Titans Beast World Tour: Star City #1 – Joshua Williamson, Ryan Parrot, Robert Venditti, Brandt & Stein, Writers; Jamal Campbell, Roger Cruz, Gavin Guidry, Brandt & Stein, Artists; Adriano Lucas, Alex Guimaraes, Colorists
Ray – 9/10
Ray: The last of the Beast World Tour one-shots takes us to Star City, where the very human heroes of the Arrowfam and other go up against an army of beasts.
First up are Williamson and Campbell on “Like Father…,” which spins directly out of Williamson’s work on the main Green Arrow series. Narrated by Ollie, it finds Ollie and Connor Hawke on the trail of Roy Harper when the monster attack happens, swarming the city with beasts. Ollie and Connor’s trail leads them to a lab where spores are being experimented on by a pair of villains with ties to Pharm and Graft, leading to a serious dispute between father and son about where their priorities lie—with a cliffhanger that continues into this issue.
Next up, Parrot and Cruz take on “Birds of a Feather,” starring Black Canary and Red Canary. The latter is a character who made a splash when she debuted, but hasn’t quite found a fixed role in the DCU yet. Here, Sienna finally gets to team up with Black Canary, but freezes in front of her and starts to wonder if she has what it takes. But when Canary and a host of innocent civilians are at stake, she’s forced to make a choice—the people she’s trying to save, or her idol? I still don’t feel too connected to this character, but the story does unleash one of the coolest beasts yet.
Venditti and Guidry are the creative team on “The Jungle Society of America,” which reunites the fan-favorite duo of Courtney Whitmore and Emiko Queen. Most of the JSA has been turned into monsters, which means the kids are holding down the fort. Along with time-displaced Helena Wayne, the trio try to keep the spores from infecting the more powerful—which means Emiko and Helena take the lead. It’s fun to see this issue using the plot device of the more powerful heroes being a target—giving the Arrows a rare advantage. This is a light, funny story that makes me wonder if Venditti is teeing up a new JSA series once Johns leaves.
Finally, Brandt and Stein close things out with “Like Son,” which wraps up the first story from Connor’s perspective. With Ollie overwhelmed by beasts, Connor tries to find a solution that preserves every life involved—a trademark for the Buddhist hero. This story also pulls in elements from the Pride story that Brandt and Stein wrote, where Connor came out as asexual, and it’s nice to see these shorts weave together. Some clever action, but also a great moment between father and son at the end.
Overall, this might be the best of the anthologies, and definitely the most character-driven.
To find reviews of all the DC issues, visit DC This Week.
GeekDad received this comic for review purposes.
