely wrong, and then the way Abnett's written Donna.... honestly, regardless of Abnett's intentions and who he is as a person (I'm sure he's a great guy), but it's hard to read the arc without viewing it as sexist. Roy has been the only character to benefit from Abnett's run so far. Maybe he'll improve with the New Justice direction, but we'll have to see.

[SiegePerilous02]

I dropped it after the first few issues because it was just INSANELY boring. Leading your big Titans relaunch with an Abra Kadabra arc is probably not the wisest ideas. I predicted at the beginning of Rebirth that once the afterglow of Wally being back wore off, the book wouldn't have much of a direction to go off of. From the sounds of things, not only was I right, but Abnett has very little grasp on any of the characters except Roy.

[Restingvoice]

I lost interest after the first story arc when I figured from the previews and solicitations that they will not be resolving Wally's story as the person who actually aware of Dr. Manhattan's existence. He doesn't know who he is, but he knows he's out there and I was hoping that he will lead the Titans to go after him. Instead, the latest story became about evil future and proving yourself to the mentors, which are stories that have been done so many times before.

Keep reading and judge it for yourself though. Don't let other's opinion influence you.

[reni344]

I stopped reading after Lazarus Contract it never seemed to have momentum for me again. There were issues of Teen Titans I liked after Lazarus Contract but Titans just seemed to fizzle out for me.

[WillieMorgan]

Thanks for the responses folks. They are all very interesting and much appreciated.

I'll certainly stick with the series, I'm a bit stubborn that way. The only reservation that I have relates to 'The Lazarus Contract'. Is that worth investing in? Technically, it's the next story in the series but seems to be the point where things go south. Will I miss anything crucial if I just skip it?

I've been making an effort to reacquaint myself with an area of DC that I've neglected for some time now.

[Restingvoice]

Thanks for the responses folks. They are all very interesting and much appreciated.

I'll certainly stick with the series, I'm a bit stubborn that way. The only reservation that I have relates to 'The Lazarus Contract'. Is that worth investing in? Technically, it's the next story in the series but seems to be the point where things go south. Will I miss anything crucial if I just skip it?

I've been making an effort to reacquaint myself with an area of DC that I've neglected for some time now.

There is something crucial about Wally West that will directly affect the next arc.