The Return of Wally West- Part 1
This issue was way better than the Rebirth special. Honestly, this book made "Titans:Rebirth" feel completely pointless. The first few pages retread the events of DC Rebirth, Flash:Rebirth, and Titans:Rebirth so you don't need to have read those books to make sense of the story here. After the flashbacks the story starts right off from the end of Titans:Rebirth but you don't miss anything. This issue has the Titans truly reunite. It does include some action, but the story is primarily setting up what is to come. The return of an old villain who it turns out is to blame for Wally West's vanishing from the timeline in the new 52. These pages toward the end of the book were the strongest in my opinion. We are also reintroduced to Wally's former flame, Linda Park, but her story doesn't going anywhere important here. I think Dan Abnett covers nice ground here, but we really have to see where the story goes from here. My biggest gripe is with the artwork by Brett Booth. It's not bad, but I just don't appreciate the style. I really don't feel like there is enough distinction between the characters faces. They all look the same. I do like most of the character designs though, Donna Troy and Roy Harper in particular. I like Tempest but I think the tattoos on his arm are a little ridiculous, they just look like stripes. I would prefer if the tattoos were drawn like Aqualad's in "Young Justice" (fewer lines, that are more spread out and serpent-like) or like Jason Momoa's Aquaman (Pacific Islander tribal markings with varied scales and stripes). I also don't like Wally West's new costume, and wish at the very least he didn't have his hair sticking out. Another pet peeve is the inclusion of Bumblebee on the cover when she does not appear in the issue. I like her in the group, but I feel like it's a cheat to show her on the cover. Ultimately, this book is an improvement over the Rebirth special and it does feel like there is a strong set-up here.
