Teen Titans: To Belle and Black
This Review will be filled with spoilers!
The Good.
This issue was a good issue overall. The scene at the beggining of the issue is a great one, it's Tim's final goodbye to the late Damian Wayne, former Robin. It seems rather different to the other Requiem stories across the line of Batman books, it feels that Tim is more involved with Damian. He talks to the deceased Boy Wonder ( even if he is a hallucination ) and makes points that seem right for Tim's character and seem true to what the character has been like during this series.
Eddy Barrow's pencils in the issue are brilliant, I always admired the previous artist, Brett Booth's, work and was sure I'd miss him on this title but Barrows has filled the gap very well and it really improves the book.
Another good thing about the issue was the team's interaction with the Suicide squad. Seeing these hardcore criminals underestimate the team was great, and Bunker teling Deadshot that guns were "Seriously uncool" was a nice little panel.
Finally, one small thing, the scene between Harley Quinn and Wonder Girl was interesting, Harley's reaction to Cassie's "We're here for the girl", "Let me check the fridge!" is a little nod to a topic that Batgirl scribe, Gail Simone, is discussing a lot.
The Bad
Remember the end of last issue? The story was left on the cliffhanger that Tim Drake had been possesed by some unknown being. If you were looking forward to seeing that story continue, bad news. It's gone. No explanation at all, just gone. I do have a feeling this may have been editorial, to get in a Requiem story but, obviously, that is not official.
A few pages into the issue there's a scene with the Titans on the deck of their yacht. I'm not sure if this problem was the fault of the artist or letterer I'm not sure but as Kid Flash moves to his starting position on the page, his speech bubbles move in reverse. So, as you get further into the dialouge, Kid Flash is moving in reverse.
Finally, there's a scene in the book that introduces the Suicide Squad, it names one of their members, King Shark, as being called "Killer Shark", a small problem but I thought I'd bring it up. Also, the "This is going to be Awesome!" seemed a little out of character for him.
The Verdict
This was a good issue overall, with one or two minor problems and a confusing change in the plot. But without those, it's a great issue with quite an emotional opening scene.
