Tales of the Titans Starring Starfire #1 – Shannon Hale/Dean Hale, Writers; Javier Rodriguez, Artist
Ray – 9.5/10
Ray: The first of these one-shots featuring the classic New Teen Titans and giving them updated origins surprised me, because I was under the impression that they were going to be flashback tales. This first issue actually takes place completely in the current day, with Starfire settling in at Titans Tower as the grown-up sidekicks take the place of the Justice League. With the new series on hiatus for Knight Terrors, it’s a great way to keep them in the public eye. Starfire is one of the cast members who needs this focus the most, as she’s often used as a background character. YA writers Shannon and Dean Hale are great choices to fuse Starfire’s sci-fi roots with her history as an alien princess—a title she’s not entirely comfortable with. After conflict with an immature Beast Boy, Starfire finds herself called into action to help a pair of Tamaranean refugees—sisters—defend their colony from an infestation.
Naturally, Starfire has her own complex relationship with her sister and is full of regret over how this played out, so she’s caught up in concern of whether one sister will betray the other. This is handled well, as is the book’s exploration of Starfire’s notorious temper. Starfire’s a character who has undergone an enormous amount of suffering over her life, and that’s rarely touched on. Javier Rodriguez is a brilliant choice for this issue’s artist, as he’s able to give Kory a vibe of ethereal beauty without leaning too heavily on a cheesecake art style. The depiction of the colony, which features creatures ranging from fluffy blue alien goats to horrific tentacle-creatures, and it’s one of the most unique-looking books I’ve seen in a while. This is a small issue, but something I really liked here was the positive relationship it gave Kory and Barbara in some small scenes. This first issue makes me think this mini will be a must-read for any Titans fan.
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GeekDad received this comic for review purposes.
