Titans: Beast World #1 is written by Tom Taylor and published by DC Comics. Pencils are by Ivan Reis, inks by Danny Miki and colours by Brad Anderson. Letters are by Wes Abbott. Main cover art (left) is by Reis, Miki and Anderson.
Titans: Beast World #1 is available now, in print and on digital platforms where all good comic books are sold.
Synopsis
Clawing its way out of the pages of Titans comes an unprecedented threat to the DC Universe. Superman, Wonder Woman, Starfire –all are powerless to stop the Necrostar from ending all life on Earth. The only hero who can save the world is…Beast Boy?! With Nightwing, Raven, Cyborg, and the Titans beside him, can Garfield Logan rise to battle an ancient evil? What will Amanda Waller do to take advantage of the situation as millions of people are changed into rampaging creatures? Can humanity survive all-powerful heroes and villains transformed into ferocious beasts? Friends will fall. Heroes will rise. And nothing will ever be the same again. Earth is about to become…Beast World. DC proudly presents the Titans’ first crossover as the world’s premier superhero team, with universe-shattering repercussions. Brought to you by the all-star creative team of writer Tom Taylor and artist Ivan Reis, this story promises to be an epic one that sets the stage for what’s to come for the DCU!
Review
It’s hard to believe that despite 59 years of history, DC’s Titans have never had an event to call their own. It seems fitting that Tom Taylor, the mastermind behind the success of Titans, Nightwing and plenty of other DC books would lead the team in to Beast World. The universe spanning event leaps right out of the events of the main Titans book and kicks off this week with Titans: Beast World #1.
The former Brother Blood, now leader of the Church of Eternity has a message. A global message of extinction and self preservation. Taylor strikes at real world issues like A.I. and the environment in backing up the church’s portent of a bleak future for humanity. It roots the Beast World story in real world fears, a clever trick to hook the reader right from the outset. Explorers from the Church of Eternity has reached Titan (clever) where Brother Blood claims they will explore the opportunity to build a better world. But we know better than to fall for this don’t we gentle readers? “The Forevernauts” as they are dubbed find some time of temple on Titan. Not only that but it’s a temple opened using an ancient Tamaranean dialect!
Taylor isn’t one to hang around unnecessarily before getting down to business. By page seven all hell has broken loose and the Titans are required to spring in to action. I’ve complimented the main Titans book for its ability to tap in to much more street level, human stories. That’s something this team has which the Justice League do not. But Beast World is Taylor’s chance to show the versatility this team has. They’re quickly wrapped up in a Justice League-level event (I’m not going to use the C-world). But they’re equally able to step up and tackle it without hesitation.
The action comes thick and fast as the Titans venture in to space and are quickly controlled by the Necrostar. Think Starro but less interested in domination and more determined to simply destroy. The stakes rise exponentially quickly as Reis, Miki and Anderson bring so much life to Titans: Beast World that it becomes impossible to put down.
All the pieces are there to make Beast World a blockbuster story. The required levels of exposition are brilliantly masked in a conference featuring Batman, Superman and every major DC hero who is still on the board. There’s no slavish dialogue to draw attention to the fact Taylor is laying out all our required understanding. Every piece is perfectly placed as Gar, already teed up to be at a turning point in his life, takes centre stage with a plan to save Earth from the Necrostar.
As the title suggests, Beast World is a huge moment for Beast Boy. Gar has always been the heart of Titans group but here he gets to be a true hero. His plan is dangerous. Life-threatening in fact. But his desire to save the planet is something which Taylor has been building for a while now. It all feeds in to a devastating battle in space which looks as great as it’s written. It’s difficult to say too much without getting in to spoilers but there are connections to other recent DC-wide stories which really pull together everything the publisher has been doing under the Dawn of DC banner.
We’re left on a huge cliffhanger which, for the time being, is going to be universe altering. It’s devastating but also sets up an incredible event to follow in the coming weeks.
Verdict
A blistering debut for DC’s latest event and further proof that the Titans have earned their spot as the headline act. An outstanding story from one of DC’s finest writers, joined here by a blockbuster art team at the top of their game.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
