Book of the Week 9/17/08 Titans #5

Written by Judd Winick
Pencils by Julian Lopez
Colors by Edgar Delgado
Letters by Rob Clark Jr.




It's no secret that I love every character that inhabits this book. So far though I've found Titans to be lackluster. The characters haven't really had a chance to settle in to the team, being too busy fighting demon spawn and being possessed. This issue however finally let everyone take a breather and deal with being a team again with this group that has so much history together. In short, personal moments abound! Gar and Ravens soul bearing discussion paid respect to Titans history while setting up the next direction for Raven. I've enjoyed watching these two get closer since they've come back into each others lives. It makes complete sense that these people who have such a history would develop feelings for eachother. And speaking of relationships, revisiting Dick and Kory's past was the scene stealer for me. Despite being set in pool allowing some cheesecake art, the conversation between the two is somewhat heart wrenching. When Kory asks Dick if he loves her, and his single strained answer was "no", my heart sank a bit. These two are the lovers who will never truly work and anyone who has ever been in that situation will feel something in this scene.

Judd Winick does a great job with the smaller scenes in this book. This issue spotlighted how well he writes smaller moments. That's not to say he can't do action but few do character development like Judd. Winick, like Johns, does well telling a new story while tying in the Titans rich history. These are characters that have known eachother for years yet haven't spent much time together in the last several. Come to think of it, this book reads like an action heavy high school reunion and I love that since I've been able to see these people grow up.

I really hope Lopez stays on this book. The art is a drastic improvement from the last several issues. The only thing I don't understand is the overabundance in this title of putting characters in revealing outfits (not just the costumes). It seems like they got an editorial comment to make it happen in every issue. Anyways, its still a big improvement from what we've had.

This book stood out as a "most improved player" book this month. I love this team and I want to see them do well. It seems like Winick has finally found his stride and I hope the momentum is maintained.